Till Death Us Do Part

Castiel and Dean had been home for a month since announcing their engagement to their families, and were neck-deep in wedding things. After meeting with three wedding planners and Dean deciding they were all the Devil incarnate, they'd decided to plan it themselves. Dean took on most of the work, with Castiel having to finish his University work.

To help relieve the couple of some stress, Gabriel and Kali had come over for a fortnight; the four were sat in the living room pouring over magazines.

"I think we all know the bachelor party is the most important thing here," Gabriel grinned. Dean chuckled.

"There's two bachelors here, Gabe," Kali sighed, thumbing through her copy of 'Modern Bride'.

"Well, we'll have two parties. A crazy night on the town for Dean, with alcohol and strippers. And a classy do for Cas. There."

Kali rolled her eyes affectionately at her boyfriend, folding her hands in her lap; "have you chose a venue yet?"

"I'd like it to be in a church," Castiel replied. Dean gave his fiancé an incredulous look.

"A church?"

"Yes. I am religious, Dean, I'd like to be married in a house of God."

"...Oh."

Cas looked at his feet; "it's not a problem, is it?"

"What? No! No, not at all, just caught me off guard. Of course we can, just need to find a priest who'll marry us."

"Well, tomorrow, Dean and Gabriel can go and look at possible venues and priests, I'll hunt for a decent tailor and baker, then when you get home from college, Cas, we can corroborate all our findings and make a decision."

Dean smirked at Kali; "you're really efficient."

"Thank you," Kali smiled. Gabriel grinned and squeezed his girlfriend's knee.

The next day, Dean and Gabriel drove in to Boston, armed with a list of churches and their pastors.

"Oh hey, this guy sounds perfect! 'Reverend Thomas, LGBT supporter, runs workshops for homeless members of the LGBT community. Outed homosexual...' Think he might marry you?"

Dean grinned; "awesome! Where's he at?"

"Holy Cross Church."

"Let's go meet this guy then."

After a long while of driving around aimlessly, they finally found the church and went inside. There were a few people in the pews with their heads bowed, praying silently; up at the altar was a clergyman, looking like he was making notes. Dean nodded and led they way up the main-aisle; the church was dimly lit by several chandeliers high above, the light glittering in the little glass beads. The side aisles were lined with ancient-looking candelabras. When they reached the altar, the priest looked up, a kind smile on his face.

"Are you Father Thomas?" Dean asked.

"Reverend Thomas; you can call me Tom. Can I help you?"

"Um, do you oversee weddings?"

"I've been known to officiate a few here and there," he smiled, his eyes twinkling; "are you looking to get married?"

"Yeah..."

Reverend Thomas looked between Dean and Gabriel, the smile not leaving his face. Gabriel suddenly jumped away.

"Not me! I'm not marrying him!"

Dean chuckled nervously; "oh, yeah... My partner's at University at the moment. I'm in charge of finding a church."

"Why don't we go to my office and talk?"

Dean and Gabriel followed the priest through the church to a small office, containing a desk, a bookshelf, a filing cabinet, and a rubber plant.

"Please, sit," Thomas said, motioning to the two chairs on one side of the desk; "would you like a drink? Tea? Coffee?"

"Coffee please, black," Dean smiled, sitting himself down. Gabriel copied his actions.

"Coffee for me too, please. Milk, four sugars."

The Reverend chuckled as he went over to a door, pulling it open, revealing a utility room with a sink, refrigerator, cupboards, and a kettle; "four sugars? My. You're going to rot your teeth!"

Gabriel grinned; "no worries, Reverend, my dentist is an over-paid miracle worker."

"So, we've yet to be introduced, you know my name..."

"Oh, yeah, sorry, um, I'm Dean. This is Gabriel."

"Messenger of God."

"That's me," Gabriel winked.

"So you want to get married?"

Dean grinned; "I really do."

Gabriel sniggered, earning himself a sharp punch in the arm when the Reverend's back was turned.

"And... Your partner?"

"Castiel, he's called."

"Angel of Thursday."

