Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 “Holyshitholyshitholyshit” Dean looks up as his husband comes prancing into the living room, clutching his phone, bouncing up and down, and cursing in his gravelly voice- somehow managing to look like an excited child and yet sound like a full grown man.

“Babe?” he asks, somewhat hesitantly, from his place on the couch.

Cas’s eyes are wide and he makes the words sound daunting, “They called.”

Dean gives an incredulous look, “Who called?”

“They called, Dean! They called and they want me and ohmygod I have to start planning because there’s so much to do and obviously you’ll come with I’ll have to break that to Jo and Charlie myself and Benny can cover the tattoo shop for you and we have so much to do can we leave the Impala at the airport  is this gonna work should I call back I’m really nervous maybe this is a bad idea I'm not sure why I sent the email I mean you told me to I-”

“Cas!”

He stops, looking surprised at being cut off, “What?"

“Breathe.”

“Okay.” Cas takes a deep breath while Dean mimes doing it with him.

“We good?”

Cas shakes his head minutely, blue eyes still wide and breathing still heavy, “No.”

Dean stands up finally and goes to rub his hands up and down his frightened looking husband’s arms. “Slow down. Start from the beginning.”

Cas starts tracing the sleeve of tattoos on Dean’s arms, “that was the casting lady from Cupcake Wars,” he says carefully.

“Wait. That email you sent weeks ago? For that lame frilly show you like?”

Castiel sets his shoulders and crosses his arms, “It isn’t lame, Dean. And it’s hardly frilly. It’s quality culinary-”

Dean rolls his eyes at the familiar argument, remembering how much Cas gets into his favorite reality show, going so far as to yell at the contestants from his place on the couch. He huffs at his husband's ability to go from panicky to pissed in 0.5 seconds. “Cas. Not the point.”

He sighs, obviously dissatisfied with not being able to defend the Food Network. “They asked me to be on the next episode they film and I have to be in LA next week. A week! And that’s why I’m stressing because like I said there is so much to do and think about and I need you and-”

“Whoa babe slow down. That’s amazing! I know you could do it.” Dean pulls in his stressed partner and kisses him happily, pride sweeping in his chest.

“I haven’t done anything yet, Dean.” Cas huffs.

“But you will and I’ll help you.”

Castiel’s eyes shine up at his husband, “You will?”

“Of course.”

He leaps up to slam his lips against Dean’s and wrap his legs around his waist and neck. Dean just barely catches him and stops them both from crashing to the floor, and smiles into the kiss.

About a minute later Cas pulls back, still wrapped around the larger man. “What about the Tattoo Shop?”

“Benny can handle it for a few days. And I’ll get Meg to take a few extra shifts; I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“You’re okay being on some lame frilly reality TV show?”

“Anything for you babe.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

And then they’re kissing again. They don’t get much planning done after that.

---

“This is impossible.”

“No it isn’t”

“Yes. It is.”

“Dean I’m going to kick you out of this house and not let you back in unless you quit complaining and fucking help me pack our shit.”

Cas was using his serious voice so Dean snapped his jaw closed and shoved another bag of edible glitter in the third gallon sized pastel colored box they’ve filled. Cas checked it off the list. “I’ve got a client in an hour babe.”

Cas didn’t even look up from what he writing down, just raised his eyebrows, “You have another thirty minutes then.”

“Cas.” 

Castiel finally looks up, “Dean.”

“We’ve still got two days until those camera guys get here for footage. And three until we have to leave for California. Do you not think that they might need this stuff at the bakery?”

Cas glares at Dean who immediately backs off (because what can he say? he’s whipped). Castiel angrily folds the light blue “Bee's Knees Bakery” tee before looking back up to the taller man.

One of the many (endless) reasons Dean fell in love with Cas was his ability to look absolutely adorable- even when pissed at him. He’d dated one too many bitchy and controlling girls before he found Castiel. But Cas’s short stature and wide blue eyes kept him from giving up when things got hard. His husband is absolutely beautiful. He wasn’t afraid to say that at the wedding in front of all his friends and family, he sure as hell won’t be afraid to say it any time soon in any situation.

“Baby, I love you. You’re adorable when you’re angry.” at this Cas huffs but Dean keeps going, “I get you’re stressed, but it’s going to be okay. I promise. And I’m going to be right here for you.”

