Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Harry's Uptown Bar and Grill is fairly busy, with only one guy at the bar, drinking his sorrows away. At the same time, Sam Campbell is trying to come up with a story for his newspaper column, while a woman tries to start up a conversation with him.

“So what's in store for tomorrow's column, Samuel Campbell?” she asks, while simultaneously throwing a dart at the board.

Sam admits, “Not quite sure. Inspiration doesn't usually strike on a routine basis.”

The woman gets a funny look on her face, and after throwing another dart, and tells him what's what,

“This is very interesting. You get your ideas for your column from life. You start up a conversation with a someone in a bar, and try and get a rise out of them while you contemplate whether or not they're worth hitting on.”

Sam argues, “No, I can't hit on you till I have a story.”

The woman throws another dart, then says, “Oh there's the world's best pick-up line right there.”

Sam tries to cover, “No you don't get it.”

The woman throws her last dart, then gives him one last lecture, “Actually, I do. So my not responding to your baiting me will inspire one of those potential bitter diatribes you love to write about humanity?”

Sam has to defend himself here, “I don't write bitter diatribes about humanity... lately.”

The woman smacks him on the shoulder, informs him, “Well, it was very nice to meet you, one-minute-man.” and exits the bar.

Sam can't think of anything else to say, other than, “It's last-minute-man. And who cares, long as the writing is good?”

This seems to be an invite for the guy at the bar to pipe up, “I've seen worse.”

Sam looks down at the magazine the woman left behind, hoping to get some sort of idea for his next article.

Seeing he's being ignored, the guy at the bar repeats himself moving closer to Sam, “I said, I've seen worse.”

Sam looks at him warily, not sure why this guy is bothering him. “Excuse me?”

“The brush-off.” The man clarifies, nodding at the door. “Least she was nice enough to do it in the privacy of a bar.”

Sam goes to pull out the darts, “Not so private, if you heard it.”

Sam sets the darts down on the counter, pulling up a napkin to write on, while the guy picks up a few darts and starts throwing them one by one.

“Humanity needs to be reminded of its wickedness once in a while. Humans love, they hate, they're hot, they're cold, high, low…”

Sam picks up where he leaves off, “Up, down. You know, this has been fun, but I need to focus on my next story.”

But whoever this guy is, he's not letting up, “But you haven't really written about anything seriously superb. There's this guy from my town you could write about.”

Sam goes to pay the bartender, saying, “Thanks, but I don't need any superb ideas.”

The man continues, “This guy likes to dump his fiances right at the altar. They call him the Runaway Groom.”

Now he's got Sam's attention. After paying, he turns back to the guy.

“He’s done it at least 7 or 8 times. Second he's at the altar, he turns right around and makes a run for it. Boom. Gone.”

Sam heads for the door, but this guy isn't finished,

“Runs like hell, not caring who he knocks out of the way. Like a goddamn stampede. And that's not the worst part. Any idea what that could be?”

Sam rolls his eyes, playing along, “I have no idea.”

“He's already got his next casualty planned. Sacrifice fit for a king.”

And that's when Sam decides it's as good a story as any. He sits back down at the bar, pumping him for information.

By the time he's finished, Sam has a brand new story all dressed up and ready for the paper.

Chapter Text

It's many hours later when Sam finally comes back to his apartment, ready to sit as his computer and write this article he is sure to be an absolute masterpiece.

“Alright, Bones, here we go.” He says to his dog, before he begins to type.

The following day, the story is printed, and many people are as intrigued as promised.

"Today is a day of profound introspection, I have been accused of using this column to direct bitter diatribes at humanity! This uncomfortable accusation has plunged me into at least fifteen minutes of serious reflection, from which I have emerged with the conclusion that, yes-- I traffic in stereotypes.”

Sam's friend, Brady, walks and reads at the same time,

"But how can one blame me when every time I step out my front door I meet fresh proof that archetypes are alive and well? The mother, the asshole, the whore, the master manipulator; they're elbowing you in the subway, slamming the door in your faces, overwhelming you with perfume in elevators."

The newspaper's receptionist, Elaine, picks up as Brady walks up to her,

"But perhaps I should broaden my horizon and add some new Gods and goddesses to the pantheon: I would like to nominate for deity..."

Then Brady takes the story back,

“... The cheerleader, the coed, and the heartbreaker, the last of which concerns me most today."

Elsewhere, the man that gave Sam the story reads out loud as he takes his seat at the bar,

“To be fair, the heartbreaker isn't exactly new. In Ancient Greece, this fearsome foe is known as Zeus, leader and father of all gods. In India, it's Kali, who likes to devour her boyfriend Shiva's entrails while her yoni devour his -- dot dot dot, never mind. In Indonesia, this angry little Earthshaker is called Indo' Ongon-Ongon…”

The man stops here to note, “Weird. Why does he only use countries without cable?” before he continues,

“And in Lebanon, Kansas, where he helps run the family mechanic shop, his name is Dean Winchester, aka the Runaway Groom.”

All the way in Lebanon, two men walk across the street to the mechanic shop while also reading the article,

“‘What is unusual about Mr. Winchester is that he likes to dress his fiances up as grooms before he devours them. He has already disemboweled six in a row by leaving them at the altar.’” but then, the one reading, Garth, stops. “I can't keep reading this garbage.”

Mr. Pressman, the other man, takes the paper and picks up where Garth left off,

“‘And his ritual feast continues as he prepares to make a sacrifice out of the seventh fiance. So all bets are on and we hope that this boomerang groom isn't honeymooning with Las Vegas odds makers, because many would easily predict that this guy is out of there before the rice hits the ground.’ Shit. It's worse than I thought.”

Then, they enter the shop, arguing over who should point this out to Dean, who’s currently handling a customer.

“You tell Dean.” “No, you tell him.” “You're his best friend.” “No.”

Mr. Pressman looks at the article again, and says, “Maybe he hasn't seen it yet?” but it's wishful thinking, and they know it.

And they're proven right, as they see another copy of the paper right on the counter, article in plain view.

“Or not.”

They wait in silence for a few minutes as Dean finishes up with the customers, and when he walks back towards the front, he sees the two of them, staring at him with the saddest look he's ever seen on their faces.

“What?”

Somehow, Garth manages to muster up some courage he doesn't really feel, and cautiously says,

“So, Dean. You've seen this, huh?”

Dean, however is confused, “Yeah, I've seen it. Gotta say, this is seriously the most messed up, lewd, joke anyone has ever pulled!”

Both Mr. Pressman and Garth are surprised how well Dean is taking this, even with a genuine smile on his face.

“How long did it take you two to pull this off? What strings did you pull?”

They're both still stunned that Dean apparently hasn't realized this is a real article.

“I should seriously ban you two from the wedding. But why did you guys say seven? Everyone knows it's only the fourth.”

Finally, Garth has to tell him the truth,

“Um, Dean, you said no bachelor jokes, so we didn't…”

At first, Dean can't process what Garth just said. He looks at the paper again, and does his universal test for real newspapers. Real ones smear the ink. With one finger, he swipes the page, and when the words do indeed smear, leaving some residue on his finger, that's when it finally sinks in.

“Holy shit.” Dean says, the air in his lungs suddenly leaving him.

His friends are quick to grab him, helping him to relax until he feels well enough to head home.

The time at home is spent punching a punching bag, taking out all his frustrations on it, until he feels like all of it has left him temporarily.

Okay. Damage control. Dean sits down at his desk, pulls up his laptop, and begins to draft a letter.

Samuel Campbell, meet Dean Winchester.

Chapter Text

"Dear Editor,

Greetings from the sticks!  Perhaps you believe that a rural education is focused mainly on hog calling and tractor maintenance rather than reading. Why else would you print a piece of fiction about me and call it fact? I suppose Mr. Campbell was too busy thinking up slanderous statements about how I dump my fiances for kicks to bother with something silly like accuracy in reporting.  Which is understandable, because with a heartbreaker like me on the loose, who has time to check facts? Still, we cannibalistic types can get pretty cranky when we see things in print that tear us apart, like that we deliberately abandon fiances with malice. That's why I was surprised to find Mr. Campbell's editor was a woman. Call me a sap, but I sort of hoped that upon seeing such a story, you'd know immediately that this wasn't a good idea.”

Above is the letter that Jessica Moore, editor of the newspaper Sam works for, receives in the mail from Dean Winchester.

As Sam comes into Jess’ office and sits down, Jess finishes reading the letter,

“Anyway, I'm just dropping you big city folk this little note to say that I have thought of a ritual sacrifice that would satisfy my current appetite: Samuel Campbell's column on a platter.  Yours truly, Dean Winchester P.S. -- I have enclosed a list of the gross factual misrepresentations in your article. There are fifteen.”

Sam doesn't really have much of a reaction, other than a small chuckle, “I like him. He's got some guts.”

But Jess isn't in the mood for joking around, “I left you 4 messages, Sam. You don't return my calls.”

Sam argues, “So? I never return your calls. We're not even married anymore!” upon noticing Brady was also there, he asks, “What's Brady doing here?”

Brady pipes up, “She uh, asked me to come in for moral support.”

Sam is surprised, “Since when do you need moral support, Jess?”

Jess informs him, “It's for you, Sam.”

This leaves Sam utterly confused, “What?”

Jess slides a letter over to Sam across the desk, “Rule number one in journalism. If you fabricate your facts, you get fired.”

Sam skims the letter quickly, and notes, “Lesson number two. Never work for your ex wife.”

Exasperated, Jess fires back, “You know damn well that has nothing to do with it. You completely made this story up, and you know it!”

Sam's quick to defend his article, “No, I didn't! I had a reliable source.”

Jess raises an eyebrow, “A reliable source? Who? Some guy in a bar?”

Sam defends the guy, “Hey, he was a good guy. And if he was in the bar, it means he wasn't driving!”

Seeing he's getting off topic, he goes on, “I write a column. That's what people who write columns do. It's what people want to read! We push, we go out in a limb! It's what makes me good!”

Jess says, “No, it's what makes you unemployed.” She slides another paper across the desk, “He sent us this list. If he decides to press charges, our lawyers say it's actionable.”

Sam can't believe it. “Just give me a slap on the wrist, and I'll come back in when you decide I've been punished enough.” he offers Jess his wrist to slap.

But Jess doesn't take it, instead telling him, “Sam, this is permanent.”

Sam's stunned enough to where he just stares at Jess, silent.

Jess offers some solace of comfort, “If you don't make a fuss, I'll give you severance.”

Sam just leaves, wordless, which is answer enough.

Lebanon, Kansas

It's a few days later when the newspaper lands on the Winchesters’ front lawn. Immediately, Dean marches out the front door, snatching up the paper. After unwrapping it, he unfolds the paper, searching for any update on Sam Campbell. Upon seeing it, he smiles, running back into the house to show his fiance.

Inside, Benny Lafitte is packing canned goods into a duffle bag, when he hears Dean shout,

“She sacked him! Babe, she sacked him!” as he runs into the kitchen.

“Dean. Good. Here, try on this bag.”

Dean rushes to the same side of the counter as Benny, excitedly splaying the editor's letter out on it.

“Listen to this: Dear Mr. Winchester: I apologize to you for this unfortunate matter.  Samuel Campbell’s column will no longer be appearing in this paper. Best of luck in your upcoming nuptials!”

Benny smiles, congratulating him, “Nice one, Dean. You definitely showed him.”

He finishes what he was doing with the duffle bag, then puts it over Dean's shoulder.

“This is about the weight of the bag you'll be wearing in the 100 Mile wilderness. Tell me if it's too heavy.”

Dean's no pushover, but even so, the bag takes him down with it, knocking him flat on his back on the floor.

“Yep. Little heavy, Ben. Little help?”

Benny reaches down a hand to help Dean back up, but Dean's got a surprise for him, pulling Benny down with him, and for this moment, everything is right with the world as they laugh and kiss.

Chapter Text

Unemployment sucks, Sam thinks as he sulks in his apartment. Bones doesn't seem to mind it, though, thank goodness for small favors.

But then, who of all people but Brady calls and leaves a message,

“Sam. Call me. I've just come up with a way to spin the whole Runaway Groom story. Come down to the office. You're gonna be owe me big time for saving your ass.”

For a moment, Sam considers ignoring the message, and go back to playing fetch with Bones. Then he decides that's stupid, throws on a jacket, and leaves for the office.

When he gets there, Brady is supervising some sort of photoshoot. Upon seeing Sam, he calls him over, “Sam! Great. Walk with me.”

It's a few minutes before Brady starts talking again, “Sam, I want you to listen, alright? I actually liked the Runaway Groom piece you wrote. And since I technically don't work for the same boss as you, I might have a solution…”

Sam has no idea what Brady is getting at, “Brady, just come out with it already.”

Brady stops then and looks at him straight in the eye, “Vindication. Want some?”

Sam's only more confused, “Vindication? How?”

Brady lays it all out for him, “What if I told you that there's a way for you to turn this whole story around? A way to prove that while the story wasn't accurate, your theory was?”

Seeing what Brady's getting at, Sam follows with, “The real story on Dean Winchester?”

Brady has Sam follow him again as he says, “All the gory details. And if he runs again, you have a cover story. All true, and 100% accurate.”

The more Sam thinks about it, the more he likes it. “Okay. I can do this piece.”

Brady tells him, “If you leave tomorrow, you'll have plenty of time before his next attempt down the aisle.”

“Paid vindication. Now that's justice.” Sam says, liking the idea more and more.

But Brady has to be honest here, “Justice, yes. Paid, maybe. They're intrigued by the idea, but we got such a tight budget.”

Sam has to make sure he'll get some sort of money out of this story, “But I'll get my normal fee?”

Brady walks away then, and Sam follows, demanding to know, “You want me to write this thing on spec???”

It takes him several hours, but eventually, he realizes he has nothing to lose at this point.

As he packs, at this point, all he can think about is how badly this needs to work if he wants any chance of another job in the writing field.

“Mayberry, here I come.” Sam mutters as he heads out the door, packs up his car, and makes his way to Lebanon, Kansas.

Chapter Text

The drive to Lebanon is fairly quiet, aside from the radio blaring. In no time, Sam passes the Welcome to Lebanon sign, and drives to one of the only hotels in town.

After he's checked in and has all his stuff on his room, he leaves to head for the garage Dean works at.

When he gets there, he sees a sign that says, “Gone to Tooth Fairy. Back soon.”

Thankfully, it's not too far away of a walk from there to the Tooth Fairy, which turns out to be a dental office.

As he walks, Sam can't help but say out loud, “Wow. Guess I wasn't kidding when I said I was in Mayberry.”

Garth is testing the chair that Dean just fixed, as a personal favor for his best friend.

The chair reclines up and down without a hitch, prompting Garth to say, “You're a godsend. Amazing. Chair hasn't worked like this in years.”

Dean has to remind him, “First off, my thing is cars, not dentist chairs. You're lucky I was in a good mood. Second, this old hunk of junk didn't really need much to get back into working order. Just work out a few kinks, and it's good as new.”

That's when the tiny bell over the clinic's front door can be heard, and Garth goes to see who it is.

Sam, meanwhile, takes a moment to look around at the place's waiting room, at all the cute posters and toys for the kids.

When he sees the man at the front desk, Sam immediately tells him,

“Hi. I'm looking for Dean Winchester. I saw a sign on the garage a few blocks down…”

“Are you a reporter?” Garth asks.

Sam's a little shocked at being called out so soon, so much so all he can say is, “What?”

Seeing he's spooked him, Garth backs down slightly, “No, it's just our experience that anyone wearing shoes like those,” he gestures down to Sam's nice looking shoes, “is usually a reporter looking to score an interview with Dean.”

Finally recovered, Sam asks, “Oh, you mean about his upcoming wedding?”

But Garth isn't thinking about that, “No, about him getting that asshole from Wichita fired.”

Sam looks down at his shoes, decides he's right, and admits, “I am a reporter. And you are?”