"Yeah..."

Reverend Thomas shuffled over to Dean and Gabriel, setting two cups of coffee on the desk in front of them; "tell me Dean, are you religious? Cookies?"

"Um, no thank you, and not particularly, no. He is though. He wants to get married in a church, and who am I to deny him? And no cookies for Gabe."

Gabe pouted; "but-"

"-You're not eating all the Reverend's cookies, Gabe!"

"So why did you come to me?"

Dean began shuffling uncomfortably in his seat; "well, I know gay marriage is legal in this state, but I know some people are still against it, and I wanted a priest who would actually marry us... You seemed like a good option."

"Yes, it's unfortunate much of the church is actually still against gay marriage; and it'd be somewhat hypocritical of me to turn you away... But with any couple I have protocol... Tell me about yourself."

"Um, where shall I start? I mean, do you want my life story, or...?"

"Perhaps the abridged version?"

Dean nodded, taking a quick sip of his coffee and clearing his throat; "well... I'm Dean Winchester, I'm twenty-two, originally from Lawrence, Kansas, but home is now Pontiac, Illinois. Um... Living in Cambridge at the moment because Cas is at Harvard..."

"What does he study?"

"Accountancy and Business Management."

"Very good. Any family?"

"Oh jeez... I've just got my dad and my little brother, Sam. My mom died when I was seven. Um... Now Cas... Gabe?"

Gabriel chuckled; "big family. I'm Cas' cousin. He has two brothers and a sister, mom's dead and his dad is presumed dead - he disappeared years and years ago. They live with my family - me, my dad, and two brothers. And the best part... Cas' family; Balthazar, Anael, and Zacharia. My family; Raphael, Michael, and Lucifer - yes, my dad actually called him Lucifer! And we have a whole bunch of cousins who live next door."

"Big family indeed. Do you all have angelic names?"

"No all of us."

"So Dean. How long have you and Castiel been together?"

"Four years last October."

"Are you in love?"

Gabriel cleared his throat; "I want to jump in and say; you've probably never seen a love like theirs. They dedicate every waking moment to making each other happy. They're just so... Horribly in love with each other. You only need to spend five minutes with them to see that... Nothing makes Castiel happier than being with Dean, and vice versa."

Reverend Thomas smiled; "well, I would like to meet him... When are you planning the wedding for?"

"Cas graduates in May, but we were planning it for June? Around the fifth?"

"Oh."

"Oh? Is there a problem?"

"I won't be here around that date, I'm afraid..."

"So you can't do it?"

"I'm afraid not... Don't despair, though. I have a colleague who'll marry you. And don't worry about his views on gay marriage, he's a very dear friend and supporter."

"All right... Um... Can we meet him?"

"Of course! Come along to church on Sunday, bring Castiel."

Dean nodded, finishing his coffee; "yeah, sure."

Dean and Gabriel came home to Castiel in the kitchen cooking dinner. Dean rushed over, taking the knife from his hand and pulled him in to his arms.

"You're not cooking, Cas, you've had a long day!"

Cas smiled, pressing a kiss to his fiancé's cheek; "I don't mind, Dean, it's relaxing. You can help if you like."

"Sure... You helping, Gabe?"

"Fuck no! I'm watching TV!"

"Ungrateful prick... So what are we cooking?"

"I'm trying a curry recipe Kali gave me, she wants to know if I can make is as good as her grandmother."

Dean smirked; "bring it on!"

The couple navigated the kitchen with familiar fluidity, never stepping on each other's toes or knocking elbows; chopping ingredients, precisely measuring spices according to the recipe, sweating the onions in burning hot oil... Dean would steal a quick kiss every time he added another ingredient, Castiel replying with a gooey-eyed smile. Once everything was left to cook, Castiel and Dean sat at the kitchen table, Dean with a glass of whiskey as had become his routine.

"So did you find a church?"

Dean smiled; "yeah, it's really nice. We found a guy to marry us but he'll be away around the dates we're looking at, but he said his friend would do it. His priest friend, not just some dude he knows!"