“Not if you-”

Dean puts a hand up, “-But right now I’m having to deal with my own business as well. We’re both paying the bills, love. I have a very high profile client with a very complicated tattoo. Not only will he not take anybody else, I won’t let anyone else do it. I love you. I love you. I love you. But I have to go.”

Cas looked like he wanted to be mad but he could hear himself being ridiculous, and wanted to stop. Looking up into his husband’s worried and stressed and loving green eyes, his anger just melted off. He crossed their kitchen and wrapped his arms around Dean’s waist, burying his face in his chest.  “I’m sorry. I love you.” The words are muffled against the fabric but Dean hears them perfectly.

Dean envelops his love and kisses his dark hair, inhaling the scent as he does, “Don’t be sorry babe. I get it. You’re just stressed.”

Cas nods against his chest. He pulls away just enough to rest his chin and look up at Dean. “Now I really don’t want you to leave.”

Dean bends down to kiss him, “I’ll be back soon. I promise. Okay?”

He breathes deep before nodding, “Okay.”

---

Dean steps into Demon Ink. and finds Benny behind the front counter. “Hey,” he says tiredly.

“Whoa what up with you brother? The angel driving you crazy?”

Dean smirks at Benny’s nickname for his husband. The combination of his name and the giant tattoo of a black-winged Cas surrounded by red roses that Dean has taking up the large majority of his back. “Crazy’s not the right word. He’s just stressed.”

Benny nods knowingly, “And you’re stressed that he’s stressed.”

He lets out a laugh as he hangs up his leather jacket- revealing more of his ink, as well as the tribal tattoo peeking from the top of his shirt collar that goes down across his left pec and bicep. It fades into the skulls and chains with light coloring. His other arm reveals the bright colored (purple, blue, and pink) biomechanical on his forearm. His right bicep has an intricate grey wash feather wrapping around the words “Hey Jude” and surrounded by roses for his mother, to contrast the forearm.

Benny remembers how intimidated he secretly was when he’d first met the younger man- that is until he realized that Dean is the sweetest fucking dandelion that ever happened. It was his sassy, short tempered (as well as short statured) boyfriend-now-husband you had to watch out for. Oh, how looks can be deceiving.

“So you ever gonna tell me why you guys are picking up and going to California all the sudden? Leaving me here all by my lonesome?”

Dean starts setting up his station while Benny talks, “Awuh you make it sound like we’re leaving forever Ben. Besides you’ll have Meg.” Dean gives his friend a knowing smile. Benny grunts- knowing better than to trash talk the hard-headed brunette. Dean likes to see them try to out-southern each other with the accent- both the Louisiana and Georgia coming out in the two ten fold when they’re around each other.

“Why you are trusting us with the store together is completely beyond me brother.”

“Why? Should I be worried about it smelling like sex when I get back?”

Benny throws a rag at Dean’s head while he howls with laughter at his friend’s blush. “Fuck you Dean Winchester!”

In that moment Dean’s VIP client comes through the door- raising an eyebrow at the scene and outburst. “Have I come at a bad time?”

Dean clears his throat -transitioning easily into professional business owner mode- “Not at all, sir. Come, have a seat.”

---

Cas stops by a few hours after the client leaves, bearing cupcakes, and orders for Dean to go next door to Bee’s Knees when he’s done cleaning up.

When he walks out shortly after Benny makes a whipping noise complete with the motion. Dean just laughs as he grabs his jacket, he exits but sticks his head back through the door, “If you think he’s bossy now you should see him in bed. If he’s not the bossiest bottom to ever-”

“NO no shut up! Say no more- please. I get it.”

Dean laughs loudly once more as yet another rag is thrown his way before he gets the door closed. He glances at the contrast between the bright-yellow paint of the bakery and the black of the tattoo shop. Dean remembers when they’d first met and he’d pointed it out, and Cas had said he liked it because it reminds him of bumble bees (though he prefers honey bees). That’s probably when Dean first realized he was falling in love with the huffy little dorky baker next door.

He walks through the bakery door -that has the logo Dean designed, matching the window sticker, overhead sign, and t-shirts- to see Jo and Charlie glaring at him with their arms crossed. Dean rubs the back of his neck awkwardly , “Uh heh hey girls…”

“Dean” they say in unison.