Garth reaches out his hand, “Garth Fitzgerald IV. The Tooth Fairy. I own this place.”

Seeing some movement behind him, Sam shakes Garth's hand, then politely asks, “And who's this guy behind you?”

One man steps forward, reaching out his hand, “Christian. Dean's married cousin.”

Sam feels a tap on his shoulder, and when he turns, the guy holds out his hand as well, “Mr. Pressman. No relation.”

With Sam to his attention back to Garth, Garth asks, “And you are?”

Without admitting his name, Sam says, “Looking for Dean.”

Garth nods, turning his head and calling, “Dean! Someone here to see you.”

In the back, they all can hear him call back, “Another reporter?”

After Garth confirms, it's a moment or two before footsteps are heard, and next thing they know, Dean Winchester is in the room with them.

Sam is stunned. Whatever he was expecting Dean to look like, what he sees blows that completely out of the water. A stark, defined face, with freckles sprinkled where his dimples would be, shocking candy apple green eyes, and short, spiky hair. Right away, he can see why so many people would fall in love with this man.

Dean immediately knows who Sam is, but attempts to be civil,

“Hope you got another way to spin it. Pretty much every reporter before you has it all covered.”

Sam just smiles, “Call me Mr. Original.”

Dean plays along, “Awesome.”

But Garth steps in, “Hold on. Nobody interviews Dean in my dental clinic unless they're getting their teeth examined.”

Sam shakes his head, “Sorry. Got that done before coming here.”

Mr. Pressman next to him pipes up again, “Excuse me, but I actually have something you might be interested to hear.”

Sam turns to listen, “Yes?”

“It's actually his fourth wedding, not his seventh like they said.”

Sam nods, having already known that, “I know. Tell me something. Do really think he's gonna make it down the aisle this time?”

While the two of them talk, Garth and Dean go off by themselves. Dean shows Garth the article, and upon seeing Sam's picture, Garth starts to gasp so badly, it triggers an asthma attack.

Upon being interrupted, Sam and Mr. Pressman turn their heads in concern, but Dean just waves them off, helping Garth use his inhaler.

“He's got asthma. It gets bad sometimes.” Dean tells them, before giving the inhaler another pump into Garth's lungs.

Once Garth can breathe again, the both of them look towards the empty room, and the gears start turning in their heads. Seeing Dean has an idea, Garth pipes up to Sam, who's still talking to Mr. Pressman about Dean's odds.

“Hey, you know what? Instead of a teeth checkup, how about a deep cleaning?”

Pleased at having an in so fast, Sam asks, “And you'll answer any questions I might have?”

Dean nods, and Sam takes off his jacket, saying, “Fine. You clean, I'll ask once I have a break.”

After getting Sam situated in the dental chair, bib and all, Dean prompts him, “So, what could you possibly have to ask me?”

Unseen, Garth grabs some green food coloring some patient had forgotten long ago, ready to add it to the fluoride once he's been rinsed once or twice.

“You nervous about attempt number 4?”

Dean answers immediately, almost a little too quickly, “Not even a little bit. Never been more sure about anything or anyone in my life. Other than these crazy dreams.”

Just then, Sam's head is reclined back so Garth can start cleaning his teeth.

Dean talks about his weird dreams, despite Sam being unable to ask any further questions. At one point, another customer walks in and sits down in the waiting room.

“In another one.” Dean says now, “I'm inside the church.  Everyone I know is there, only they're not really them. They're like these freakish monsters.  It's like "Night of the Living Dead". And here's the weirdest part -- I look down at my tuxedo, and it's powder blue.  I have no idea what that means. Dream or not, my wedding is not gonna be some 80s flick!”

Sam keeps listening as Garth finishes his last rinse on his teeth.

Dean stops his mini rant here to ask Sam, “What do you think?”

Sam thinks it's a little odd that Dean would stop mid rant to ask what he thinks, “I think you'd look good in a powder blue tuxedo.”

Garth sets down his tools, and hands Sam a handheld mirror, “No, he's talking about your teeth.”

One look in the mirror, and all is clear. Instead of his usual pearly whites, Sam's teeth are now stained green, like they're growing algae.

Silently, Sam stands up, asking, “Can I have my jacket, please?”

Upon being handed it, Sam says sarcastically, “Thank you.”

Upon seeing someone else in the waiting room, Sam asks him, “Excuse me, but do you know somewhere I can buy some dental products?”

The man responds, “Pharmacy a few blocks down. Tell them Pete sent you.”

Sam nods, committing it to memory, and exits the place.

Once outside, Sam starts walking, when he hears Dean say behind him, causing him to turn back around.

“Mr. Campbell, if you're looking for the pharmacy, it's that way.”

Rolling his eyes, Sam just says, “Thank you.” And starts walking the other way.

But Dean's not done yet, “If you're here in the pursuit of happiness, you might as well throw in the towel now. Cause you can't make me feel bad.”

Sam can't let Dean have the last word here, “I'm not here to make you feel bad. I'm here for vindication. In my heart of hearts, I know I'm right about you. You got me fired, and fucked up my teeth. You chew people up, spit them out and love it.”

Sam pauses for a moment to catch his breath, while several passerby laugh at his stained green teeth.

“You're going to do the same thing to poor bastard number four that you did to the last three.  You're gonna run again, and I'm not leaving until you do.”

Dean just shrugs him off, telling Sam, “Then prepared to be extremely disappointed.”

But Sam stands firm, “We'll see.”

Dean's finally had enough, saying, “Well, this has been fun, and I'd love to keep talking, but I still have a job to do.”

Sam shakes his head at Dean's retreating back, and continues his walk to the pharmacy. First things first, get his teeth back to pearly white like they're supposed to be.

Chapter Text

Dean doesn't even think about Sam being in town again until he heads home for the night, pulling into the driveway and heading into the house he shares with his dad and grandfather.

Upon entering the front door, he hears some small chitchat, so he calls out to make himself known,

“Hey! You're never gonna believe who showed up, tail between his legs.”

“Who?”

That voice isn't from his dad, grandfather, or Benny. When he enters the living room, he's in for another shock, as Sam is sitting on the couch talking to the three of them, like he owns the place.

“Hello, Dean.” Sam greets Dean, smirk on his face. Immediately, Dean's on guard. “I just stopped by to apologise to your family.” He turns his head towards John Winchester for this next part, “I was wrong. I fabricated a story, and I made a mistake.”

John pipes up here, “In other words, he's actually a human being. Even brought us a good bottle of whiskey.” He holds the bottle up to show Dean.

Sam laughs, “Even had to send the dog into the other room.”

John agrees, “Oh yeah. That dye job on his teeth scared the crap out of old Rumsfeld.”

Dean can't believe what he's seeing, “You can't be serious.”

Benny, enjoying the excitement, continues the conversation, “No, you should've seen it.” and starts growling, and because he's such a big guy, it likens him to a grizzly bear.

But seeing how Dean isn't laughing at all, Benny immediately stops, and stands up to join Dean, “Wasn't that funny, to be honest.”

Dean just gives him a look that clearly says he'll deal with him later, then grabs the whiskey and carries it into the kitchen. It's clear Benny is expected to follow.

“I'll just...yeah.” Benny awkwardly excuses himself, and follows Dean out of the room.

No words can be heard, other than than a few snippets here and there about wedding plans, which is enough to prompt Sam to ask John,

“Fighting this close to the wedding? Think this might be a sign they'll call it off?”

John completely waves the question off, telling him, “Wedding cake freezes. This we know.”

But then, Sam surprises himself by admitting, “You know, your son seems like such a charming guy.”

John gestures to the portrait of the blond woman on the wall, “Just like his mom, may she rest in peace.”

Sam looks at the portrait closely, and agrees, “Beautiful. He has her eyes.” But then he reminds himself why he's really here. “I still just can't see him leaving three grooms in the dust like that.”

“Yes you can!” Dean's grandfather, Henry, speaks up. “We got them all on video.”

It sounds too good to be true. “He has the videos?”

John nods, “Sure. Sean at the hotel does wedding videos. Course, Dean didn't know he was gonna be running for the hills.”

As Sam looks for the videos, John continues talking, possibly fueled by a little too much whiskey,

“I’ll give my son this much credit. He makes very impressive time, tuxedo and all. Dean may not be Lebanon's longest running joke, but he's definitely the fastest.” Followed by some loud snickering.

Henry only offers a good-natured sarcastic, “Ha ha.”

Finally Sam finds the videos, and just in time for dinner.

While the family sits around table eating their chili, with Sam joining them, John keeps up his conversation about Dean,

“Unfortunately, me and my Mary were only lucky enough to have one child, not for lack of trying.”

Dean shakes his head in embarrassment, “Oh yeah, real nice, Dad. Give him all the nitty gritty details.”

Sam accidentally drops his spoon, and leans down to grab it while John keeps talking,

“So I just consider it a stroke of sheer dumb luck that I'm able to pay for so many weddings.”

Dean intervenes here before Sam can say anything, “Not this one, Dad. This wedding is all on me.”

Sam finally gets a word in, “Seems only fair, don't you think?”

Dean gets defensive, “Regardless of how it may look, I don't do it on purpose, and have absolutely no intention of doing it again.”

Benny encourages him, “That's right Dean. Eyes on the prize.”

Sam's a little confused here, and upon seeing this, Benny explains, “Fishing psychology. Part of my job.”

Dean interjects here, to brag about his fiance, “Benny here has his own fishing boat. And he's one of the best short order cooks in town. And he's hiked the Pacific Crest Trail.”

Sam nods his appreciation. Anyone who can commit to hiking that far is definitely no pushover.

“The PCT. Ain't that the truth.”

“Twice.” Dean says, adding more emphasis on the feat.

Sam sees what Dean's doing, so he just plays along, “Oh yeah?”

“With a limited food supply.”

Benny blushes slightly, before saying, “My guy likes to show me off.” and planting a kiss on Dean's lips.

“I'm taking him hiking the 100 mile wilderness for our honeymoon.”

Sam can't hide his amusement at this news, “So romantic.”

Dean snaps, “We definitely think so.”

Sam comments sarcastically, “Nothing like sharing your romantic getaway with all the wild animals and who knows what else.”

John cracks up, and Dean gives Sam a dirty look, and before they know it, they're back to eating their chili in silence.

If tonight's conversation is anything to go by, Sam can't wait to get back to his hotel room so he can start to crack this story wide open.

Chapter Text

When Brady calls later, Sam's back in his hotel room, ready to start watching Dean's 3 previous weddings.

“Hey, stranger! How goes the story?”

“You're not gonna believe this.” Sam tells him over the phone while starting up the video. “I actually got a DVD of all three nuptial disasters.”

The video starts, with the words “Ash Harvelle wedding” and the camera pans around what looks to be a type of bar. Clearly this was not your average wedding.

“If it's truth and facts people want, I got them.” Sam notes as he focuses on the video, which has a cover band play “Canon in D.” as Dean comes into the room, where all the guests either look like they're part of a gang or have at least attempted to look nice.

Dean himself is wearing a leather jacket and tie, and honestly? Sam can believe that Dean is genuinely happy here. There's a smile on his face, and then he's finally by the groom, who's dressed in a shirt that clearly has the sleeves cut off, and playing with the band as Dean makes his way to him.

Sam finishes up his conversation with Brady on the phone, “I'll send you the notes once I got them.” Pause. “Okay. Love to you and Jess. Bye.” Then he hangs up, turning all his attention back to the video.

But then the music stops, and as Ash calls for the preacher in the corner to come up, the camera catches Dean looking back at everyone, and suddenly, Dean's entire demeanor changes, and in the next shot, Dean's bolting out of the room.

To the camera guy's credit, he attempts to follow Dean out, and successfully catches a glimpse of Dean starting up a motorcycle and riding away.

Sam is shocked. But he can't stop now, he has two more weddings to get through. He fast forwards the tape until he sees the venue change. This time it's a church, and the words, “Gadreel Penikett wedding” appear on the screen, and traditional music can be heard.

The camera shows the stained glass windows, then moves back to the ceremony, where the back doors are opening, and both grooms’ parties are walking down the aisle, complete with ring bearer and best man.

Then, “Ave Maria” can be heard, and the camera pans to where Dean is now walking down the aisle, in a gray suit that definitely doesn't look out of place in this wedding. Once again, Dean is smiling, and he even has another kid following behind him.

But just like the first one, possibly even earlier, Dean's barely made to the end of the aisle before he immediately turns to the right and goes back to the entrance. The little boy attempts to keep up, trying to grab Dean's suit, but it proves to be futile, as Dean just keeps walking, not even acknowledging the kid, and by the time Dean's left the church, the kid's fallen over, having tripped over one of Dean's feet in his mad dash to get out. The kid can only shake his head.

Sam's right there with the kid, shaking his own head and chuckling, “I can't believe it.” as he starts the last wedding.

The white text reads “Castiel Novak wedding”, before the scene opens on some type of farm. The first notable detail is the faint hum that can be heard. As the camera pans over the ceremony and decorations, it becomes apparent what it is; the wedding is at a bee sanctuary.

This time, when Dean's coming down the aisle, he's wearing a white tuxedo, with a bee helmet, as well as the other groom and everyone else there, so they don't have to worry about being stung.

This time the preacher manages to say a few words here, “Dearly beloved we're gathered here today…” before the first hiccup of the wedding happens, and for once, it's not Dean running. Instead, a bunch of bees get too close to Dean's face, and even with the helmet on, he can't help but swat at the sight of them.

Upon seeing this, the preacher stops and asks, “Can we maintain control of the bees? What's going on with the bees? Bees look like they're more anxious than Dean here.”

But then, just as the two before, at first it looks like he's just trying to get away from the bees, as he keeps swatting, but when he's a fair enough distance away, he doesn't stop. He keeps going, and the camera then pans back to the other groom, who looks like someone stepped all over his heart.

To Dean's credit, he does look back for a hot second before continuing his run.

And just like that, Sam has the whole skinny on weddings 1, 2, and 3.

Holy shit. Here he was making Dean out to be a monster, and here he just saw a switch go off in Dean's head 3 times. This is gold.

When he heads to bed, and he's satisfied the notes on the weddings are up to his standards, he shuts off the light and closes his eyes.

Today, weddings. Tomorrow, the grooms.

Chapter Text

“What about the white tuxedo?”

“No, I had a white tuxedo groom last time. I don't wanna jinx this one. And besides, he's not thick enough to be Benny.”

Dean is having a very tedious conversation with the baker for the wedding, Mrs. Trout, over the wedding cake toppers. He's had to do this with every wedding, and it never goes by any faster.

Mrs. Trout now picks up another groom topper, setting it on the fake cake for reference, “Then why not something traditional?”

Dean admits, “That would be a good one. But maybe just a tad too delicate for Benny?”

“But he's got the Benz's eyes.” Someone says from the bakery's entrance, popping his head next to where the other two are leaned over the counter.

Dean rolls his eyes at the fact that once again, Sam Campbell has shown up to make this already tedious task even worse.

Sam pipes up again, pretending to study the topper, “No, I'm wrong. The Benz's eyes are a little closer, almost beady-eyed.”

Remembering his manners, Sam introduces himself to Mrs. Trout, “Hello. Could i have a coffee, please?”

Seeing she now has another customer, Mrs. Trout immediately jumps to ring it up, “Yes, of course.”

“And…” Sam stops to sniff. “What's that yummy smell?” He turns his head and spots the culprit, “Oh, the baklava! Could I get one of those too? Thank you very much.”

Mrs. Trout smiles, “Okay. No problem.” She turns back to Dean for a moment, pointing to a completely different groom topper, “Dean, I say this one is the best you.”

Before Dean can even reach for it, Sam has already picked it up, along with the potential Benny groom Dean had been examining, saying, “Lemme see that.”

Sam studies it for a few moments, but then, he raises the Dean topper, fake hammering the Benny one, saying, “Bambambambambam!”