Castiel chuckled; "and?"

"Well, I haven't met this Reverend Cooper guy, so we have to go on Sunday. They want us to go to the actual sermon thing... And Reverend Thomas wants to meet you just because, so..."

"Are you okay to go to church?"

"Sure... I don't have to sing, do I? There's not going to be a load of hymns at our wedding, is there?"

Castiel chuckled, covering Dean's hand with his own; "no, you don't gave to sing. And I don't know, I'm sure we can work that out with Reverend Cooper."

"Fair enough."

"Dean?"

Dean grunted his acknowledgement as he drained the last of his whiskey. Cas reached for the bottle, unscrewing the cap as he gazed in to Dean's eyes.

"Would you mind if we wrote our own vows?" he asked, topping up Dean's glass. Dean swirled the amber liquid around his glass, lowering his gaze from Cas' eyes.

"You want to write your own vows?"

"I'd like to, yes."

"Then let's write our own vows."

Cas lit up; "really?!"

"Yes, if that's what you want."

"...What do you want?"

Dean smiled warmly; "I want to marry you. Seriously Cas, if you wanted us to wear pink fluffy tuxes, I'd agree... Because in the end I don't care, so long as we're husbands at the end of it."

"You will put effort in to your vows though, won't you?"

"Of course! I'll get Sammy to proof read."

Kali returned home in time for dinner bearing cake samples, fabric samples, and more leaflets; "so I found the perfect tailor, trust me, but I do think we should get Balthazar's opinion, he does have a penchant for fashion after all. As for the bakery, I've narrowed it down to two, got samples from one... Ultimately it's all up to you, of course. And Cas, this is delicious! Almost exactly like 'Dadi' used to make, but with a little more... Cumin?"

"That was my fault. Confused tablespoon and teaspoon," Dean chuckled. Kali smiled.

"It's delicious nonetheless. So, how did church-hunting go? Did you find a place? And a priest?"

Gabriel laughed, reaching over to squeeze Kali's hand; "baby, calm down. How much icing did you eat?"

"Too much, they kept giving me cake!"

"We found a church and possibly a priest, we're meeting him on Sunday," Dean answered. Kali smiled.

"Good. Did Gabriel make himself useful?"

"Like a chocolate fire-guard."

"Hey!"

Dean rolled his eyes as his fiancé slapped his hands away and began doing up his tie for him. It was Sunday, and he and Cas were off to church. For Dean, it was his first time attending a church, and already didn't appreciate the fact he had to wear a shirt, tie, and dress trousers.

"I can't believe you still haven't taught me how to do up a tie. You promised you would four years ago!"

Castiel smiled; "I apologise. I was a little preoccupied falling in love."

"I at least hope he was a handsome devil!"

"He knows he is."

Dean chuckled, latching his hands on to his lover's waist; "you excited?"

"For church? Not particularly. I am nervous about meeting the man who could potentially marry us."

"Don't be, he'll love you. Everyone does... If you have to be nervous about anything, be nervous about me potentially fucking this up."

Cas' eyes softened as he cupped Dean's face with his hands, stroking his cheek with his thumb; "you won't. You love me too much. You'll be mindful of everything you say and do, and you won't even realise it."

"So long as you do most, if not all the talking."

"Okay. Now hurry, we don't want to be late."

Dean was pleasantly surprised by how not-boring the sermon was. Instead of depressing hymns there was upbeat music; most were pre-existing pop and rock songs with altered lyrics. Reverend Tom's subject was interesting and relevant, and there was absolutely no eternal damnation. Cas had laughed when Dean brought it up.

"This isn't a Catholic church, Dean. There's no Original Sin. It's all quite modern."

"...Oh... Cool..."

"You can believe in God and not be a crazy Bible thumper."

"I know... I'm just... Surprised."

Cas smiled; "you were expecting everyone to be damned to Hell for simply breathing?"

"Well... Yes..."

"Silly Atheist."