In that moment Cas walks through the kitchen door behind the counter, instantly gaining the girls attention. Dean quickly realizes he’s only broken the news to them within the last few minutes. No wonder the little asshole wanted him to come over.

“Why the hell are you taking him and not one of us?” Jo starts.

“He doesn’t even work here.” Charlie back ups.

In Cas’s defense he doesn’t even look surprised, or hesitate answering at all, he’d obviously prepared for their reactions. “Girls might I remind you he drew all of the stencils you use to decorate, made all of the molds, and perfected our customer favorite chocolate buttercream frosting. Not to mention all of the cupcake ideas he’s given me that have become best sellers.”

Charlie starts to mumble to Jo not-so-subtly “and he’s also fucking you into the mattress every-”

“CHARLIE!” Dean and Castiel yell and her mouth snaps closed while Jo giggles.

Cas shakes his head trying to tell himself that didn’t just happen, and Dean raises his hand and starts talking, all three heads swing back to him, “Can I also add that I got both of you your jobs here?”

Jo hangs her head remembering how miserable she was as a waitress and how much she loves her new job. Charlie does the same as she remembers Dean bailing her out of almost going to prison for hacking a government account when she was bored, unemployed, and pissed that she was gonna lose her apartment. And then that period of time when he took her in when she did lose her apartment.

Castiel sees the change in them and clears his throat, “I think you two owe Dean an apology.”

“Sorry, Dean” they say together, sounding like reprimanded children who have seen the errors of their ways.

Dean awkwardly laughs it off, “Don’t worry about it. And y’know Cas would take both of you if he could. I think he just figured with the artist-y stuff…” he stumbles over the title- never feeling he was good enough to call himself that, despite getting through art school on a full ride.

Charlie all the sudden runs towards Dean and Jo flings herself at Cas. Sometimes it was just creepy how in sync they were. “You guys are gonna do so amazing” Charlie says, right as Jo mumbles “There’s no way you won’t win.”

They both hug the girls back, sharing a look with each other across the shop that was part awe and part nerves. Eventually the girls let go and the foursome meets in the middle of the small bakery. “So what will you guys do with the money if you win?”

“Don’t ‘you guys’ anything. If Cas wins what will he do with the money.”

Jo rolls her eyes and shares a look with Charlie, but they look at Cas expectantly anyway. Castiel looks put on the spot, and Dean hugs him from behind simply because he can, but also because it calms him down. “Well I’ve been wanting to expand this space and the building to the left is for rent so I was thinking maybe we could expand some. Make it so that our customers can actually breathe in here…” He looks at Dean, realizing they already pay three different rents as it is.

Dean just smiles down at his husband, as if he could ever deny him anything -as if he ever has- “Whatever you want babe.”

Charlie and Jo fall all over each other when Cas stands on his tip toes to kiss him. But after a few seconds it turns to complaints. Dean ends up extracting his hand from Castiel’s hip to shove their faces away and he hears them exit out the door still giggling. Guess it’s a good thing they’re closed.

Chapter Text

“I’m Castiel Winchester, and I own Bee’s Knees Bakery in  Lawrence, Kansas. My ‘assistant’ is my amazing and supportive husband, Dean. He cares about my cupcakes as much as he cares about his tattoo shop, he’s my rock, and he’s the artistry behind almost all of our cupcakes.”

At home, Cas hides his face in his husband’s chest and hears his own voice along with the cheesey music. Dean hadn’t heard the interview yet, and he knows his husband hates when people brag on him. But Dean just shakes his head and kisses Cas’s hair. He doesn't even have it in him to be embarrassed right now.

He’s just glad that after this hour he can finally tell everyone whether they won or not. He’s tired of the interrogations.

~

Three weeks earlier…

“Well maybe you’ll get to see all the Star Wars cosplay when we get to L.A.” Cas rolls his eyes as he says it. Just hearing his usually very-macho husband go on about the Star Wars convention going on while they’re there. “Because you know we can’t actually get in babe.”

“Yeah yeah I know but think of all the slave-Leia-” Dean cuts himself off and shoots his glaring husband an apologetic look.

Castiel holds the glare for another second before sighing and shaking his head and Dean goes to kiss him on the cheek, wiping away his momentary anger and gets him smiling again.