As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Sam then proceeds to make like the Benny topper is wounded and running away, mocking his voice, “Ow, ow! Help me!” then he sighs, holding the Dean topper upright again. “Yep. That's him, alright.”

Mrs. Trout can't help but be amused by that little show, and laughs out loud. “You're Sam Campbell, aren't you?”

Sam nods, “Yes I am. And you are…?”

She introduces herself, “I'm Martha Trout.”

Sam continues to talk to her, “So, I'm guessing you're making the cake?”

After confirming, Sam presses on to the other question, “And supposedly you're throwing the…”

She cuts him off, reaching out to grab Sam's sleeve and straightening it out, telling him, “I'm throwing the Mardi Gras party for Dean.”

Sam's taken aback, “A pre wedding Mardis Gras party?”

She surprises Dean by what she says next, “If you're still here by then, you should stop by.”

Dean interjects, not letting Sam respond, “No! No, he doesn't wanna come.”

But Sam's not gonna let Dean speak for him, “I wouldn't miss it.” He rings the service bell, for the hell of it. “I'll definitely be there. Thanks for the invite.”

Dean can't take it, marching over to where Sam's at the register, “Is this gonna be a new thing with you? Following me all day?”

Sam just smiles, and says, “No.” To Mrs. Trout, “I'll see you later.” and exits the bakery, coffee and pastry in hand.

Dean takes his spot back at the counter, reminding her, “You know he's not a nice person, right?”

Mrs. Trout looks like someone dumped water on her head, and tries to cover for herself, “Yeah, I know that!”

Then, Dean rather forcefully sets the Dean and Benny toppers in front of him.

“These work. Nothing wrong with the eyes at all.”

And now he can go visit his fiance on his boat and forget about Sam Campbell for the rest of the day. Win-win.

Chapter Text

Benny's fishing boat is noisy when Dean finally manages to climb aboard, and one of the crew members greets him, “Hi, Mr. Winchester!”

Dean looks completely out of place on the boat, so he just stays hunched in on himself, and barely acknowledges the greeting.

Another crew member, one on the younger side, walks up to him and says, “Dean, come on. Don't marry the captain. Marry me! I love you.”

Dean doesn't feel up to playing along, so he sends the kid on his way, saying, “You're jailbait, and you know it. Go away. Get back to work.”

Elsewhere on the boat, they're hauling up one of the many catches of the day, and who should be helping but Sam Campbell, all dressed up for the job, right next to Benny.

Upon seeing Dean, Benny moves out of the way to go give him a kiss, “Hey, Dean-o. How are you?”

Dean hugs Benny briefly, saying, “Good.” But when he sees Sam, his smile immediately drops. “What could he possibly be doing now?”

Benny doesn't see the issue here, telling Dean, “He just wanted to check out the boat and crew, see us do our job.”

Sam pipes up, “And of course, talk about you!”

Dean sees all sorts of red flags here, grabbing Benny and moving him slightly away, “You're not making friends with this guy, are you?”

Again, Benny doesn't really get why Dean's acting like this, “All I'm saying is how good you are to me. That's it. Oh, and about how I'm the luckiest man alive to be marrying you.”

Dean smiles at that reassurance, and gives Benny another kiss, and gives him a big hug.

Sam decides he's seen enough, and after the netting has made it back onto the boat, tells Benny, “I should really get going. Lot of people to talk to. Words to write down. I'll see you two love birds later.” And walks away, allowing the crew to help him onto a lifeboat, and take him back to shore.

Benny calls out to him before he gets too far away, “See you at the wedding!” Which is definitely news to Dean.

Dean makes Benny look at him as he demands to know, “You invited him to the wedding? Are you insane? You realize he's writing another article about me, right?”

Then, Benny finally decides to clue Dean in, “Of course I do. But you're not running this time. C'mere. Gimme some sugar.” and gives Dean a hard squeeze, before surprising Dean by lifting him up, and shouting,

“Boys! Take my man for a ride on his chariot!”

And the next thing Dean knows, he's been hooked onto the hook reserved for the fishing nets. And while he makes a show of excitement, the truth is he's terrified. In the distance, he can barely make out Sam leaving the riverside, and suddenly, he realizes what Sam's doing.

Hopefully Gadreel will be willing to see him on such short notice.

The confession window slides open, and Dean begins to speak,

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. My last confession was...well, never, but anyway. I have a sort of weird question for you. I've been having ugly thoughts. Like, seriously messed up thoughts.”

Tell pastor speaks, in an even voice, “Of impure nature?”

Dean quickly assures him, “No, no. I want to rip this man apart and destroy everything he loves. Don't even care what it is. I want revenge. How bad is that, sin wise? Is there a way I can do that without going to hell?”

“My child, a sin of the heart is still a-.”

Dean interrupts here, because the charade is already getting old, “It's Dean. It was 5 years ago we were doing way more than just things of impure nature. So drop the act, alright? It's annoying.”

Gadreel does drop the act, telling Dean, “Don't be so quick to jump all over me.” And slides the window closed.

But Dean just starts knocking the window, “Hey, wait! Gad, I need to talk to you! It's really important.”

Gadreel steps out of his side of the booth, calling Dean out, “Dean. Dean!” and once Dean's out, he tells him, “You're not even Catholic, so really, you shouldn't be here at all.”

Dean feels bad, but what he came here for is too important, “I'm sorry. I'm just seriously stressed out about this reporter in town. I just came here to warn you he might stop by here and ask you all these stupid questions.”

Gadreel tells him, “Well, actually there was only one kind of stupid question. The rest of them weren't that bad.”

Dean can't believe it. He has to sit down in one of.the pews, “What? He was here? You talked to him? Did you tell him about how we were together before you joined the priesthood?”

Gadreel replies, “Of course. In fact, I think I was a good influence on you.”

But that's not enough for Dean, “Exactly what questions did he ask you?”

Gadreel answers, “Only respectful stuff. Your taste in music. Stuff we had in common. Did you ruin my life when you left me at the altar?”

Okay. Sounds respectful enough so far. “Oh. What did you tell him?”

Gadreel tells the truth, “I said, how can I be angry when clearly, God had other plans for me?”

Looks like Dean dodged a bullet. “That's a good one. Should make for an interesting read for his little article.”

But Gadreel needs Dean to know, “But, Dean, that's how I really feel.”

Dean nods, figuring as much. He stands up from the pew, telling him, “I should go. The guy's nuts. But I'm pretty sure I know who he's gonna talk to next.”

Gadreel whispers a blessing at Dean's retreating back, but Dean stops, because he can't help but wonder. “What was the kind of stupid question be asked you?”

Gadreel answers, “He wanted to know what kind of eggs you liked.”

Dean doesn't get why a reporter would go to the trouble to ask that, so he walks away again, thinking out loud, “Not like anyone would remember after this long anyway.”

“Over hard with toast. Same as me.”

Dean has to turn around when he hears that, because despite Gadreel's assurance that he wasn't mad, the fact that he still remembers tells Dean he's still not quite over him.

“You know, I really am sorry for the way I hurt you, Gad.”

Again, Gadreel assures him, “Dean, I'm good where I am now. This is clearly where I'm meant to be. But, if you ever do get baptized as a Catholic, would you please confess to someone else?”

Dean nods. He can do that much. “Of course.”

Once he's back in the car, he stops to compose himself. That was harder than he thought.

This is all that asshole reporters fault. What the hell is he doing to him?

Chapter Text

Dean pulls up to the Roadhouse, rushing inside, only to find no one in sight.

“Ash? You in here?”

There's no reply, except for some sort of loud crash from the back, and who should come through the door but Ash himself, triumphantly holding up a cassette tape.

“Go me! I found it!” Ash says as he sits back down in front of his laptop on the bar counter.

Dean can't help but smile. Regardless if they didn't work out, Ash always did have awesome taste in music. “Found what?”

Ash looks up, and upon seeing Dean, he gives a smile back, “The tape of that concert we went to! Remember? Led Zeppelin?”

He attempts to open it, but finds the tape broken. Disappointed, he immediately starts typing. “I'll find another bootleg online. Nowhere is safe from me.”

Before long, loud music is playing, and Dean has to shout to be heard,

“Ash, I need you to listen to me.”

“Uh huh.” Ash replies as he keeps typing away.

“A reporter's in town hell bent on making me miserable. If he shows up, please please please do not show him that picture of us in Dallas.”

A loud guffaw is heard, and Dean turns to look for the source. “What the hell was that?”

But then, something seems to click for Dean, and he glares at Ash as he peers over the counter.

Ash asks him, as he pauses the music, “We went down to Dallas twice. That one time when the van broke down. Which picture is it?”

But what Dean sees behind the counter dashes any hopes he might've had of Sam not seeing that picture.

“Imagine Dean Winchester shirtless in a public area.” He looks at the picture again, “Looks like it might've been chilly too.”

Dean attempts to reach for the picture, to snatch it away, but with a big guy like Sam, he has next to no hope. “Give it!”

Sam keeps it out of Dean's reach, continuing his teasing as he gets up from his hiding spot, “Although, the picture is a bit blurry, so I can't see that flaming pentagram tattoo on your chest.”

This is actually enough for Ash to get up from his seat and tell Dean, “Sam here bet me 50 bucks that you don't still have it. I took it without blinking an eye, cause I knew you loved that thing. Plus, I could seriously use 50 bucks.”

Dean doesn't have time for these childish games, “I am not showing either of you anything. I am a husband-to-be. Now give me that fucking picture!” He seethes as he makes another desperate grab for the picture, but Sam refuses to hand it over moving further away.

“Nuh uh uh. One little peek at that magnificent tattoo, and this picture is all yours.”

Dean tries one more time, and Ash is still looking at him, hopeful. But it's no use. He's gonna have to come clean. He can only hope Ash understands.

“Fine! Fine. You want a look so damn bad, here.” He pulls the neckline of his shirt down enough to where the tattoo should've been, but instead, there's nothing. Bare as the day he was born. Dean releases his neckline, glaring at Sam, “Happy?”

Sam smirks knowingly, “Completely.”

Ash is stunned. “Dean? You got it removed?”

Sam can't resist pouring salt on the wound, “Ash, I'll bet you double or nothing it was a stick-on.”

Dean sighs at having to admit the truth, “Ash, I really don't like needles. But it's just a tattoo! Who cares?”

Sam laughs loudly at hearing this, and Dean gives him a death glare, but it's Ash that steals the show by pulling the bottom of his shirt up, revealing none other than the flaming pentagram on his hip.

Dean hates how much worse this whole thing is getting, and when Sam sees it, he sighs in sympathy.

“I don't think his is fake. Poor guy is heartbroken.”

Dean snaps at Sam, “No he's not!”

Ash goes back to his laptop, “I think I am, actually.”

Dean tries to reason with Ash, “No, you're not! You have the bar, you went to MIT, you're not-.”

But Dean's interrupted by Ash putting the music back on, so Dean just whispers to him, “We'll talk more later, alright?” then makes a beeline straight past Sam, this time successfully snatching the picture away from Sam.

As Dean storms out, Ash asks Sam, “Sam? What would Jimmy do?”

Sam says simply, “He'd rock out.”

This is satisfying enough for Ash, “Jimmy would rock out!”

“He would rock out.”

Since it looks like Ash is gonna want to be alone for a while, Sam decides to go see what the rest of the townsfolk are up to. He heard there might be something going on at the park.

Chapter Text

Dean and Garth are driving to where the softball game is just starting, when they see Sam Campbell bonding with some of Lebanon's upstanding members of society. Both of them roll their eyes and focus on getting to the game.

An hour or two later, the game is still going strong, both Dean and Garth cheering loudly as Garth's wife is up to bat. Garth attempts to cheer louder, but Dean in his softball cap can't be matched.

When they have a moment to chat, Dean doesn't waste any time talking about what's bothering him, “Okay, can we talk about me? He's gonna rip me apart over that stupid tattoo. Go on and on about how I had one eye on the door the entire time we were together and shit.”

Garth asks, “And all for what? Satisfaction?”

Dean nods, “That's what he keeps telling everyone he interviews. But come on. He's got 'new article' written all over him.”

Garth states what he doesn't realize is the obvious, “Perhaps because you got the poor guy fired?”

Dean rolls his eyes, “No shit, Sherlock.”

Garth starts, “Not saying he didn't deserve it…” but he gets distracted as he sees his wife is heading to second base. “Go, Bess!”

As Bess slides into second base successfully, Dean catches a glimpse of Sam Campbell and comments, “Goddamn. He'll do anything to get a good story, won't he?”

Garth is more focused on his wife, but makes some offhand comment, “Gotta admit, he looks a lot better now that he's bleached his teeth back to normal. Pretty attractive guy.”

Seeing Sam's making his way over to them, Dean stands up, “Hell no. I need to get away for a bit. You deal with him.” and gets down from the bench to cheer over by the dugout.

Next thing Garth knows, Sam's coming up to sit in Dean's spot, greeting him, “Hey, Garth Fitzgerald IV, the Tooth Fairy.”

Garth attempts to protest, “That's Dean's seat.”

Sam pays it no mind, picking up the cup of beer in front of him, “And this is Dean's beer.” and taking a sip.

Seeing Bess is about to trying to steal third base, Sam asks Garth, “That's your wife out there, right?”

Garth lights up at having been asked, “Yeah. Have you heard her podcast about home cooking, Waking Up on the Fitz?”

Sam gives an amused smile and says, “Not yet. This morning I was very much off the fitz. But looks to me like she's a damn good softball player too.”

Garth confirms, “Absolutely. She was a real big shot in high school. Made all star on the softball team and everything.”

Sam inquires, “Aw, I bet you loved to brag about her back then.”

Garth stops to take a sip of his drink, “Actually, that was when everyone was convinced Dean and Bess were gonna get together. I mean, they hung out, he helped her with her arm, she insisted on treating him to pizza to celebrate a good game. But it never went further than that, obviously…” Garth trails off here, because Bess has successfully made it to third base.

Garth takes the opportunity to stand up and cheer, “Good going, Bess!” But wouldn't you know it, Bess is too busy paying attention to Dean, who's going nuts cheering by the dugout.

Garth abruptly sits back down, and Sam takes advantage and asks, “It's so great that they still managed to keep up their friendship, isn't it?”

Garth tries to stay upbeat here, “Of course. It was so long ago. See, he's not really a heartbreaker.”

Then, Bess finally gets to home base, and surprise surprise, Dean's right there, giving Bess a huge hug, lifting her up in the air, with Garth all but forgotten. Whether Garth said anything or not, Sam knows he's hurt by this little display.

Garth stands up again, telling Sam, “I gotta go... yeah.” and getting down from the bench, and walking away.

Meanwhile, Dean finally sets Bess back down, in time to see Garth get up from the bleachers and walk away, while Sam writes something down in a small notebook.

Unbelievable. What did this asshole do now? Dean gives Sam an accusing look as he marches back to his seat, plopping down and demanding,

“You’ve barely been here for 3 minutes. What the hell did you do to him?”

Sam's well prepared for this, immediately defending himself, “Try looking in a mirror.” and mimicking Dean and Bess’ little hug sesh from a moment ago.

Dean finally gets it, and go on the offense, “You don't know shit about any of us. We've been friends nearly our whole lives. But clearly you wouldn't know friendship from another fuck buddy.”

Sam simply says, “I am not the only one who doesn't know a friend from a fuck buddy. The USS Dean leaves quite a wake.”

Then Sam excuses himself, getting up and leaving the field.

Dean tries to forget about all of it, focusing on the game. “Stupid reporter. Stirring up shit for no reason.”

Several more players hit a ball, and he claps for them. “See? I'm cheering. That's not wrong. Guy doesn't know what he's talking about.”

But Dean has a feeling he'll be stopping by the Tooth Fairy later anyway. Goddamnit, why does this stupid reporter keep doing this to him?

Chapter Text

Next morning, Garth is unlocking the Tooth Fairy, going to turn on the lights, and he's actually so focused on that, he walks right past Dean in one of the waiting room chairs, looking a little upset.