Dean laughed and slipped his arm around Cas' waist, tugging him closer, pressing a quick kiss to his fiancé's temple. After the sermon they stayed behind with a fair few other parishioners who wished to talk to the Reverend. Dean and Castiel sat in the front pew waiting patiently until they were the only ones left. Reverend Thomas walked over to them, offering his hand to Castiel.

"I'm glad to see you both here. You must be Castiel."

Cas smiled and shook the Reverend's hand; "it's nice to meet you."

"Would you like to go to my office? I'll go and fetch Reverend Cooper."

Dean quickly shook the Reverend's hand before leading the way through the church to his office, his hand on the small of Cas' back. As they waited outside the office, Dean noticed Cas' hands were shaking, his eyes darting all over the place; smiling softly, he took Cas' hands in his own, pressing them to his lips.

"Calm down. It'll be fine."

"But what if it's not? What if they don't like us? What if they don't want to marry us?"

"Firstly, they won't. They'll love you, you'll charm the pants off them. And secondly, if they decide to not marry us, we'll find someone else. Okay?

"But Dean-"

"-Cas. It will all be okay. I'll make sure of it. I'm not afraid to have strong words with a priest if needs be."

"Dean, you can't curse at a man on the cloth."

"You just watch me."

Castiel chuckled; Dean smiled back, cupping Cas' face between his hands and lowering his head so he could plant a soft kiss to the unruly mess that was his lover's hair. The clergymen rounded the corner at that moment, smiling broadly at the couple.

"Dean, Castiel, allow me to introduce Reverend Cooper."

Reverend Cooper was a small podgy man, blonde curls sitting on top a round face. He had kind eyes, a wide smile and red cheeks. Castiel surged forward to shake his hand.

"Castiel, it's wonderful to meet you."

"Wonderful to meet you too, and this must be Dean, then?"

Dean smirked and stood by Cas' side, extending his hand too; "Reverend Cooper."

"Shall we go inside?" Reverend Thomas asked, unlocking his office door. They all piled in, Cas and Dean sitting on one side of the desk, Reverend Cooper sitting on the other. Reverend Thomas went to make cups of tea whilst his fellow priest got straight down to business.

"Why do you wish to get married?"

Dean's eyes widened, looking to Castiel to answer.

"Because we love one another, and we wish to be united in a holy and legally binding manner. We... Want people to recognise our relationship is serious, and that we're in this until the end. I want to be assured if anything were to happen to me Dean would be taken care of. I want Dean to be the one to make decisions for me when I'm unable..."

Dean nodded, thumbing to his fiancé; "what he said."

Reverend Cooper laughed; "don't you have anything to add?"

"I don't know. I'm not the best with wording things... I just... I know we don't need the world's approval or even acknowledgement, but I want people to know that Cas is... Well... Mine. That he's the one person who means most to me in the world... Y'know?"

"Yes... So um... What are your home lives like? What do you do for a living?"

"We share an apartment just off-campus; I'm currently majoring in Business Management and Accounting, and Dean works at a garage."

"I sound like such a loser," Dean muttered. Cas smiled and reached out to hold his hand.

"No, Dean. You do what you like and what you're good at. Anyone who looks down on you for not being a politician or a doctor are not worth your time; it's not about money or status."

Reverend Cooper smiled; "so is it just the two of you? No room-mates?"

Dean shook his head; "just us. We have a spare room in case family come over and need a place to stay, and it doubles as Cas' work-space... But just us... And the cat."

"You have a cat!"

"Well, we have a cat-shaped pain in the... Back-side."

Cas smiled; "he pretends to hate it but too often I've come home to Dean asleep on the sofa with Trouble curled up on top of him."

"You're happy, though?"

"So very happy," Dean grinned; "no problems whatsoever... Except when I forget to do my chores."

"You don't forget, you get elect to not do them," Castiel said, rolling his eyes. Reverend Thomas chuckled, leaning against his desk.

"You already sound like a married couple."

Dean smiled awkwardly, stroking the back of Cas' hand with his thumb.

"So... Are you two... Gay?"

Dean and Castiel shared a look of confusion.

"What uh... Does that have to do with anything?"