They’re in the bakery, unpacking things they’d already packed in order for the film crew to... well: film it. Jo and Charlie are flitting around with more nerves than Dean and Cas combined (which doesn’t even make any sense), and the Impala is parked out front because when the casting lady called she’d seen it in the photo’s Cas sent and said it was “bad ass for a cupcake couple.” (It took Dean a little while to get over the title, but he eventually accepted the compliment for the second love of his life- behind Castiel of course).

The crew eventually did show up. When they filmed putting the boxes into the impala and driving away the assistant director that was overseeing made sure they got around 40 billion shots of the shiny black car. But not before getting the shot that made her melt, of Cas and Dean kissing after closing the trunk.

When they did finally get to actually drive away the next day, Cas looked like he was gonna throw up. Dean reached over and held his hand, “Babe, relax.”

“How can I relax? This is so important and if I mess up horribly everyone in America will see it-”

“Well not everyone-”

“Dean.” Cas exasperates.

“Cas I can’t look at you because I’m trying to get us to the airport and this asshole with a fucking smart car won’t get off my ass. But look at me. You’re going to be fine. Even if you don’t win you’re going to give it your best. And anyone who has tasted your cupcakes knows you are the best.”

He leans over and pecks the driver on the cheek, careful not to distract him too much, and then settles in against his side. It’ll be okay. He has Dean.

---

6 hours, 4 burritos, and a layover later: they land in Los Angeles. The studio has a car waiting for them outside baggage claim (“I get it’s not Atlanta, Cas, but it’s still a fucking busy airport they need a bigger space for this shit. I can’t breathe.”) and it takes them to the fancyass hotel they’ll be staying at the for the next two nights.

Dean immediately flops down on the king sized bed and lets out a groan. “I hate flying” is mumbled into the pillow.

Cas starts to riffle through their shared bag, “I know, Dean. You’ve said that a thousand times now.”

“The shit I do for you Cas.”

“Said that a thousand times too."

“You know what-”

“What?”

Dean flips over to see his husband smirking at him, arms crossed- the little asshole. “Oh you’re gonna get it”

Dean jumps up to grab Cas around the waist and fling him over his shoulder before the smaller man can even see it coming. His surprised “Dean!” is ignored and he’s flung onto the oversized bed, but he barely has time to get his bearing before Dean is grabbing at his sides and tickling him with reckless abandon.

Castiel becomes a mess of giggles and shrieks and squirms while Dean is relentless and laughing above him. Finally Cas manages to grab the offending tattooed wrists and breathe while his husband smiles down at him like an overgrown child straddling his lap. He clasps their hands together, but they hardly have time to bask in each other before there’s a knock on the door.

Dean groans a collapses on Cas (completely squashing him) and says muffled against the pillows and with breath tickling Cas’s neck, “Maybe if we don’t move they’ll just go away.”

The couple holds their breath for a few seconds until another knock is given. Cas laughs and pushes Dean off of him- partly so he’ll get the door, partly so his lungs can properly expand. Dean let’s out another groan as his flops onto the floor, but goes to see who’s bothering them without more complaint.

When he swings it open he sees a very short black man dressed in suit in tie looking... politely pissed. “I’m so sorry to bother you Mr. Winchester, but we’ve gotten some complaints about the noise…”

Dean decides this dude looks and talks like Mr. Moseby from The Suit Life of Zack and Cody and for that reason only does Dean not slam the door in his face. Well that and also because Cas would yell at him for being rude.

“Sorry about that man. We’ll keep it down.”

“Thank you. And let us know if you need anything. Have a nice stay Mr. Winchester.”

“Thanks.” And with that he closes the door and turns around, surprised to find Castiel crowding him back against it.

“We could give them some noise to complain about…” he says seductively before grabbing his neck and slamming his lips against Dean’s. Dean immediately catches up and flips them over- holding Cas against the door and lifting his legs around his waist, already starting to hike Castiel’s shirt up, but not wanting to break the kiss to get it off.

Cas ends up making the decision for him, breaking the make out session to get both of their shirts off and then hungrily starting back up, like those few seconds of less contact had killed him. Dean grabs his ass partly because it’s a great ass and partly to balance him better before pulling them away from the door and laying Cas on his back- the smaller man’s legs still wrapped around him though.