“Do you think I flirt with Bess?” Is the first thing Dean says, before even a hello.

Garth turns his head, greeting Dean. “Well hello to you too.” Then he notices Dean's in the same clothes as yesterday. “You're looking good.”

“Thank you.” Dean acknowledges. “Do you think I flirt with Bess?”

Seeing Dean's not gonna let this go, Garth decides to tell the truth, “Yes.”, before going to make himself some coffee.

“I don't mean to.” Dean tells him, completely apologetic.

“I know.” Garth assures him, while walking back to where Dean's seated. “You just sometimes spaz out with all this flirtatious energy from your youth, and it's so enticing, it attracts anything that moves.”

Dean can't believe Garth's never said anything before now. “Anything that moves? What, instead of anything that doesn't?”

Garth attempts to make a joke. “Like certain types of coral.”

But Dean's still too upset over Garth's admission, “God. Forget being sent to hell. I'm going voluntarily.”

Garth asks politely, “Why?”

Dean thinks this should be obvious, “Because! Clearly you think I'm all like, ‘Hey, pretty lady! Come sit by me!’”

Garth snorts, and tells him, “No I don't. I think you're like, ‘I’m a good looking guy and I know it, and something about me is just dying to give all this attention to someone like you.’ There's no competing with it. Especially when the competition is us married men who have lost our mystery.”

Dean immediately jumps to Garth's defense, “What're you talking about? You're plenty mysterious.”

Garth corrects him, “Thank you, but no. I'm weird. Weird and mysterious are two completely different things.”

Dean tries again, “I'm a weird guy.”

Garth corrects him again, “No no. You're edgy. Edgy and weird are two very different things.”

Dean has to try to find some way to make this right. “Garth, I think there's no denying, that I am completely and utterly fucked up. But, nevertheless, I swear from here on out, I promise to never flirt with Bess again.”

Garth can see that Dean is genuinely upset here, and now that he seems to be ready to listen, he decides to let Dean off the hook, while also giving Dean some advice,

“No, I'm not worried about you and Bess, or me and Bess, or even about you being fucked up. But, come on, Dean. You've been like this for so long, even in middle and high school. Now that you know how much it hurts others, maybe it's time for you hang it up and settle down with someone. With Benny, even, if he's the one.”

Dean agrees with him, “Maybe you're right.” But still. “Sure there's nothing I can do to make it up to you?”

Garth thinks about it, for Dean’s sake, before coming up with something. “Coca cola pop rocks.”

Dean can't believe Garth would ask him to do that. “What? Come on. That face was only funny in camp when we genuinely believed our faces we're gonna freeze like that.”

Garth shrugs, “Give it a try. Let's see.”

Dean rolls his eyes, but finally agrees, “Okay…” and pulls his mouth apart with both hands while simultaneously crossing his eyes. Once he releases his mouth, he hides his face, “So embarrassing.”

Garth can't help it. It's so ridiculous, but it always makes him laugh, regardless of how many years it's been. “Thank you, Dean.”

With that, there's not much of a reason for Dean to stick around, so they hug and say goodbye to each other, and Dean goes on his way.

Now that that's settled, time for Dean to go do a little snooping on one Mr. Campbell.

Chapter Text

When Dean gets to the Buckshot Inn, he doesn't see Sam's car, so he likes his chances of snooping uninterrupted.

He walks right in, telling the desk clerk, who's taking a small nap because of the slow service day, “Hey. Wake up. Gimme the key to the reporter's room. I wanna snoop.”

Naturally, Lee just hands it over, telling him, “Don't take anything huge, alright?”

Dean makes his way through the hotel, climbing the stairs to the second floor. Once he checks to see if the coast is clear, he uses the key and unlocks the door.

After a quick glance through the room, he spots a cassette tape on the desk by the door. Dean can't deny he's curious. What kind of music does a guy like Sam Campbell even like? Upon closer inspection, he sees it's a tape by Vince Vincente. That seems to be reason enough for Dean to pocket the tape. “Really doing the guy a favor if he's listening to this garbage.”

As he looks through the rest of the room, he sees a bunch of sticky notes all along the frame of a painting in the room. Dean takes a closer look at one of them, and reads it out loud, “How did he get all of them to propose? He's not even that attractive.” He scoffs at this, pulling it off and pocketing it with the tape. “Bite me, geek boy.”

But then he can't help himself and reads another one, and before he knows it, he's pulling several of the notes off and pocketing them as well. If that wasn't bad enough, he sees the DVD with his weddings by the TV, and he snatches this too. “Butting in where you don't belong much?”

He would've snatched up more of he hadn't heard the sound of the door handle jiggling. With quick thinking, he dashes for the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, because Sam sees him right as he closes the door, as well as seeing many of his notes gone along with the wedding video.

But Dean gives himself away anyway, with a loud audible bang as he tries to get the bathroom window open.

Sam is pissed, going for the door and banging on it, “Alright, I know you're in there, dumbass. You stole my notes, and you came in here without my consent. Open the damn door. Nowhere to go.”

But what Sam can't see is Dean finally getting the window open, and making his climb out of the room. “Whaddya say to an interview? Question one. Why do you insist on being such a goddamn pain in the ass!” he shouts, slamming his gigantic body against the door in a bid to open it.

On Dean's side, he made it onto the ledge, and now he's slowly sliding away from the window. He can hear Sam yelling, “Alright I'm coming in. One. Two. Three!” and a bang as the door gives, and pretty soon, Sam's sticking his head out the window.

“You realize breaking and entering is a crime right? I'm gonna call the sheriff on you.” Sam threatens.

But Dean just plays it off as he keeps sliding away, turning a corner and looking back to tell Sam, “Yeah, you do that. Oh, by the way, could you remind him he's bringing the booze for the Mardis Gras party? One less call I gotta make. Thanks a bunch.” before he keeps going without stopping.

Nothing Sam can do now, but apparently he's not the only one that saw Dean, because his next door neighbor at the hotel calls out, “Hey, Sam. Your friend got a cousin?”

Sam's frustrated, but he squeezes in one last jibe for the night, “Give it a week. Then you can have the original all to yourself.”

Looks like Dean was right. Vince Vincente is still crappy. But he keeps listening, although he's not sure why. Maybe it's because it's the first time he's actually getting an inside look at the guy that's been making his life hell ever since he first wrote that stupid article. Maybe it's the notes that he's taken a closer look at since taking them.

Or maybe it's just the one note that he dropped on the floor upon seeing it, because he never let himself think about how true it is. At least not until Sam Campbell showed up.

“Shows no remorse.”

Chapter Text

“It was the heat of the moment telling me what your heart meant. The heat of the moment shown in your eye.”

It's the next morning after Dean's little breaking and entering stunt, and he's quietly serenading Sam Campbell to wake him up.

“A look from you and I would fall from grace. And that would wipe this smile right from my face. Do you remember when we used to dance? And incident arose from circumstance.”

Finally, Sam starts to stir, and immediately, Dean tell him, “Whoa there, tiger.” Which causes Sam to flinch, prompting Dean to tell him, “You better hold on damn tight to those covers. I'm not here to see little Sammy.”

It's almost comical, how exposed Sam is right now, the covers barely covering all 6 feet of him. Sam sighs, still half asleep. “I take it the desk clerk is another future husband?”

Dean ignores this, going straight to the real reason he's here. “So, as you know, I read your little notes. Or at least, I tried to, with all your chicken scratch for handwriting.”

Sam's more awake now, so he adjusts himself a little. “And your point here is what again?”

Dean continues, “The point is that just like before, you have it all wrong, and that's not good for either of us. That being said, I have a way for both of us to get what we want. I'm gonna help you write the true story.”

Sam doesn't believe it for a hot second, “Oh really?”

Dean nods, “Yep. I'll cooperate and tell you anything you want to know about me or my past three weddings. But in return, I want a grand.”

Sam groans at that price. “Knew there was a catch somewhere.”

Dean immediately goes into what the money would be for, “I want an awesome wedding, with an equally awesome tux. For a grand, I'll let you ask anything you want and continue to follow me around.”

Sam finally decides to get up, throw a robe on, and make some coffee to wake him up. “Magazine doesn't spend money for interviews. It's not exactly ethical what you're asking.”

But Dean has something else in mind, “No, not the magazine. You. Since you got fired, you probably got severance, expenses or both. Which means you're writing this thing on spec. An interview from the genuine article could guarantee that thing will sell.”

Sam takes a sip, thinking it over, before finally saying, “Too high. Go lower.”

“750”

“500”

“650”

At that, Sam finally turns to him, and agrees, “Deal.”

In Dean's room, Sam says, “Wow. I have to say, this stuff is very impressive.”, looking at all the things Dean's made and welded out of used car parts. “You know if you really wanted, you could sell these at a car show. Or even Wichita.”

Dean just shrugs it off. “Someday maybe.”

Sam calls Dean out on it, “What, you don't think you can?”

Dean defends himself, “Not that I don't think I can, just...maybe someday.”

Then he shakes it off, getting up to where he keeps the rings. “All right. You wanted to see the rings, hear the proposals?”

Sam's excited, following Dean. “You bet your ass I do.”

Dean pulls one out, opening it. “This is Ash.” It's a very unique band, a loop of metal with the words, “I am a traveler of time and space.” stamped on it.

“He proposed at a Led Zeppelin concert, while we were standing in the beer line. Which I thought was nice, until he realized he had too much already and threw up on my feet.”

Sam winces in sympathy, “Little mood killer.”

Dean shrugs, “It was still nice despite that.”, then puts it back, opening another one. This one is sterling silver, with “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" engraved on it in cursive. “This is Gadreel.”

Sam immediately nods, “Father Gadreel.”

Dean tells him, “He took me to Jerusalem, and got down on one knee in front of the wailing wall.”

Sam cringes, and Dean smacks him on the shoulder, “Hey. It was touching.”

He sets that one down, and picks up the last box, showing Sam a rose gold ring shaped like a ring of honeycombs.

“And this one is Castiel. He proposed at a bee sanctuary. The same one we almost got married at. The ring was stuck to a honeycomb he'd pulled out of a hive.”

Sam shudders, “Little too Fried Green Tomatoes for me.”

Dean tells him, “Cass is a beekeeper. Thought it was a very unique touch.”

For the last ring, Dean just holds up his left hand. “And finally, we have Benny.” When Sam gets a closer look, he can see the ring has a chain with an anchor design all around the ring.

“He proposed after a private movie screening…” Dean pauses here, “For Into the Wild.”

Sam doesn't let him finish, “Wait. Don't tell me. The end credits said, 'Will you marry me?’”

Dean tells Sam honestly, “It was one of the best moments of my life.”

Sam shakes his head, “Little suspicious, don't you think?”

Dean raises his eyebrows, “What? Come on. It was very romantic.”

Sam's still skeptical, “If you have to go to all that trouble just to ask the question, it's not a true proposal.”

Sam goes to sit down here, “I think the most anyone can say is, 'Look. I guarantee there will be tough times, and I guarantee one of us is gonna want out. But I also know that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, because I know you're the only one for me.’”

Wow. Dean definitely wasn't expecting that. “Nice. I mean, it would look better in the end credits of a movie.” But, he wonders something. “Is that what you said to your wife?”

Sam's surprised Dean could pick up on that. Dean tells him, “Don't look so shocked. You have divorce written all over you. Anyway, is that what you said to her?”

For a moment, he considers lying, but instead Sam says, “Pfft. No. I waited till I got my finals back, took her out to celebrate, and said something like, “So, you and me. We make a good team. Maybe we should, whaddya think, huh?”

Dean has to laugh hearing that. “Oh wow. Make way for loverboy over here. And still didn't marry your soulmate with a proposal like that?”

Sam sighs and throws his hands in the air, embarrassed.

“What happened?”

Sam decides there's no harm in telling Dean the truth, “I don't know.”

Dean can't believe it. “You don't know?”

“Nope.”

Dean has to try and knock some sense into Sam here, “Ever thought about asking her?”

Sam nods, not really thinking too hard on it. Then he shakes his head. “Alright. I think it's time we go take care of my end of the deal, don't you think?”

Whatever happened between them, it seems to be gone now. “You're right. Let's get going.”

Chapter Text

Sam and Dean make their way to the tuxedo place, looking at the one featured on display.

“Despite everything, I still have yet to tie the knot, and I still deserve a killer tux.”

With that, the both of them enter the shop, and there's a little kid getting fit for a tuxedo in progress. Upon seeing Dean, he moves to hide behind his dad.

Dean asks him, “Hey, little buddy. Where are you going?”

The guy doing the measurements explains, “You'll have to excuse him. Some of the kids are afraid of you since you tripped that little boy.”

Dean never thought too hard on it, but he still tries to explain, “No, no. He tripped on his shoelaces, not my foot.”

But that's all Dean's able to get out, because Mr. Whittenmeyer walks up to him, greeting him, “Oh, Dean. Good. You're here for your tuxedo.”

But Dean's too excited, “Actually, Mr. W, I decided…” he tells him, leading him to the display window, “That I want to get this tux.”

Dean smiles, hoping the older man shares his excitement. But unfortunately, that hope is in vain, because Mr. W says, “The one you have on hold is quite dashing.”

Dean tries not to let the mood dampen, “Yeah, but I've changed my mind.”

But Mr. W isn't having it, “It's a thousand dollars, Dean.”

Dean says loud enough for Sam to hear, “And I have a thousand dollars!”

Mr. W continues to hold firm, “The one you have on hold is only three hundred dollars.”

Dean tries to hold onto the enthusiasm he came in the shop with, asking him, “Is that tuxedo for sale?”

Finally, Mr. W tells Dean what he really thinks, “Just seems like a lot to spend on a tuxedo for you. After all, you always wind up only wearing them for about 10 minutes.”

And that's when Sam really pays attention to Dean here. Whatever excitement he had over getting a new tuxedo, it's gone, thanks to the shop owner's consistent bullying. Maybe it really isn't so easy being Dean.

Deflated, Dean goes to sit down, all his energy having been drained, “You're right. You're right. The other tuxedo is nice.”

Sam will later chalk up what he does next to pure pity and sympathy, as he stands up and calls out to Mr. W, “Excuse me, Mr. Whittenmeyer, can I talk to you over here?”

After leading the older man away, Sam starts asking, “I'm an out of towner. You're a salesperson, right? You sell tuxedos?”

Mr. W says proudly, “I've been at it for 30 years and counting.”

Sam throws his head back in mock joy, “Oh, good. Mr. Winchester is here to buy one. And not just any tuxedo. He wants THAT tuxedo.” He tells him, pointing to it.

Mr. W tries to reason with Sam, “It's a thousand dollars!”

Sam claps his hands together in frustration, "Listen, I suck at verbal communication, so how about visual?”

Sam shocks everyone, including Dean, by going up to the display, picking up the mannequin with both hands, and saying,

“We're buying this tuxedo. This handsome tuxedo, and anything else he wants, he can have it. All right?”

Mr. W gives a pleading look to Dean, but Dean just says, “Don't look at me.”

When Dean walks out in the tuxedo, he steps up onto the pedestal, asking Sam, who's reading the newspaper, “Well? How'd I do?”

When Sam looks up, he's shocked at how seriously attractive Dean looks in that tuxedo.

“You look…” but he trails off here as he sees Dean's expectant look. “You look fine.” Sam finally says dismissively, going back to his paper.

Dean sees right through it, “Fine? You're reading the paper upside down. Gotta be better than fine.”

When Sam doesn't respond, Dean tries again, “Come on. Look at me. Admire me! Try and picture me. I'll have my hair spiked with gel. Or maybe not, since we're mostly going au natural. And my favorite feature is that no matter which way I turn, it still looks awesome. See?”

Dean turns, and he's right. “Bam.” He turns again. “Bam.” he turns two more times, “Bam! Bam!”

Sam admits, “Very nice choice. Benny's gonna love it.”

In all honesty, Dean completely forgot about Benny. And that reminds him of something else.