"Well to be honest I'm just curious."

Castiel cleared his throat nervously, reaching for his tea; "it's um... Complicated?"

"Complicated how?"

"I'm asexual. Dean's pansexual. So strictly, we're not gay."

Reverend Cooper looked up to his co-worker for clarification; "Castiel is not sexually attracted to any gender. I assume Dean is one of the few people you've allowed in to your heart?"

"The only one," Cas replied, smiling shyly.

"And Dean?"

"Attracted to all genders regardless of gender."

Dean nodded, squeezing Cas' hand softly. After a few more questions about their home life, the four men began talking as if they were old friends. Dean sat back slightly, saying very little as he watched Castiel talk, discussing faith and societies role in people's sexuality. He wasn't aware of the way the Reverends were looking at him, smiling and occasionally nudging each other, he was too busy staring at Castiel as if he was the centre of the Universe. He was brought back to the real world when Reverend Cooper clapped his hands.

"Well, we've gone wildly off track, here. So, what day are we doing this wedding?"

Cas' eyes brightened, his mouth opening and closing before sound finally came out; "you'll do it?"

Reverend Cooper chuckled warmly; "of course, there was no doubt in my mind that I'd do it from the moment I saw you two. It's rare to find a couple as in love as you are. So, any specific date in mind?"

Castiel was buzzing the entire drive home, furiously organising things and texting people; Dean began regretting getting Castiel a BlackBerry for his work. In the time it took to drive from the church back home, Castiel had managed to send Kali out to place an order for invitations, send out a mass email to everyone who needed a suit fitting, listing times and dates, and forced Gabriel to search for an adequate reception venue.

Castiel's phone rang, and he answered with a gruff but happy "hello". Dean smirked as he watched out of the corner of his eye the way Castiel went from content to exasperated in a matter of seconds. Obviously it was Gabriel on the phone.

"No, Gabriel.
"No.
"We're not hiring a giant bouncy castle for the reception!
"Please take this seriously.
"We're not holding it in Chuck-E-Cheese either.
"Gabriel I'm seriously going to kill you when we get home!"

Dean finally snatched the phone from him, wedging it between his shoulder and ear; "Gabriel please just do as he asked, the last thing I need is a Bridezilla!"

Gabriel laughed; "I've done it, don't sweat it. I just like winding him up. There's a nice little hotel a few blocks from the church, they do receptions."

"Good. Thank you."

"Anyway, you guys are seriously missing out. I'm totally getting married in a bouncy castle!"

"Well you have fun with that. We're only doing this marriage thing once, we want to get it right."

"Can't go wrong with bouncy castles, Dean-O! Anyway, send my love to your reptilian fiancé."

Dean laughed and hung up, throwing the phone on to Cas' lap; "there. Sorted."

Cas' lips twitched upwards; "thank you. Also, it's dangerous to drive and talk on a cell phone."

"Yeah, well. You were going to blow a fuse, thought I'd help out."

"I was not, Dean. And I'm not Bridezilla."

"You're coming close."

When the couple returned, Kali was sat in the kitchen counting out wedding invitations, Gabriel sat opposite on Castiel's laptop.

"I ordered 150 just in case," Kali smiled, shuffling the envelopes in to little piles. Castiel smiled back and padded over to the coffee machine, flipping the switch to turn it on.

"The wedding list is still in development, I'll try to get it finished this afternoon."

Dean slumped down in the seat next to Gabriel, peering over at what he was doing. He snorted when he read the page title.

"Facebook?"

"I took the liberty of making you an account."

Dean rolled his eyes; "don't need one."

"Well, it's a joint account, look! You have 50 friends already! Aren't you popular!"

"What do we need a Facebook for?"

"To make events. Like... Your bachelor party? Or this kooky thing I created."

He turned the laptop to face Dean, checking Castiel was busy making coffee.

"Dean and Cas are engaged! Let's party!
"This is a surprise for Castiel so don't mention it to him; anyone who does is automatically uninvited! This is to celebrate the fact Castiel has found another human being he likes enough to spend the rest of his life with - and what a guy Dean is.
"Venue T.B.C. but there will be a bouncy castle! Wear appropriate clothing."