Dean starts kissing his neck and Cas finally breathes. “If you give me a hickey I swear to god…”

Dean just laughs in response to that and finally starts working on Cas’s belt. But Cas decides it’s taking too long and flips them over (the little fucker is stronger than he looks) and has both their pants off within a minute.

Down to their underwear now, Cas starts tracing the tattoos on Dean’s torso, while Dean squirms at having Cas very much straddling him, if Castiel notices he doesn’t care.

His finger follows the tribal one- he sees the rest of this one whenever Dean takes off his jacket. He then floats his hand down to Dean’s abs where water colors splash together to form flowers and skulls, animals and feathers. But right when he gets to where they disappear under his waistband he flits his hand back up to Dean’s other shoulder, where the grey wash for his mother fades into white inked roses. Cas remembers tearing up when Dean showed him the addition shortly after his mother passed- realizing what it symbolized. And then finally he traces over the anti-possession symbol just below Dean’s collarbone- matching with his brother’s.

Then his eyes trail down to the small one on Dean’s hip that he’d gotten a year after they’d been together- two years before they got married. Castiel Novak is written in beautiful calligraphy, with 09/18 (their anniversary)  just below it, and stands at the corner of the watercolor. Dean said it makes it look like he signed the art. Cas cried then too; he knew the watercolor was Dean’s favorite ink, because he said it made him the happiest when he looked at it. Now Cas gently rubs over it with the pad of his thumb and smiles, making Dean shiver, and bringing Cas back to the present.

Dean smiles at the beautiful man above him and leans up to kiss him.

It’s the first night in a week that Castiel sleeps peacefully.

Chapter Text

The next day a car arrives at six in the morning to take them to the studio.

Castiel is not at all,  in any sense of the words, a morning person. Deans has to persuade him to wake up, and still ends up carrying him to the shower. While he’s moping through bathing Dean makes coffee and hands it to him the second he steps out. Earning what Dean likes to call “a thankful grunt” from his grump of a husband.

By the time they are downstairs getting into the sent car Cas is on his third cup of coffee and there appears to be no end in sight.

At the studio they end up waiting around drinking more coffee for four hours. They meet the other contestants. Aaron Bass from Ohio, the only other guy, and he might as well have had rainbow glitter coming out his ass. He had a very obvious crush on Dean, and was instantly hated by Castiel. He brought his very over sized and kind of stupid assistant, George Golem.

Then there was Ruby Rizzoli from New York. Dean decided she was kind of bitchy and was not to be trusted. She brought her equally bitchy sister Lilith.

And then in the station next to the Winchesters, across from the Rizzolis, was Lisa Braeden, and her teenaged son Ben from Florida. Dean thought they seemed nice but Cas wasn’t too keen to agree. He did admit though they they were better than the demon sisters anyway.

Eventually they are called on set and Dean goes to where their boxes are already set- having been flown in overnight from Kansas. He watches as Cas lines up with the other bakers, and there’s a tense moment where nothing happens. The finally Justin Willman begins his spiel.

“Welcome, bakers, to Cupcake Wars. Or should I say… Star Wars.”

Dean has to keep himself from gasping and shouting and running up to his husband to kiss the daylights out of him. He has thought that maybe maybe if God decided he was worthy, that this might be for the Star Wars convention down the street.

The camera zooms in on Castiel’s reaction. His eyes widen and he smirks, sending a glance in his husband’s direction.

“Star Wars is about the everlasting battle between good and evil. Dark and Light.” In that moment Darth Vader and R2-D2 walk in from behind him and Dean honest-to-god thinks he’s going to piss himself. When Justin introduces guest judge Ashley Eckstein, he just about passes out.

Willman goes on to explain the first round taste challenge and reveal the “Dark vs. Light” food. And then there's thirty minutes on the clock and Cas is running over to Dean.

“Dark chocolate, honey, and vanilla!” He practically screams it and Dean just kisses him silly. Cas breaks after a second, “Thank God you made me watch all those movies.”

“I wasn’t about to marry someone who hadn’t.” Dean grins and lets his husband explain his ideas.

“We could either marble our dark chocolate batter and our white batter with honey and vanilla. Or just vanilla and do honey icing-”

“Or instead of marble we could do half-and-half-” Dean speculates his own popular invention at the shop.

“That would take too long.”

“True, keep going.”