“Right, Benny. Oh, Benny! We gotta get going. We're supposed to go meet him!”

Well that was an abrupt change of mood. Dean runs back to change out of the tuxedo, while Sam goes to take care of the bill.

First he stands up for Dean, now he's actually able to see him as a groom? What the hell is happening to him?

Chapter Text

Sam, Dean and Benny meet at the place Benny works at as a short order cook. But because it's Benny's day off, he sits with Sam and Dean and looks at the menu.

There's plenty going on here. One could almost say it's the place to be right now at this time of day. Breakfast served all day, something is always being fried, be it a burger, pancakes or eggs.

Benny calls Mr. Pressman, a waiter, over to them. “Excuse me, I think we're ready to order.”

Mr. Pressman pulls out a pad and tells them, “We're out of the special today because somebody,” he looks pointedly at Benny, “Didn't order enough sausage.”

Benny, to his credit, looks sheepish, but he does his best to shrug it off.

“I think today, I'll just have an omelette with cheese, onions and mushrooms, then covered in Louisiana hot sauce.” Benny orders, closing the menu.

Sam will bet anything what Dean's about to say, and sure enough, Dean says, “That sounds good. I'll have that too.”

Sam rolls his eyes, making an offhand comment of, “Of course.”

Dean hears this, and immediately gets defensive, “What? I can't even order eggs without some comment from you?”

Benny's immediately trying to talk Dean down, “Hey, hey. Fishing puts us all out on the river together, remember? You keep pulling on that line, I'll have to send you back to shore.”

To Sam, Benny says, “Dean is the most genuine guy you'll ever meet. But he focuses too much out there. He's gotta focus on in here.” He pats his chest.

“That’s why Dean has had so many... whatever you want to call them. But failures will teach as much as success.”

Turning back to Dean, “Alright? Focus on you. Focus on me.”

Sam notices that as Benny's been talking, whatever excitement Dean had of seeing his fiance has been snuffed out.

Benny tells Sam, “I've been running Dean through visualization exercises. I've found a lot of sports stuff applies to fishing too. Visualize catching the big one, if you get the idea.”

Sam decides not to comment, instead asking Dean, “Tell me, when you're at the altar, do you spike your boutonniere?”

Dean immediately tries to defend himself, “You know what, i-”

But Sam doesn't give him a chance, throwing a few bucks on the counter, “Well, I'm outta here. Writer's work is never done. Bye, Mr. Pressman.”

Having seen that exchange, Mr. Pressman only says, “I'm gonna go focus on your eggs, Benny.”

Sam inexplicably has run into Henry Winchester in the hotel lobby, catching up with a friend, and has been called over.

“Good, good, you're here. I've actually been wanting to talk to you. There's actually a very good reason why we've had three weddings without a single 'I do’. You won't believe how much cake was left over from all those shindigs! It's a miracle we don't all have diabetes! Not to mention, all that booze John bought that nobody drank. But as you can imagine, that was alright with him.”

“Hi, Henry.” Dean greets his grandfather, giving him a small hug, while holding something unseen in a bag he's carrying.

Sam informs him, “Your grandpa here was telling me the real reason you run from eternal happiness.”

Henry picks up where he left off, “Right. It's not that he doesn't want to get married. It's that he's scared of the wedding night!”

Sam pretends to consider this, but he can tell from Dean's reaction that he shouldn't take this answer seriously.

“He may have dated, but when it comes to the bedroom, forget it.”

Which is when Dean finally decides that's enough, and whispers to Henry, “Uh, Henry? I haven't been a virgin for a while now.”

Some fog seems to have cleared in Henry's head, because he says next, “Oh yeah. Right.”

Then, Dean asks Henry, louder so Sam.can hear, “Could you excuse is for a moment?” Turning to Sam, “Can I talk to you outside?”

Sam sees no reason why not, so he bids Henry and his friend farewell, and follows Dean outside.

Dean pulls something out of the bag, telling Sam, “Found this, and since I don't really care for it, didn't know if it was worth keeping.”

Sam can't believe what Dean's holding, “It's Vince Vincente! And Bloody Messiah, too?”

Dean explains, “I was just cleaning out some junk, and-.”

Sam's still ecstatic, “Can't believe there's still one floating around. Thought they were all destroyed when Vince died. You should hang onto this. Worth a lot of money in the right circles.”

But Dean has other plans, “Why don't you have it?”

Sam is positive he heard wrong, “What?”

Dean repeats, “Take it.” And goes to leave Sam with the record.

Sam's still looking at the record album, but he has to say something here, “You figured out what music I like, and you found me a rare album. You trying to butter me up?”

Dean turns back, and only says, “I was cleaning out junk, not attempting the impossible.”

Back inside, Henry tells his friend, “Uh oh. Trouble's afoot.”

Little did they all know, they were right, but not what they were expecting.

Chapter Text

Sam's driving back towards his hotel when he sees Dean's car parked in front of the tavern. Might be something worth looking into.

He turns at the fork, and then, he sees the real reason Dean's here; he's taking his dad home, one arm over his shoulders, who's clearly plastered.

Dean, meanwhile, has to deal with John's mild complaining, such as, “You know, ever since you got your driver's license, I haven't had nearly as much fun.”

Dean can only say, “Yeah, well, it hasn't exactly been sunshine and rainbows for me either.”

Finally, they're at his car, and he opens the back door, telling his dad, “Lean down, I'll push.”

But then, the door on the other side opens, and suddenly Sam Campbell is helping John scoot further in, telling him, “Easy John. Nice and easy.”

Dean seriously doesn't have time for this, “Oh, god, don't write any-.”

Lucky for Dean, upon seeing them together, that never crossed Sam's mind, “Forget about it.” And continues to assist Dean until John's completely situated in the backseat, and they close the doors.

Relieved he doesn't have to worry about Sam making this worse, he admits out loud, “God, I am so damn tired of this.”

Sam decides to be nice here, and offer him a break, “What do you say to letting him sleep it off in the backseat, and we just go for a drive?”

Dean thinks about turning him down, but really, it's between taking care of his drunk father, who he loves dearly, or taking a drive with a man he can't stand so he can get away from his drunk father for a little bit. The choice is pretty easy.

Dean looks at Sam, nods, and says, “Okay.”

It begins to get darker as they drive away, down the highway. To kill time, they talk about their personal histories.

“John's been drinking real heavily since my mom, Mary, passed away.”

Sam asks, “And that's why you quit school? To come back here?”

Dean replies, “Yeah. Had to run the mechanic shop for my dad.”

Sam decides to open up a little more, “My dad wasn't around much, other than to tell me what he thought I should be doing. My mom just wanted me to do something productive. Somehow that translated into reporter.”

Dean's silent the entire time, because once again, Sam Campbell has managed to surprise him. He never thinks about people like Sam having parents, and yet, here Sam is, talking openly about them.

Unfortunately, the moment’s cut short when they realize both that it's now completely dark, and that Sam's car is suddenly slowing down, before backfiring, startling Sam, and coming to a stop.

Dean asks, “What kind of gas did you put in your tank?”

Sam doesn't really get why this is relevant, “I don't know. The closest one to the tank!”

Dean just calmly gets out of the car, pops open the hood, and within minutes, he's figured out the problem, “Your filter's clogged. You put Diesel fuel in a car that needs unleaded. I can fix it, but we're gonna need to borrow some tools.”

Sam sighs, shutting off the engine and getting out. “Great. Looks like we're Flintstoning it back.” And starts walking away.

“Or, we can go the other way, towards a place right around here, and ask to borrow their tools.” Sam turns around at Dean's suggestion, seeing where he's pointing at.

“Us country boys cut across the field. Saves loads of time.”

Sam decides he has nothing to lose, so he starts to follow Dean, when he hears, “Oh yeah. Watch out for snakes.”

That makes Sam flinch. “What?”

Dean says again, a little further away, “Snakes?”

That makes Sam start jumping around, “Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?”

Dean teases, “Aw, come on Samantha. They ain't gonna touch you.”

Then Sam decides, screw it, and runs with his legs spread out, it's one of the funniest things Dean's ever seen. “Fine. Come on, come on, let's go.”

Dean asks, “What the hell are you doing? Some sort of snake dance?”

Sam calls back, “I'm scaring the snakes!”

Dean laughs, and says, “You're starting to scare me.”

Sam laughs despite himself, “I'm starting to scare myself!”

Once Sam's calmed down enough, Dean asks him, “So,.you think there's one true soulmate out there for everyone?”

Sam thinks about it for a moment before answering, “Maybe. But too often, rightness and actual attraction are easily confused. And even if there's attraction on both ends, it's incredibly distracting.”

Dean agrees, “Of course. And it doesn't even have to mean anything at all.”

Finally, they get to a fence, a clear indicator they've reached the property. Sam moves to help boost Dean up so he can get over the fence.

The initial touch that comes from that boost is a shock for Dean, so much so, that he actually forgets where he is for a moment, choosing instead to look at Sam's face.

Sam, meanwhile, has no idea what he's feeling either, and when the moment passes, it's Dean who speaks up first,

“Been climbing fences nearly my whole life, and now I've suddenly forgotten.”

Finally, they're both over the fence, and they walk towards Lionel, who's just sitting on the front porch. “Hey, Lionel! You got any tools we can borrow?” Dean calls.

Lionel calls back, “Well, if it isn't Dean Winchester. What are you gonna do, bust out of another weddin’?”

Sam laughs when he hears that, lightly teasing, in a fake southern accent, “You sure seem to be well known around these here parts.”

Eventually, they get the tools, fix the car, and they both go their separate ways, Dean taking his dad home, Sam back to the hotel.

Tomorrow, Sam's still got one more groom to interview. Hopefully he still frequents the bar where he told Sam about Dean.

Chapter Text

Next morning, Sam takes his car and drives back to Wichita, while also talking to Brady on the phone,

“No, no. It's almost done, honestly. But you'll be interested to know that the story's taken quite an interesting turn. But I got one more important interview I got to do in Wichita. I'll see you and Jess later though.”

Sam hangs up, and the rest of the drive is silent as he makes his way back to the bar.

Luck must be on his side, cause the guy, who Sam now knows is Castiel Novak, the third groom, is still here. He looks a lot better than last time, too.

Sam walks up to him, whispering, “You know, you could've told me that you were the third groom.”

Cass laughs, “What, so I could be ridiculed right alongside him? Yeah no. I've had enough humiliation to last generations, thank you very much.

But Cass is nice enough to still answer Sam's questions, “I was traveling around, trying to help rebuild the bee population when Dean met me.”

Sam jokes, “Save the bees save the world.”

Cass is quick to contradict, “No, not the world. Not yet. But I did get something good going in a few countries in Africa. Oh, and China too.”

And just like that, all joking is gone. Guess Dean sure knows how to pick them. No matter what anyone else thought about them, they were all around good guys with accomplishments under their belts.

Cass laughs now, telling Sam, “You know, Dean was the only guy I'd ever met that wasn't scared of reaching in his bare hand into a beehive. On the first date, no less.”

Sam moves onto the next question, “So tell me, Cass, why do you think he ran.”

The light-heartedness leaves again, and Cass takes a swig of his drink before answering, “Just like you wrote it in black and white. A heartbreaker. Angry little Earthshaker.”

Sam tells Cass, “Yeah, that's what I wrote. But I don't think that's why he ran.”

Cass, is surprised to hear Sam Campbell say this, “Why do you think he ran, then?”

Sam sips his own drink, “Not sure yet. Still working on that part. I had it all wrong.”

Cass demands, “Are you actually defending him?”

Sam vehemently denies it, “No! Of course not.”

But Cass apparently sees something Sam doesn't, “Oh no. He got to you too.”

Sam can't believe what he's hearing, “Oh, please! What the hell are you talking about?”

Cass gets up and slides his drink over to Sam, “Here. You need this way more than me.”

Sam keeps defending himself, “I'm a reporter, writing an article.” He pulls out his notebook, “See? It's gonna be published as a cover story. All the facts will be in the article.”

But seeing how Cass is walking away, Sam decides to get at least one more question before he loses him,

“What kind of eggs did he like?”

He readies his pen, ready to jot down the answer the second Cass says it.

“Soft boiled with soldiers. Same as me.”

And with that, Castiel Novak has left the bar.

Once Sam's written it down, he shakes his head in disbelief. He knew he was onto something about this egg thing.

“Spangle’s and a seriously overpriced apartment. Now that's Wichita living.” Brady says from the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Jess and Sam are talking on the couch.

“God, sometimes he makes me so crazy!” Jess says, throwing her hand up.

Sam jokes, “Hostility is part of your foreplay, ain't it?”

Jess jokes back, “Three people to make our marriage work. Me, him, and our therapist.”

It's nice that they can still joke together like this, even though her and Sam aren't married anymore. Which reminds Sam.

“Jess, what went wrong?” At Jess's blank look, Sam clarifies, “With us. The two of us. I know it's been a while, but do you remember?”

Jess is looking at Sam like he's an idiot, “Do I remember what went wrong? Of course. I was there, remember?”

That leaves Sam stuttering, “Did I do that? Is hat wh-. Did I just not see you?”

Seeing that Sam's serious, she tells him the truth, “No. You didn't.”

Upon hearing that, Sam wraps an arm around her and says, “I'm sorry. I really am.”

Jess assures him, “I'm sorry too, Sam.”

But just like that, the tension is gone, and now they're back to friends. Even Jess can feel it, “Wow. 12 years, and we finally said it.”

Then Brady comes in with food, and with stomachs grumbling, they move so Brady can set the food down.

Sam reminds himself that he can't stay too long, if he wants to make it in time for the pre-wedding Mardi Gras party.

Chapter Text

The party's well on its way by dark. A jazz band somewhere playing the classic, “When the Saints Go Marching”, everyone's wearing either a mask, decorative beads, or both. The entire barn is adorned in classic Mardi Gras colors, purple, green, and gold. For a small town, the folk sure know how to throw a party.

In one section, a small dance competition has begun, and someone with a camera makes sure to get a fair amount of footage of it.

Once that ends, everyone claps for them, and finally, Mr. Pressman announces, “Here they are, folks. King and King, Dean and Benny!”

The couple of the hour are both fully adorned appropriately as King Bacchus, and while everyone claps for them, Dean can't help but take a look around searching for a certain reporter he hasn't seen all day.

Around them, people are dancing, or drinking, or snapping their fingers to the tune of the jazz band.

Meanwhile, Garth's caught on to Dean's constant eye-darting, and calls him on it,

“You gotta lighten up, Bacchus.”

Dean plays dumb, “Lighten what up?”

Garth isn't having it, “The entire town has gone to all the trouble to make this party for you and Benny. Forget about the reporter.”

“Excuse me for being a little paranoid because I haven't seen him in 24 hours, and would rather know where he was than not.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Garth spots the man in question, and challenges Dean, “You sure about that?”

At Dean's confused look, Garth gestures with his head, and sure enough, Sam has just arrived, also in Mardi Gras bling, with a few necklaces around his neck. Dean watches as Sam heads to where they're serving themed drinks.

“What can I get you, Mr. Campbell?” Mr. Trout, Martha Trout’s husband, asks.

Sam looks at the other drinks, then asks, “Uh, anything here that isn't wrapped in beads?”

Okay, whatever. Sam's here, now he can focus having fun at his pre wedding party.

Or so he thinks. Because while the party continues, he never moves from his spot, feeling more and more alienated as he watches everyone else have fun, and he's just...not.

“Buenas noches.” A voice from behind him says, making Dean jump slightly. But he doesn't need to turn around to know who it is.

“That's quite a flattering crown you're sporting.” Sam whispers in his ear, and Dean can't help the tingles it sends down his spine.

Dean tries to come back down to Earth, “Where'd you run off to?”

Sam gives an amused smile at this, joking, “Aw, I didn't know you cared, Dean.”

But then, it looks like Benny has been revealed as the winner of the contest, and after a round of applause, it's time for food.