Dean chuckled; "really? I don't think he'll like that."

Castiel spun around; "won't like what?"

Gabriel quickly clicked on to their profile; "the picture I set for you two. Look, it's you! Asleep!"

Castiel wandered over and folded his arms across his chest, scowling at his cousin; "could you not find a more flattering picture?"

"Of course, but I like this one better. Besides, you already have... Three likes! And Tessa says; 'O-M-G, this is so cute!'"

"I'll get Dean to change it when you leave."

"Sure. Anyway, don't you have an invite list to complete? Me and Dean-O will leave you and Kali to it. We have other things to sort out."

Kali sighed; "Gabriel, the bachelor party isn't that important."

"Lies!"

She shot Castiel an apologetic look as she got up to grab some mugs. Dean shrugged innocently and slipped his arms around Cas' waist, pulling him closer and pressing a soft kiss to the nape of his neck.

"Have fun."

"Please don't let Gabriel distract you."

"I'll try to keep him on track. We'll have this wedding planned by the end of the week."

"That's highly unrealistic of you."

"We can still try."

Castiel turned around in Dean's arms, smiling up at him as he played with the collar of his shirt; "I love you."

Dean grinned; "I love you too. Go easy on Kali, don't bite her head off."

Cas chuckled; "I won't. She's at least slightly helpful."

"I'm wounded, Cas."

"Sorry, but you're easily distracted."

"Not now we've got a date set, I want to get this done with so I can legally own your ass."

"That had better not be going in your vows."

"I'll phrase it so it sounds more romantic than that."

"You'd better. Anyway, go babysit my cousin before he uploads more pictures to Facebook."

Dean laughed and pressed another quick kiss to Cas' lips before following Gabriel out to the living room. They slumped down on the sofa, Trouble instantly jumping up on to Dean's lap, mewing insistently. Dean stroked him, watching Gabriel giggle as he tapped away at the laptop.

"Gabe, did you feed the cat today?"

Gabriel looked up blankly; "um..."

Dean sighed loudly; "Cas! Feed the cat!"

They heard Castiel sigh loudly and begin puttering around the kitchen getting Trouble's food; the moment the cat heard the sound of his food hitting the bowl he darted down from Dean's lap to the kitchen. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence getting on with their own things; Dean found one of Cas' old notepads with blank pages at the back and started jotting down ideas for his vows whilst Gabriel planned both the engagement party and Dean's bachelor party. He would occasionally confer with Dean about what to include and what not to include, and occasionally relaying messages from people on Facebook.

"Sam says it was about time you got a Facebook."

"Tell the twerp he should be studying," Dean laughed, tapping his pen against the ring-binds of the notebook.

"He says you should be planning a wedding."

"Tell him it's you on Facebook, not me."

There was quiet for a few moments before Gabriel piped up again.

"A Bela Talbot just said 'it won't last' on your relationship status..."

Dean growled quietly; "delete her."

"Oh...Kay?"

"Just do it. And block her."

"...There something I don't know? Do I need to hit someone? I really don't mind hitting girls."

Dean shook his head, hitting the pen against the back of his hand; "she's just... Trouble... We ever tell you about how Cas and I got engaged?"

"Just that there was a lot of crying, mainly on your part."

Dean couldn't help the small snort that came out of him; "thanks, but... It's kind of her fault."

"Her fault... You're engaged?"

Letting out a long sigh, Dean told Gabriel about the evening he'd proposed to Cas, Gabe gasping and swearing at the right times. Dean nodded as Gabriel called Bela all the names he could think of and asked for her address so he could go around and cause actual bodily harm.

"Apparently Cas hasn't seen her since, even though they share a class together... I don't know. I'll ask Tessa what happened to her. Hopefully she broke her leg or something."

Gabriel laughed and spun the laptop around to face Dean; "looks like a botched nose-job to me."

Dean laughed too and high-fived the littlest Novak.