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Fourth of July, 2016
"Dean, we've been through this,” Lieutenant Novak says, closing his eyes to massage the bridge of his nose with his wiry thumb and middle finger, “I'm surprised they haven't called Child Services on you yet."Dean’s response is everything but unexpected, coming from a guy wearing the American flag as a bandana and a funny pack that doubles as a soda holder to match his “Keep Calm and Grill On” t-shirt, also imprinted over an American flag: “That’s because I’m the fun dad.”"No, you're a thirty-seven year old man trying to literally rekindle the frame from his reckless teen years.”"Jeez, Cas. Don't you think that's a little—?""Burning.”"I was gonna say harsh, but—”"Dean, your sleeve is burning.” Before Dean even has time to look down, Cas signals for one of his crew to pump the firehose again and a bottle rocket of water showers Dean’s left arm.Again, not to the Lieutenant’s surprise, Dean just shakes his arm, and, with a smirk, raises his right arm clutching a Coke. "Didn't even have to waste a perfectly good Coke. Thanks, man."Cas rolls his eyes.
One Year Later
Cas feels every nerve in him prickling with anger, igniting like a sparkler from his chest and extending outwards, when he receives the call.Dean Winchester.For what’s going to be a record-breaking four years, this man has managed to burn every tree, every bush, and… well, just about every inch of square footage of his property, and every year, Cas and his crew have driven out to protect the square footage he has left.It’s true, many accidents happen around Fourth of July. Fireworks are chancy. One wrong move can cost an arm or a leg, physically and financially, and that’s the last thing Cas wants for the people of Lawrence. But his job is to save lives, not to discourage people from having fun.But in his fifteen years on the force, he has never met anyone as reckless and insouciant as Dean Winchester. What Dean does isn’t fun for anyone—not for the fire department and their tight budget, not for his neighbors, and certainly not for Dean’s kids, whose lives are also at stake as well.Many have tried to file against him for the yearly disturbances, but since the damage is fairly minor and localized to Dean’s property due to the far stretch between houses, there’s not much that can be done other than a “talk” from the local authorities.But again, it’s Cas’s job to save lives, no if’s, and’s or but’s about it.Although, it’s fair to say Cas is plagued with questions when his crew pulls up to the infamous Winchester property. Cas glances at the time in the truck. It’s nine o’clock in the evening, and there’s not a single light on at the house, not to mention no fires to be put out. Everything is completely flooded by darkness.“What’s going on?” he asks the DE, Jody. Jody shakes her head, though he swears he can see her hazel eyes alight with something under the yellowish glow of the truck light.Cas casts another glance at the place before he opens the door and steps out of the truck.The silence slithering into the tunnels of his ears is enough to startle him more than any firecracker, so he flips the switch on the flashlight hooked up to his suit to scope around. He starts from the left and moves his way to the right. He jumps when he catches on a familiar face grinning back at him. “Dean?”That word sets off what sounds like a match being lit. Cas tears his gaze from Dean to the direction of the sound, only to have his dark blue eyes be branded by not only a bright yellow ball of light from what looks to be a sparkler, but a bright yellow ball of light curving into the letter D. Then, after a beat, another sparkler goes off, this time forming the letter A.He can honestly say it’s the first time that he’s ever been still in his tracks—in his uniform, no less. Only, it’s not out of fear: It’s out of sheer bewilderment.The next two letters that follow are a “T” and an “E”, then there’s a question mark to top it all off, and that’s when Cas can see Dean again, when he brings the sparkler that formed the question mark closer to his face. He’s grinning, and Cas is certain that the blush coating Dean’s cheeks isn’t from the heat of the fire.Cas cranes his head in time again to see the other people behind the sparklers doing the same. He recognizes the first two as Dean’s kids, Ben and Emma. The other two are Claire and Alex Mills, Jody’s adopted kids. They’re all grinning in anticipation as well towards a stunned Cas.“You can’t be serious,” he scoffs as he steps closer. “I hate you. I mean, no one has managed to extinguish every last ounce of patience I have like you, Dean Winchester. And you want to take me out to dinner?”“Depends,” Dean replies, completely unfazed as usual, “is that a yes?”His smile, spreading freshly whipped peanut butter wider across his face, is just as attractive as it is stupid. “Okay.” Cas sighs, and then says louder, “Yes, alright? I’ll go on a date with you.”Dean laughs and then starts to whoop, throwing his hands up in the air. Only, what he doesn’t calculate is the still lit sparkler in his dominant hand, so as he does that, he also lets out a totally separate howl.Cas rolls his eyes.Just another Fourth of July in Lawrence. “Well, good news is the burn’s not severe enough to cause panic,” Cas says upon stepping back into the room. Dean’s sitting on the examination table, clutching his newly gauzed and securely wrapped arm.His head tilts to the side a little as Cas gives him the ibuprofen that’s tucked in the palm of his hand. “And the bad news?” he asks, accepting the medication. Cas tries not to focus too much on the softness of the long, freckled fingers that graze his own in the process.“You’re still one stupid son of a bitch,” replies Cas as Dean downs the little red pill, though he can’t keep the smile out of his voice, “that’s something they can’t fix with lidocaine.”Dean laughs softly, green eyes crinkling like the edges of a candy wrapper, “You drive a fair point.”The only audible sound between them for a long time comes from a few houses over. Fireworks. And lots of them. Through the window, Cas can see them blossom before flickering away just as quick in the night sky the same way a dozen dandelions would in a grassy field just before a strong gust of wind blows them away.“You know, I wasn’t always gung-ho on Fourth of July,” says Dean. He looks down at his bandaged hand with a small laugh. “I mean, sure, I took risks when I was younger, but I never needed a reason to.”Cas moves across the room to wheel over a doctors chair. He feels a lot lighter without the rest of his uniform, stripped down to a thin blue t-shirt with the firehouse logo, red overalls, and his pants. “What happened?”“My brother… we, uhm…” He laughs, “This one time, we went out to the woods and shot off bottle rockets. I can’t remember where it was, but I’ve always remembered the date: Fourth of July, 1996. I remember because I have his smile etched into my memory.” Dean pauses, biting his lip. “We didn’t have the easiest childhood. Our dad was strict. Marine type, you know. We moved around a lot, never quite settled down long enough to find any sort of peace with ourselves. But that night, we did.”Cas has a feeling there’s more to the story by the way Dean looks up at him with a sad look in his eyes. He tries to conceal it with a smile, but for someone like Cas who’s seen the same expression in the mirror after one too many particularly harrowing days on the job, it’s not an easy feat.“He died a few years ago on duty,” says Dean. “He was an officer. About to be promoted to detective.”Cas shakes his head softly, but makes sure to look at Dean when he says, “Dean, I’m so sorry.”To Cas’s surprise, Dean laughs, “You’re sorry? I should be apologizing. I need to stop chasing a dream.”“Dean, it’s not a dream,” says Cas, the corners of his lips turning up a little, “you made him happy. I can’t speak for you, but I can speak from experience from what I’ve seen. Some people hold onto the memory of the day they lost the person they loved, and some hold onto memories like yours. And believe me, those who hold onto the good memories, they tend to find peace easier than those who hold onto the bad ones.”Dean’s lips start to form a real smile as he says, “I was going to wait to ask you until after our first date, but Cas, will you do me the honor of allowing me to kiss you?”Cas’s mouth parts, then it’s his turn to blush as he finds himself nodding. He stands up from the short chair and steps closer to Dean, allowing Dean to guide him down into a warm kiss.And by God, Cas swears he sees fireworks light up behind his eyes.