True to the theme, all the Cajun staples in Mardi Gras are there, from gumbo and jambalaya, to beignets and a marvelous King cake made by Mrs. Trout herself.

Dean asks Sam as the food's being served, half joking, “You're not allergic to shrimp, are you?” At Sam's denial, Dean feigns disappointment, only saying, “Pity.” as he goes to sit by his fiance.

All is silent for a while as everyone eats, but it's when the King cake is served that everyone starts banging their plastic utensils on the table, and John takes this as his cue to stand up and say,

“In tradition, this is right about the time where we start toasting.”

Everyone starts clapping. Clearly, this is a tradition loved by many in this town.

“First up, the one that made all this possible: Lou Trout, Martha's amazing husband.”

People clap as Lou stands up, drink in hand, but what everyone misses is Garth looking down, holding his head in his hands, knowing what's coming next, and wishing he didn't have to witness it again.

“May Benny's heart be filled with love…”he pauses for effect, “And Dean's feet filled with lead.”

And that's when Sam realizes what's happening, and he decides to watch Dean's reaction, to see if he stands up for himself, and yet knowing he won't.

Martha's up next, who goes for a more light-hearted approach, “May the pitter patter of little feet not be Dean's.”

Sam sees Dean give a humoring smile, which is big of him, Sam supposes.

Then it's Mr. Pressman, “May all the wedding gifts be returnable.”

Someone else pipes up, “May the back of the tux be as handsome as the front!”

So far, it's pretty lighthearted, and Dean still has a smile on his face as he holds Benny's hand, but then John gets back up to give his own,

“You know the saying, 'you're not losing a son’? Well, I'd like to!”

Everyone laughs at this, but Sam watches as for the first time since they started, Dean's smile slips.

John continues, “Dean may not be Lebanon's longest running joke…”

Sam watches Dean mouth along with his father for the next part, clearly having heard this before. Dean's barely smiling at all now.

“But he's certainly the fastest!”

Once that's past, Dean's weak attempt at a smile isn't fooling Sam at all. Not even when Dean says, “Nice one, Dad.”

And then someone pipes up, “Hey, John! How about Mr. Campbell says something!”

Sam's moving over to where Dean's sitting as John asks, “Yeah, how about it, Sam?”

Sam dismisses it, telling them, “Yeah, hang on. Not sure.” He turns his attention to Dean, squatting down and asking, “Are you okay?”

John rallies up the crowd again by egging Sam on, “Come on, Sam! Take a good old whack at Dean. So much more satisfying than words on a page.”

People start banging their utensils again, while Dean can't take his eyes off of Sam, who's staring at him so intently.

“Excuse me?” Is all Dean can say, being so wrapped up in the toasts, and then suddenly being brought back to reality by Sam Campbell.

Benny chimes in, “It's just a joke, Sam. They're kidding.”

But John won't give up, “Yeah, come on, Sam! Give it a go!”

Seeing they're not gonna stop, Sam stands up, finally agreeing, “All right. You want a toast? I'll give you a toast.”

Sam raises his drink, making sure all eyes are on him as he speaks,

“To all of Dean's family and friends. May you find yourselves the equivalent of a sitting duck.”

There's complete silence as they realize what's happening, but Sam's not done yet,

“May you be publicly humiliated for every bad choice you've ever made, and may everyone else never let YOU hear the end of them.”

Still complete silence, but now all eyes are now on Dean, who feels even worse than before Sam spoke up.

Finally, Mrs. Trout speaks up, “All right, enough toasting! Let's dance!”

While that's happening, Dean abruptly stands up, and makes his way out of the venue. Garth follows, calling, “Dean? Dean!” But seeing Sam has also followed them, he hands Sam a jacket, telling him, “Here, take this. Guess we're in Kansas after all, Toto.”

Watching Sam leave, Garth then distracts Benny so Sam can be alone with Dean.

Dean makes a run for it until he's a fair enough distance away from the barn, and pauses with his hands on his knees.

He hears footsteps behind him, and for a moment, he's hopeful it's Benny, here to make everything alright again.

But he should've known he couldn't be that lucky. Of course it's Sam who shows up with a jacket, telling him, “Here. It's freezing out here.” as he attempts to wrap it around his shoulders.

But something in Dean snaps, and he smacks the jacket down on the ground, snapping,

“I've had about enough of you pretending to be a nice guy!”

But Sam's not about to let Dean get away with that, “Excuse me? Did you seriously just say that to the only goddamn person in there who was actually defending you?”

Dean spits at him, “Defended me? You fucking humiliated me!”

Sam retorts, “No, dumbass. That's what everyone else in there was doing. I was defending you! Screw Mardi Gras, humiliation is the true theme tonight.”

Dean refuses to let Sam get the best of him, “It was fine! Completely under control! Hope you're satisfied, cause now they all feel sorry for me.”

Sam fires back, “Well, they should! They're about to watch you welch on another wedding!”

Dean's so flustered, he doesn't even know what he's saying, “Why do you keep-.”

But Sam's not interested in whatever Dean was about to say, cutting him off, getting in his face, “Tell me, do you actually give a shit about hiking the PCT?”

Dean's desperate enough to where he'll say anything to cover up the fact that Sam's seriously getting under his skin,

“It's fun! It's exhilarating!”

Sam has another one, “Rebuilding the bee population?”

Dean can answer honestly here, “That was a worthwhile cause Cass was doing!”

Sam keeps going, “What kind of asshole backs out on a couple's tattoo?”

Dean can't believe he's bringing that up now, “I already told you what happened there!”

Sam asks, “Were you ever actually going to be a traveling missionary?”

This one actually surprises Dean, “Gadreel told you that?”

Sam jokes to himself, “Or maybe you just wanted to wear the golden underwear.”

Finally, Dean finds his voice, “Every single goddamn one of those times I was being supportive! Something you clearly know nothing about!”

But Sam's quick to call his bluff, “There was nothing supportive about it, you idiot! That was you scared! You were then, you are now! You are seriously the most lost man-.”

Dean feels slapped when he hears that, “Lost?”

Sam goes on, “Yes, lost. You're so lost, you-you don't even know what kind of eggs you like!” And that's when he realizes he's got Dean right where he wants him. “Yes, yes!”

Dean is completely confused, “What?”

Sam barrels into him, “Yeah, that's right, you indecisive bastard. With Gad, it was over hard. With Ash, it was fried in grease with a beer. With the bee guy, it was soft boiled. And now it's an omelette stuffed with mushrooms onions and cheese, and covered in hot sauce, thank you very much.”

Dean has no idea why this is even coming up when the answer is so obvious, “It's called changing your mind! Give it a try sometime!”

But Sam calls him on this too, “No, it's called not having a mind of your own!”

Sam's so frustrated about this argument not going anywhere, he just has to know, “What the hell are you doing, Dean? You really want that grizzly bear of a man to drag you through the 100 mile wilderness for your honeymoon?” and then, he doesn't even ask this time, he explicitly states it, “You do not want to hike the 100 mile wilderness!”

Dean just has to say something, anything, here, before Sam says anything else, getting up in Sam's face, “Yes I do!”

Sam backs up and sighs, thinking, then realizes what he needs to say here, the one thing that might make Dean think twice,

“No, you don't. You want someone who will be a constant pain in the ass when you play your music, because however much it may get on your nerves, you can't imagine him not doing it. You want someone to go along with you when you decide you want to find the perfect piece of pie, because if there's anyone you'd share it with, it's him. You want someone that you know you should be more annoyed with for all his healthy habits, but at the same time, you can't stop yourself from going out of your way to make sure he has food he likes, because you want him to know how much he means to you.”

Well, one thing is for sure. Sam's definitely succeeded in wiping the floor with Dean. Dean can't tell if his brain short circuited, or if every word Sam said is actually true. Regardless, Dean can't think of a single word to say to that.

“Am I right?” Sam asks quietly, and at first, Dean walks past Sam, but those three words seem to have helped Dean's brain come back online, because Dean finally feels like he can actually fire something back, and not just one sentence either.

Dean abruptly turns back around and points accusingly at him, “Stop it. Just fucking stop it! This Sunday, I'm going to be getting married to Benny Lafitte. The only thing you're doing is trying to convince me to run. Wanna know why? Cause you're a bitter, cynical, ill-intentioned dick who wouldn't know his own soulmate if he ran him over! All you ever do is destroy people, laugh at them, and criticize every goddamn aspect of their lives, because you're too scared to go get one of your own! And you wanna know something else? I've read your columns! That's right, and you know what? I noticed not once did you ever write anything about yourself. I may be lost, but I'm not the only one. Am I right?” Dean walks slowly, for emphasis, “Am. I. Right?”

And wouldn't you know it, that's when Benny finally does show up. Both Sam and Dean are breathing heavily from yelling at each other, not saying a word.

“Hey, Dean.” You'd think after Dean stormed out, Benny would know what he'd need to do or say to help him. But apparently Garth's distraction was to rattle off fishing tournament winners, because Benny says, “Help me out here. Boat named Honey hush. 518.5 pounds. Raleigh, North Carolina. Not the captain, the angler.”

Benny wraps an arm around Dean, pointedly looking at Sam, then asks Dean, “You alright?”

Dean manages to put on a brave face before answering, “Yes.”

Benny kisses Dean's cheek, “Let's go back inside.”

Dean doesn't respond, just lets Benny lead him back towards the barn, leaving Sam just standing there.

Faintly, he hears Dean respond, “Robert Gorrell.”

Benny gives a little fist pump at finally knowing the answer, but otherwise, doesn't comment on anything else.

Sam finally lets out a breath he'd been holding since Benny showed up. Goddamn. Dean just might be the most stubborn man he's ever met, but now, Sam can only hope he made some kind of dent. Otherwise, this story will truly stop the presses.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Dean's feeling a little better after last night's Mardi Gras fiasco. He comes into the kitchen to find Henry making lunch, and John goofing around, juggling eggs.

“Morning, Henry.” Dean greets him. “What's on the menu?”

Henry responds, “Grilled cheese. Just how you like it.”

John decides this is the perfect moment to throw in another Runaway Groom joke, “Hey, Dean. Henry and I were just talking. Whaddya say to starting a bunch of attractions for the town, pump some money into the town's economy? Display all your previous tuxes at the shop, wedding gift museum…” John laughs at his own joke, clearly pleased with himself.

But instead of just ignoring it, Dean surprises everyone by turning around and saying, “You know what, Dad? Knock it off.”

Clearly John wasn't expecting this. “What?”

Dean goes on, “As of now, I don't want to hear one more word or joke like that. Understand?”

John doesn't really get why Dean's getting so upset. “It was just a joke…” John attempts to defend himself.

Dean knows better though, “No, it really isn't. It's embarrassing, and I think I've put up with this shit long enough. I know, it's a pain in the ass to have a son with issues. But did you ever consider that it's a pain in the ass for me to have a dad that's always drunk?”

Satisfied he got John's attention, Dean picks up his sandwich, says, “I'm eating in my room.” and walks out of the kitchen.

Christian asks Garth as Garth keeps driving towards the church, “Remind me why Dean's having another wedding rehearsal? And two days before, no less! Didn't he already go through this whole song and dance?”

Garth can't really understand it either, other than what Benny told him. “Something lit a fire under Benny's ass, so he's decided that Dean really needs to get a really good picture of what the wedding is gonna look like one more time.”

But then they're there, so they park the car in an empty spot, and head inside, where Benny is giving orders to everyone. Garth sits in one of the pews, waiting for his orders.

“Alright, we're ready to get this thing going. Dean, you wanna tell Sam to amscray?”

But Dean has something much more interesting in mind. He looks right at Sam, and says with all the sweetness of poisoned honey,

“No way! In fact, let's make Sam the pastor.”

Sam attempts to not make things any worse by saying, “Actually, I'd rather just watch.”

But Dean's determined to milk this for everything it's worth, “Aw, come on! Where's your sense of sportsmanship? You'll have a perfect view of everything! It's perfect!”

Benny grabs Sam's arm, leading him to the front of the aisle. “Crew effort, Pastor Sam.”

Seeing he has no choice, Sam.goes with it, standing still as he's released once he's in the pastor's spot.

Meanwhile, Garth is in the back, asking Dean, “Are you sure you want Sam as the pastor?” Because Garth can't help feeling this has “bad idea” written all over it.

Dean's firm in his decision, “Yes! I want him front and center, so he can see every little thing.”

Garth has to ask, because he knows something had to have happened, “What the hell happened at Mardi Gras?”

But Dean can't bear to recall that painful memory twice in two days, “I don't want to talk about Mardi gras, okay?”

Upon seeing some sort of rope behind Garth, he grabs it, asking, “What the hell is this?”

Garth helpfully says, “It's the bell.”

Then, Christian comes into where they're talking, saying, “Benny's in a bit of a rush.”

Benny also calls out from the aisle, “Come on, let's move!”

Garth and Christian immediately start trying to motivate Dean to get ready to walk down the aisle.

“So remember what Benny said. Visualize.”

“Be the hook.”

“Reel it in.”

“Eyes on the prize.”

“Hook, line and sinker.”

But Dean covers their mouths before they can say one more fishing related thing, “Get your asses in gear.”

Benny calls them again, and Garth and Christian make their way back to where Benny is, while Dean just can't stop being fascinated by the the rope connected to the bell.

Just for shits and giggles, he gives it a good pull, and he's surprised by how strongly the rope pulls back, swinging him around as the bell above him rings loudly.

Meanwhile, everyone else is at the front of the aisle, waiting on Dean, who's laughing his ass off while still swinging and ringing the bell.

Benny asks Garth, “What is he doing?”

Garth attempts to joke here, “Instead of reeling it in, the bell seems to have reeled him in.”

Behind them, Sam can't help but make his own joke here as the bell keeps ringing. “Sanctuary. Sanctuary.”

Finally, Benny has to ask, “Dean, you alright?”

With one last ring, Dean straightens himself out, finally making his appearance in the doorway. “Alright.”

He takes his place at the end of the aisle, gesturing the organist to begin his cue, and once “Canon in D” starts, he starts walking, but Sam notices that Dean's taking the smallest of steps here. Sam rolls his eyes, noting, “Jesus. It's gonna be an evening wedding at this snail's pace.”

That seems to put some sort of urgency in Benny, because he quickly says, “All right. I get what's going on here. We're moving too fast here, aren't we? And that's making you tense up, isn't it?”

Dean frozen, not sure if Benny's right, or if it's something else he doesn't even want to acknowledge.

But Benny's all about fixing it, telling Sam, “Sam, take my place. I'm gonna go help Dean move faster. Stay out so he knows where to go. Babe? I'm walking with you, alright?”

Garth turns to look at Christian, who's thinking the same thing Garth says, “Now Sam's the groom?”

Benny's by Dean's side, massaging Dean's arms, shaking them loose, whispering to motivate him, “You are the hook, sinking lower and lower, into the waiting arms of your groom.”

This seems to help, as “Canon in D” begins again, and Dean slowly repeats Benny's mantra.

“I'm sinking lower. I am...”

But then he sees Sam at the end, and his train of thought is temporarily derailed.

“Plunging…”

Not only that, but Sam's staring right back. They couldn't look away even if they wanted to. Whatever it was they're both missing, it's all right there, in each other's eyes.

“Towards...the fish's mouth.”

Dean's suddenly moving a lot faster, and before they all know it, Dean's next to Sam, finishing his sentence,

“And I go right in the fish's mouth.”

Somewhere, Benny says, “Good. Now I'm the pastor, I say, 'Dearly beloved, yada yada yada. You may now kiss.’ and the organ crescendos.”

The organ complies, and Benny's still walking everyone through it, “Then we're hand in hand, back down the aisle. And just like that we're-.”

But at what he sees going on behind him, he stops.

On Sam and Dean's side, they're moving ever closer to each other, like magnets, and before anyone can say anything or stop them, they're kissing.

Holy shit. Of all the ways they could've imagined it, none of them came close to the real thing. It's so sweet, so addicting, neither of them can bring themselves to stop. Hell, they can't really say they want to.

Benny, at first, can't really process what he's seeing, still smiling, but once it sinks in, the smile immediately drops.

The organ keeps going all the way through the song, then finally stops, but Sam and Dean still keep kissing.

Not even Garth's shout of, “No!” is enough to make them stop.

Finally, Benny actually does the appropriate thing here and moves towards them, saying, “Dean? De-.”

And finally, the two break apart, having somehow found a way to come back down to Earth after that kiss.

And what do they do once they realize what they just did? They laugh. And not the feel-good kind of laughing either. The hysterical, “What the hell just happened?” kind of laughing.

Somehow, they manage to pull themselves back together, and take a breath.

Benny attempts to salvage some part, any part, of what he just saw.

“Okay, Dean, if you were picturing me, that was perfect. So what the fuck were you doing?” Benny directs that last question at Sam.

Sam has to be honest here, for both their sakes, “Benny, I'm really, really sorry, but your fiance kissed me back.”

Dean's still stunned, asking, “Oh I did, did I?”

Sam confirms, “Yes you did. You most definitely kissed me back.”

Benny can't believe they're stating the obvious, “I saw it myself, I'm not an idiot. Care to share with the class how long this has been going on?”

Dean admits, “About 45 seconds.”

But Sam's got a surprise for Dean, “A bit longer for me.”

And that makes Dean feel a little bit better about it, “Oh! Really?”

Benny's so pissed, he demands, “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

Seeing how Dean's still a little starstruck, Sam covers, making a joke,

“Well, Benny, I suppose you could say, 'I hope you two will be very happy together.”

It's a dick move, and Sam knows it, but he's still not prepared for the hard bang into his face, knocking him back, as well as knocking the wind out of him. In hindsight, Sam realizes Benny's just charged at him with his own skull.

But still, Benny actually does say, “I hope you two will be very happy together.” as he storms out.

That seems to have done the trick to help Dean out of his state of paralysis, because he turns to tell Garth, “You go take care of him, alright?” before chasing after Benny.

Garth rushes to Sam's side, as Sam clutches his face, wincing at the throbbing pain from where Benny head-butted him. “You okay?”

Sam waves it off, “Yeah, yeah. Nothing I didn't deserve.”

Benny bursts through the doors, beelining straight for his camper.

Dean calls for him, “Benny? Benny! I'm so, so sorry. At least it was before the wedding this time. Progress in the making. But you are gonna find someone that will make you so much happier than I ever could.”

Out of nowhere, a woman goes up to Benny, and Dean has to point it out.

“See? What'd I tell you? It's happening already!”

But Benny ignores all of this, just focused on getting the hell out of there.

As Benny drives away, and Dean says goodbye to Garth, what seems like an eternity later, Sam finally joins Dean outside, telling him, “Kid wants to lock up and head home.”

But neither of them really gives a shit, they're way too focused on what just happened in there.

“How's Benny?” Sam asks, to be polite.

Dean acts nonchalant, “Hm. He'll be alright.”

But in the distance, they can hear the screech of tires, and a horn honking, contradicting that statement.

Dean's the first to take the first step, “So, what the hell was that back there?”

Sam's about as lost as Dean feels, stammering, “I have no idea. I-I-I--. You know what? I don't even want to talk about it.”

Dean quickly agrees. “Yeah. Me too.”

They both nod in agreement, fake smiles on their faces.

But one look at each other and it's all over. They're kissing again, and it even looks like it might become more passionate, now that they're alone.

But surprisingly, it's Sam that stops this time. “Wait no. Stop, stop.”

Dean doesn't see what the trouble is, asking through their kissing, “Hmm?”

But Sam's firm, “No no no. We gotta stop. We need to talk about some stuff first. Talking. You know, like mature people do.” Sam firmly pushes Dean away, pushing him towards a rail to lean on.

“O-kay. I was kind of liking that-. Okay.”

“I just-i just need some space here.” Sam says, backing away until he's leaning on the other railing.

For a while, they just stand there, staring at each other, Dean waiting to see what Sam's about to say next. But whatever it is, Dean only hopes that it's possibly even better than kissing.

Sam has no idea how to word what he's thinking. Hell, he has no idea if Dean would be crazy enough to go along with it. But at this point, after destroying Dean's engagement, supposedly the absolute lowest he could possibly sink, how bad could anything else he could suggest possibly be?

Sam takes a breath, then, finally, he speaks.

Chapter Text

“Do you think we-.” Sam attempts to speak, but cuts himself off when it comes out completely wrong.

Dean, for his credit, just waits for Sam to get to the real point of what he's trying to say.

Sam decides to just say it, and screw how crazy it sounds, “Well, you have the tux.”

Dean's completely confused. He has no idea what Sam's getting at here, so he plays along, “Uh huh. Got a church too, as you no doubt remember.”, shaking his head slightly, like he's saying, 'What the hell are you getting at here?’

Seeing Dean's not connecting the dots, Sam adds, “And a wedding date. In two days. Along with us two.”

Dean thinks he might know where Sam's going with this, but he lets Sam continue, “Maybe... you'll be going down the aisle after all. With somebody that you obviously have deep feelings for, and whose feelings are reciprocated.”

Dean asks him, “Who?”, pointing at Sam in question.

Sam doesn't even respond. He's laid it all out there. Now it's Dean's turn to decide what he wants to do.

Dean points at Sam again, but at the same time, pictures himself running out of the church holding Sam's hand, getting in a limo and waving goodbye to all his family and friends, as the limo drives off into the sunset.

Once this little fantasy ends, Dean finds that he actually doesn't completely hate the idea.

“Sounds good to me.”

Sam smiles, and says, “Me too.”

Dean laughs then, cause holy shit. He's just made a commitment to marry the man that he thought he would've run out of town a long time ago.

Sam is opening up his little notebook, jotting down one small note here.

‘I'm getting married in two days.’

Since the two of them don't really have a lot of time before the big day, they decide to make the best of the one day they do have.

All around town, people are making necessary adjustments.

The letters on the church's sign are taking down Benny's name to replace it with Sam's.

Dean, meanwhile, is showing Sam one of his many hidden talents; cat's cradle.

Sam asks him, “You do this a lot?”

Dean reminds him, “Well, it is the sticks. Not much else to do.”

Later, Dean's with Garth, Chris, and Henry at the Tooth Fairy, just talking about Sam.

Chris tells him, “He’s actually listening to you.”

Garth, “His teeth, a blank slate.”

Henry shocks everyone by saying, “He's got a nice ass.”

Dean's blown away by this, telling him, “Henry!”

Henry blows it off, saying, “Well, he does!”

Sam's back in his hotel room, calling Jess to tell her the good news,

“I'll see you both there tomorrow, right? You'll both be there? 37 hours from now.”

“ I didn't miss the first one.” Jess jokingly reminds him.

At the Tooth Fairy, Dean's telling them about what Sam's gonna do after they're married,

“Part of it is gonna be here in Lebanon, cause Sam realized he wants to write a book.”

In Sam's room, he's just told Jess the same thing. “That's great! You've always wanted to write a novel!”

Glad Jess is happy for him, he tells her, “I feel really inspired here. Like I can actually write. Better yet, I WANT to write.”

After they hang up, Jess tells Brady, “Sam's getting hitched.”

Brady screams and jumps up and down in excitement. But Jess has to warn him, “Brady, if you wet yourself all over the floor, I'm gonna murder you.”

At the Tooth Fairy, the phone's just rang, and after Chris answers it, he tells Dean, “It's him. He's on the phone!”

Dean snatches it, and the others scramble to get the plug in cord untangled. “Hey, Sammy.”

“Hi.”

Dean feigns nonchalance, “What're you up to?

Sam tells him, “Nothing at all. What're you doing?”

Dean parrots him, “Nothin’.”

Sam looks out the window, telling Dean, “Wowsers. I can see a super hunky guy from here.”

Dean's first reaction is to roll his eyes at the cheesiness here, but he can't deny he thinks it's also just a little bit cute. He whispers to the others, “He can see me.”

Still, later, Sam and Dean are playing strip poker, and it turns out they're both worthy opponents. Both of them have been reduced to their boxers.

As they lay down their hands, Dean's declared the winner, and Dean calls him out, “Knew you were gonna try and cheat. But you can't cheat a cheater. Doesn't work!”

Sam just grabs him in an attack hug, before they calm down and go again.

Again, Dean's the winner, and this time he jumps up, “In your face! I am the Ultimate Poker Champion!” Sam just takes in the view of Dean in his boxers.

A few other things they do before the day ends are to mess around with a tire swing, Dean swinging around while Sam reads a novel and pushes him.

And then, it's night time, and they can't think of a better way to end the day than to sit by the fire, sipping champagne and talking about anything and everything under the moon.

Dean can't lie here. This is honestly the happiest he's felt out of all four weddings. Those wedding bells have never sounded louder than they have with Sam.

Chapter Text

Before anyone can blink, the wedding day has arrived. And, as to be expected, it's a madhouse.

The church is completely crowded, by tourists, guests, and reporters alike.

One reporter from Wichita is speaking into a camera now,

“Wedding bells are ringing today here in Lebanon, Kansas. Dean Winchester, always a groom, never a groom’s man, is attempting to complete his fourth wedding. We'll return with more as the story unfolds.”

Another reporter comments on the crowd,

“The quiet town of Lebanon, Kansas has never seen a turnout quite like this, the likes of which is usually saved for royalty, or even a Hollywood movie star. But today, all eyes are on Dean Winchester, Lebanon's very own celebrity.”

The spectacle has become so huge, there's even a few food trucks and t shirt stands set up for people outside.

Yet another reporter starts her take on the story,

“Will he or won't he? That is the million dollar question on everyone's minds here today, and even on the mind of groom number 4, Sam Campbell, who is actually currently missing in action.”

Dean, meanwhile, is freaking himself out, because while it may be bad luck to see his fiance before the actual wedding, he can't help but panic at the thought that he doesn't know where exactly he is.

“Shit. He's not coming. He's gonna stand me up.” He says out loud, only in jeans, a T-shirt and flannel.

Garth assures him, “Don't be ridiculous. Of course he's gonna show. It's his wedding too, you know. And you know what? I saw 8 geese flying in a 'V’ before I rushed over here!”

Dean doesn't have time for Garth's superstitions, “You and your damn geese. Everyone sees geese!”

Garth insists, “Not 8! Or in a V.”

Dean tries to let this assure him, “Eight’s better, isn't it?”

Garth goes on, “8 in a V! What are the odds!”

Dean plays along to distract himself, “V for...for…aha! Victory!”

Garth, pleased Dean managed to cheer himself up, agrees, “Nice! See?”

Christian pipes up his own, “Velcro?”

Dean's not as enthusiastic about that one, “Okaaay.”

Garth tries to help here, “Velcro! As in stuck together!”

But then he ruins it when he adds, “Virginal!”

Dean's quick to shut that down, “No, no.”

There's a small awkward silence, then Dean focuses on a more pressing issue, “God, I'm sweating like a pig. I'm a wreck. Where's my bags?”

Apparently Garth and Christian didn't think of this, so they cover, “Put your head between your legs.” Yeah, exactly! Helps all the time.”

While Dean does that, outside, another car has pulled up, and hooray, it's Sam, here to tie the knot.

Garth sees this, and announces, “Oh, shit! He's here!”

Dean immediately gets vertical again, giving himself a small head rush. “Ow! My head!”

But now that Sam's here, he needs to get a move on getting the rest of his getup on.

“So good to kno- shit! Goddamnit! Who made this damn thing!” Dean shouts as his frenzy makes it nearly impossible to tie his tie on.

Garth's right there to help clear his head, “Your tie is not strangling you!”

Dean lets the words calm him down, nodding, “Okay okay.”

Garth keeps going, “Gotta calm down. Cause if you don't, we can't get your tuxedo on!”

That seems to have done the trick, cause Dean jokes, “Guy can't get married flannel, can he?”

Garth can see how happy Dean is here, so he tells him, “He's the one. He really is.”

Then Christian breaks the moment, rushing back in to tell them, “We gotta hurry up. Sunday school kids are gonna be coming in soon."

Sam makes his way through the crowd, telling everyone, “Come on! Get outta here! Go back to Wichita. Nobody invited you!”

Once he makes it to the entrance, he persuades Mr. Pressman to put down his video camera, and tells the wedding video guy to just do whatever.

But then, amidst all this madness, who does he see but Jess and Brady!

Sam rushes inside and grabs Jess in a hug, “Oh thank God. Friends!”

Sam steps back, telling them, “Thanks for making the journey. Since we're friends, Brady, be my best man.”

Brady agrees, “Not sure I'll be the best, but I'm sure I'll be good.”

Sam directs him over to the pastor, and once he's walked away, Sam muses out loud, “Now if only someone could tell me what I'm supposed to be doing.”

Jess is still looking at the tux Sam's wearing, “You always did look good in that one. I'm proud of you, Sam.”

Jess pulls him in for a hug, whispering, “I got a car out back for you in case he makes a run for it.”

That kind of stings, even though he knows Jess is only trying to help.

But then he's got bigger problems, as once Jess walks away, Benny pops up out of nowhere, walking straight towards him.

Sam backs away, despite being taller, cause he really doesn't need another injury to the head.

When Benny reaches out a hand, Sam flinches, thinking Benny's gonna punch him this time, but once he takes a second, he realizes Benny's holding out a flower for his boutonniere. “I won't sugar coat it. You look awful.”

Seeing that Benny's not gonna give him a shiner on his wedding day, he takes it, trying to figure out where to put the damn thing, “Thanks.”

Benny takes it back, helping him, “Sam, truth be told, I'm actually glad it's you.”

This is definitely a surprise to Sam, “Really?”

Benny tells him, “Last thing I would have wanted was to find out I wasn't the one for him right when I was sure he was the perfect catch.” once the flower’s secure, Benny squeezes Sam's shoulder.

Sam asks, “Any advice, Captain?”

Benny does the 'Im watching you’ hand signal, telling him, “Eyes on the prize. Eye contact.”

Sam repeats it to himself, making it a mantra as Benny walks away, “Eye contact.”

At the entrance, Dean's fully decked out in his tux, standing in front of a fan in an attempt to get rid of some of the sweat.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Trout keeps going nuts trying to get rid of any fluff that might have made it onto Sam's jacket, pulling a small hair from Brady's neck, before Sam tells her to scram. A futile attempt, because she tries to shove a handkerchief into Brady's pocket. Finally, once Sam shoves her away, she takes the hint and goes to sit down.

Back at the entrance, Henry and John are ready to start, Henry hugging Dean, and John telling him, “I'm really rooting for this one, son.”

Which does absolutely nothing for Dean's nerves, and Dean tells him, “Alright, Dad.”

Sam, attempting to calm himself, observes Benny going to sit by a very pretty woman. Sam's only seen her in passing, but it looks like they're getting pretty comfortable talking to each other.

The sight surprises Sam, but supposes he shouldn't be surprised to know Benny’s bisexual. He is himself, after all. Good for him. Sam hopes he'll be happy, regardless of who it's with.

Finally, it's time for the ceremony to begin, and Dean turns the fan off, Garth straightening out his tie one more time. “Time to go, Dean.”

Dean shakes himself off, and tells them, “Don't saunter down the aisle. Make time. Just get there.”

Garth and Christian leave, taking their places.

And then, it's started. The organ plays, and Garth and Christian walk straight down the aisle, clearly having done this before. Garth gives Sam a small wink before taking his place, and then it's Dean's turn.

All are silent as they all stand up, turning to look, as the doors open for Dean to make his entrance.

Dean walks slowly but surely, and there's a collective gasp when it Dean suddenly pauses, and Sam desperately whispers to himself, “Come on, stay with me.”

But then Dean starts walking again, smirking, letting Sam know Dean's just messing with him, and the guests chuckle upon this realization.

Finally, Dean's made it to the altar, and the guests take their seats.

The pastor starts to speak, and in one of the pews, a guest tells the person next to him, “I snuck in a camera.” and snaps a photo of Dean at the altar. Problem is, the camera has a flash, so it temporarily stuns Dean and the wedding party.

It was the smallest thing, really, but apparently in Dean's mind, that was enough. The radiant smile on his face is gone, and he starts backing away.

Sam shock is unmistakable, saying a very audible, “No.”

But Dean doesn't listen. He keeps going, and when he's halfway back, he turns himself around and makes a run for it.

“Don't!”

Sam doesn't know what to do, now that he's the one getting left behind, so he shouts, “Block the doors!” in a desperate attempt to keep Dean with him.

Two men comply, closing them shut, but all that does is have Dean take a quick look around for another escape route, which is difficult, with everyone on their feet, talking, and to top it all off, Sam rushing towards him, shouting,

“No, Dean, don't!”

Finally, Dean spots the stairs to the basement where the Sunday school classroom is, and starts making his way down it, only pausing when he feels Sam attempt to grab his shoulder, then continuing his escape.

Dean tells the kids Sam has candy in his pockets in an attempt to slow Sam down, but even when he hears Sam shout, ”Dean!” he doesn't stop, instead running straight across the room towards the window.

Sam tries to catch up with him, but is immediately bombarded with kids trying to tackle him.

Sam tries to get them to help him, telling them, “Not me! The other guy! Go get the other guy!”

But even when Sam's managed to shake them off, it's still enough time for Dean to open a window and climb out of it, yelling at a FedEx truck, “Wait!” and running straight for it.

When Sam gets to the open window, he shouts, “Dean!” loud enough for Dean to hear him, but all Dean does is climb onboard the truck, and tell the driver, “Go!”

Within seconds, the truck is driving away, with Dean as a passenger.

Sam scrambles out of the window, running after the truck, shouting, “Dean! Dean! Stop! Don't do it!”

Back at the church, Jess and Brady are watching Sam chase after Dean.

Jess coos, “He's chasing after him!”

Brady jokes, “And he's in fantastic shape.”

Faintly, they can hear Sam shout, “Dean! No, Dean!”

Jess wonders, “Where's he even going, anyway?”

Brady tells her, “Whenever it is, he'll definitely be there by 10:30 tomorrow.”

Sam keeps up the pursuit, shouting, “Dean! No!”

What Sam can't see is Dean's look of regret. But regret or not, he doesn't tell the truck to stop, jump off, or anything but just let the truck drive him away.

“Dean! No! No! Dean!”

Sam manages to keep up with the truck for a few 20 or so feet, but finally, the truck turns the corner, and Sam knows it's useless. Dean's gone, having left him in the dust, just another tally on the groom roster.

Now that Dean's gone, whatever adrenaline he'd been feeling, has suddenly left him, and he bends to put his hand on his knees to catch his breath.

And suddenly, all the reporters are there and in his face, wanting answers he doesn't have.

“Mr. Campbell, what are you gonna do now?”

“How do you feel?”

“What are you gonna do next?”

“I know this must be horrible.”

But Sam can only stand there staring at them, cause it's all just too much. Now he knows how the other grooms felt when they saw Dean turn tail and run.

Except they never had a bunch of reporters in their faces, desperate to leech off anything they could get out of them. The whole thing’s just making Sam even more pissed.

Finally, one reporter pushes to the front, and starts pushing them away.

“That’s enough. Leave the guy alone. Come on. Leave him alone."

Finally, Sam just makes his way back to the church. Guess he'll be making use of Jess’ car out back after all.

Chapter Text

“Finally, in local news, the town mayor has asked that we please stop gossipping about last week's Dean Winchester “almost wedding”. Back to you, Tom.”

Dean’s just getting ready to close up shop, when Garth decides to make a surprise visit.

“Hey. You alright?”

Dean turns, surprised, “Yeah, I'm great.”

Garth invites him, “I'm gonna close up for the night, wanna go for a drink?”

But amazingly, Dean really doesn't really feel like going anywhere for a drink. “Nah. I'm just gonna finish up here and go home.”

Garth knows Dean's still recovering from last week, so he decides to just let him be, telling him, “Alright.” then turning to go. But then, he seems to change his mind, coming over to him.

“You know something? I realized that I had that whole 8 geese in a V thing wrong. The V was supposed to be a W.” Garth explains, making two Vs with his hands, then joining them together into a W. “For…” he trails off, hoping Dean catches on.

But Dean's not too good with acronyms, so the poor guy’s clueless. “For w...what the hell are you trying to say here?”

Garth can hardly refrain from shouting his response, “Wedding, dumbass! All you gotta do is get the rest of your geese in a row!”, smacking him lightly upside the head.

Dean gets what Garth is trying to say here, so he pats him on the shoulder, telling him, “Thanks, man.”

Garth goes stop leave again, but that whole thing makes Dean realize something, “So you really think he-.”

“You're a quick study. A very quick study.” Garth says, smiling before finally leaving.

With Garth gone, Dean looks back to the lamp he made out of car parts and turns it off. But then, he keeps looking at it, and turns it back on. He turns off surrounding lights, leaving the lamp on, and an idea starts to form.

The next few weeks or so are much like a montage.

On Sam's side, many of his nights are spent just sitting on the couch, staring blankly out the window. Bones tries to get him to play with her, but it's clear Sam isn't in the mood.

On Dean's, his nights are spent staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

But during the day, Dean's now been inspired to start making more lamps and possibly even think about selling them.

He tries to use his punching bag again, but it's cut short when he realizes he's actually crying. And that kind of puts a damper on it. He decides to go for a run instead. Maybe it'll help to understand this whole running thing.

Back in Wichita, Sam's just crossing the street, but as he walks past a car dealership, he spots something familiar. Upon closer inspection, he realizes he's right. Dean's been here, and he's now selling his lamps.

He knows he should be happy for the guy, but still, he can't help but feel hurt at knowing that Dean's been here for business, but can't seem to make the time to at least try and apologize for breaking his heart.

In Lebanon, Dean's kitchen is filled with the smell of cooked eggs. On the table, is several different types of eggs, from scrambled, to Benedict, to poached.

“Alright. Let's do this thing.” He tells himself as he starts sampling each one, pausing to really taste them.

On one particular night, Sam takes the long way home. He's nice enough to anyone that tries to talk to him, but it's pretty apparent that Sam just wants to be alone.

Finally, he's back at his apartment, and unlocks the door. He plays his messages on his answering machine, but all that's on there is a dial tone. Weird. Must've been a wrong number.

Sam goes about taking his jacket off, getting ready to settle down for the night. But when he turns on a light, he gets a shock, from a voice he'd finally convinced himself he never wanted to hear again,

“Hey, Sammy.”

Sam turns slowly, because he's scared if he goes quickly, this might turn out to be a figment of his imagination. But once he finally makes the full turn, he knows this is no dream.

Right there, sitting on his couch, playing with Bones, is none other than Dean Winchester.

Chapter Text

Seeing Dean just sitting there, after all this time, Sam doesn't have the first clue how to act. So he just tries to make a joke, like his old self would've.

“Please don't tell me my landlord is another one of your admirers.”

Dean looks a bit uncomfortable at that, but he just says,

“Just making friends with your dog.”

He pets Bones, and clearly, Dean's been here long enough to actually make friends with her, cause she wags her tail at him. But he knows he's deflecting, so he asks,

“Are you okay having me here?”

Sam just gives a cold answer, “Not really like I have a choice, do I? Though I can't speak for Bones.” He points at her, “Traitor.”

Dean goes on, “I don't blame you for being pissed.”

Sam says nothing, so Dean tries again, “Or upset.” Still nothing. “Perturbed?” Nothing. “Irate.”

Sam just turns on another light and grabs a bag of dog food, which prompts Bones to go over to him, and finally, Sam speaks,

“What do you want, Dean? You here on business? Saw your car part lamps. Look just as good as I remember them. Really.”

It's pretty obvious he's not talking about the lamps, but Dean goes along with it,

“Always wanted to do-”

But Sam just walks out of the room, opening the door to the balcony.

“Anyone tell you that you're a master of breaking and entering?” Sam calls out.

When he's got some air flowing, Sam decides enough's enough.

“So let's cut the crap. Why are you really here?”

Dean knows he really needs to step up to the plate if he wants this to go well, so he does his best to work up all the courage he has, and begins,

“I thought it was time you knew why I run, and in two cases, ride, away from things.”

Sam has to sit down hearing that, cause this is definitely not something he was prepared to be hit with. And what does it really matter anymore, anyway? Dean still ran.

“Does it matter?”

Dean nods, telling him, “I wouldn't be here if I thought it didn't.”

Dean clears his throat, and starts with the first three grooms, “When I got all the way down the aisle, it was alongside someone who really didn't know me from the guy next door. Admittedly, there were some things about them that I did love, but the truth is, the only reason we'd made it that far was because I never gave the other groom reason to believe we weren't gonna work out. And that's mostly on me. So in a sense, me running was the right thing to do, because neither of us deserved to start a marriage based on a lie.”

Dean pauses for this next part, cause no matter what, admitting something like this is never easy, “That is, until you showed up. You managed to figure out in like a week what 4 previous fiances never even bothered to.”

Sam's head is spinning from hearing all this, so he just says quietly, “Yeah. I did.”

Dean goes on, cause this is important, “But I didn't.”

Sam has to remind him, because he doesn't think that will ever stop hurting, “And yet, I still managed to get a run in while chasing a truck.”

Sam gets up then, cause all of this is making him feel suffocated, so he steps outside onto the balcony.

Dean gets up then, slowly following him, telling him,

“Well, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about the truck part, but.” Dean waits until he's standing right next to Sam and looking right at him when he says this next part,

“Scrambled with cheese, bacon and onions.”

Sam's thrown here, cause what does that have to do with anything? “Huh?”

“I love scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and onions. Turns out I only liked certain aspects of other types of eggs.”

That's when it clicks for Sam. Dean actually figured out what eggs he liked because he pointed it out. For him.

But Dean goes back to talking about weddings, “Also, turns out I actually can't stand big weddings with all eyes on me. If I'm gonna get married, I just want it between me and my groom. And if we're riding off into the sunset, we're going in my Baby.”

Sam has to stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of all this, “Am I supposed to be writing this down?”

Then Dean remembers something, “Actually, there's something else.” and goes back inside to grab whatever it is.

Sam protests, “Just tell me! Don't-.” But it's pointless, cause Dean's already walked away. “Okay.”

When Dean comes back outside, he's holding a shoebox, “I'd like you to have these.” Dean says, handing it to him.

Sam opens it, and sure enough, there's a pair of old running shoes in the box. “Used-?”

Dean quickly explains, “They're mine, obviously. It's supposed to be a symbolic gesture. Me, turning in my running shoes to you.”

Sam makes a joke here, cause he just has to, “This is serious, isn't it?”

Dean tells him, “Oh, and one more thing. I know, after all this, there's still more. But I-I kinda need you to sit down for this.”

Sam complies, not really seeing a reason not to.

Dean takes the shoebox back, saying, “Can't have these ruining the moment.” and setting them aside.

But suddenly, Dean Winchester is a bundle of nerves for several seconds, before he does something Sam was definitely not expecting; he gets down on one knee, directly in front of Sam.

Immediately, Sam knows where this is going, and starts shaking his head. “Oh no. Good god, no.”

But Dean can't have that, “No, no! This is good, I promise. Gimme a chance. Please? And pay close attention, cause it happens once in a lifetime, and this is definitely my first time. You don't want to miss that, do you?”

Sam looks at Dean, and with a start, he realizes he actually is serious. Though he won't admit it out loud, all of Dean's talking has actually softened him up a bit. What the hell. He can listen to Dean for a little bit more. He looks right at Dean, patiently waiting for Dean to continue.

“I love you, Samuel William Campbell. Will you do me the honor of being my husband?”

Sam thought he was ready for it, but looking in Dean's eyes, and seeing how much love is in them, along with those heartfelt words, words not typically associated with Dean Winchester, he's completely stunned.

But then Sam laughs, cause he has to cut the tension somehow. It's all just way too much too soon, and he tells Dean that.

“I really, really need to think about this.”

But Dean's just full of surprises tonight, cause he gets up and says, “Oh thank God. I was actually hoping you'd say that.”

That throws Sam for a loop, “What? You were not! Come on!”

Dean tells him, “No, I was! Cause if you'd said yes right away, I wouldn't be able to do this next part. And I've been practicing too, just to make sure I get this right.”

Dean goes to grab a chair and pulls it up until it's directly across from Sam, and takes a seat.

“You ready?” Dean asks, cause despite everything he's said, he doesn't want to overwhelm Sam if he's not ready.

But Sam just nods, “I'm listening.”

And then, when Dean speaks, Sam has a serious case of deja vu, “I guarantee there will be tough times, and I guarantee one or both of us is gonna want out. But I also know that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, because I know you're the only one for me.”

Sam is completely blown away by how confident Dean sounded, but he still has to take a crack at him, “Pretty good speech, Dean. You come up with that on your own?”

Dean says, “Nope. Borrowed it from a writer I've gotten to know for over a week or so.”

But then the joking is over, and they're both pretty close to each other, and Dean can't stand not having his answer anymore. “So?”

But Sam just pats his hand, and stands up, gesturing for Dean to stay put for a moment, and walks back inside.

Dean's crushed, thinking this is Sam's rejection, but then he sees Sam turn on some music, and comes back to Dean, holding out his hand,

“May I have this dance?”

Dean takes Sam's hand, not sure what Sam's doing, but desperate to be close to him.

For a moment, Dean thinks Sam's gonna kiss him. But Sam just moves to Dean's shoulder, and leads him in a slow dance.

The dance only goes on for a few minutes, but for them, it feels like time's ceased to exist for the moment, and somewhere, in that moment, they know in their hearts what the right choice is here.

They hear the pastor right in front of them, in an empty church with just the two of them.

“We're gathered here today to celebrate the union of Dean Winchester and Sam Campbell.”

Dean walks up then, in a tuxedo Sam's never seen before, but there's something about it that looks like it was made for him.

The pastor asks, “Do you have the rings?”

Sam confirms, “Yes.”, holding them up.

The pastor continues, “Do you, Sam, take Dean to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Sam looks down to slide the ring on Dean's finger, as he says, “I do.”

The pastor addresses Dean next, “Do you, Dean, take Sam to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

This is it. The moment of truth. He's here with the man he loves, the man he knows he's meant to be with, and there's nothing left for him to doubt.

But still, it's like the universe gives a collective sigh of relief when Dean finally says, “I do.”

The pastor then says, “In this life that you share together, may your differences strengthen your love. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married. You may now kiss.”

The kiss is definitely one of legends. It's everything their previous kisses were, and more. It's the kiss that officially takes Dean Winchester off market, but more than that, it's the one that solidifies their marriage once and for all.

Clapping can be heard, as the guests outside the church applaud them.

With that, they run down the aisle, out the doors, and straight towards Dean's Baby, a black 1967 Chevy Impala parked outside, get in, and drive away.

Meanwhile, Garth puts in a call to all the people that couldn't make the ceremony.

“He did it!”

All over Lebanon and Wichita, the news spreads like wildfire.

Father Gadreel tells the choir, “Dean Winchester got married.” And that prompts them to burst out into a chorus of , “Hallelujah.”

In the bar where Sam first got the story, all the patrons cheer, popping champagne and congratulating over the phone.

Martha Trout goes a bit nuts, throwing flour everywhere, but she can't help but be excited to hear the good news.

Jess and Brady are on their phones talking, but take a moment to pause and kiss before going back to their conversation.

Benny's having a blast with the woman he met at the church, and they jump into a big hug.

As for Sam and Dean, they'd both gone through some seriously difficult times, had a few personal growths, and somehow, made it to the end right where they were supposed to: with each other.

And if it's not happily ever after, it's as close as either of them ever could've hoped to get.