“Or just straight dark chocolate cake with honey vanilla icing.”

“That’s too boring. What if we marble it with just vanilla white and dark, but also do half-and-half icing dark chocolate and honey?”

“Yes because then the whole cupcake is battling each other!”

“So we’re doing two batters and two frostings in 30 minutes?”

“Hell yeah we are.” They high-five and break. Dean grabs the ingredients for the dark chocolate and Cas scrambles for the honey and real vanilla beans.

Cas will add in his interview after that round ends and they’re waiting to see who gets eliminated that: “I know it’s risky doing two batters just for effect, but hopefully the judges will appreciate it. And I know it’s going to take even longer scraping the vanilla beans rather than just using extracts but this round is all about taste and I’m going for it.”

A few minutes later Dean calls, “Alright babe I finished the dark chocolate, I’m gonna start on the icing!”

Cas calls out his okay and scrapes another bean into his batter. Hopefully it’ll be the last one. Dean grabs sugar and butter and starts making the dark chocolate. He’s just starting to turn on the blender when Cas grabs his hand and a bowl, “Time to marble.”

Together they pour the thick batters into one bowl. Cas grabs a spoon and swirls it together, but not too much- knowing it’ll mix more when he starts scooping. Dean immediately goes back to his frosting as Cas starts making a tray and then running to the oven.

They both finish their frosting at the 20 minutes mark and Cas goes to check on the cupcakes while Dean starts preparing to do the half-and-half icing trick. It’s bagged and has an open-star tip before Cas even gets back.

“Let’s melt sugar.” Cas says by way of greeting.

“Sorry, what?”

“Lightsabers. Blue and Red. Have them battling on the cupcake. Make it more Star Wars.”

Dean just nods and they grab the sugar and color dye.

Castiel adds to this scene later in interview: “Even though it’s only a taste test, I’d learned from Dean and his tattoo shop that symbolism doesn’t always come all the way across. I really want to set our cupcakes apart and really honor what Star Wars is.”

When it finishes melting Dean grabs both pots and runs to pour them on separate sheets, and Cas goes to get the cupcakes out of the oven and into the freezer.

When he returns Dean is already rolling the red into thin icicle shapes, so Cas starts on the blue. In five minutes they have five minutes left and they move the still hot sugar into the freezer and grab the cupcakes to begin icing. Two minutes into that Dean abandons the icing to grab the light sabers.

“Dean put the cupcakes on the plates or we’re getting a divorce.”

“No argument here” Dean sasses and grabs two cupcakes, carefully places them on their respective plates, and artfully sets up the battlings sabers. Then grabs two more and does the same, finishing in the last second. They hug tight and kiss lightly. Crew guys take the plates and a few moments later bakers are called forward.

Aaron’s cupcakes go first. He does some fruity thing with black, blue, and raspberries. But the icing was soupy and Florian “could not distinct between one berry and the next.”

Castiel was second, and his deep voice seemed to naturally calm the other bakers until they heard what he made, “We made a dark chocolate and white vanilla marble cupcake with dark chocolate and honey half-and half buttercream frosting to symbolize the constant battle of dark vs. light. And then the battling red and blue light sabers to garnish and really tie the Star Wars theme all together.”

There’s a lapse as the judges eat and Dean holds his breath and stifles the urge to go and hold Castiel and protect him from all harm.

“Florian, what do you think?” Justin asks.

There’s dramatic pause while the french guy contemplates the cupcake and then gives Castiel a long look. He takes a deep breath, “This is very very good” and then the Winchesters breathe, “The dark choc-o-late is very strong but the vanilla easily counters, and the sweetness of the honey really unexpectedly melds the two flavors together.”

“Thank you” Castiel says with a nod, relief written all over his face.

“I have to agree with Florian here. These flavors just dance all over your tongue. And I love the symbolism. I have to ask: upon further inspection of the cake- you used vanilla beans instead of extract?” Cas nods and she smiles, “Gutsy.”

He thanks her and then Ashley starts talking, “I know this isn’t about appearance but they summed up how amazing it tastes. I just want to say I love the struggle in this cupcake between the dark and the light, and the lightsabers were a nice touch.”

Castiel actually honest-to-god smiles (a rare thing even to Dean) and his husband has to hold back from jumping over the counter and lifting him off his feet.

Ruby’s cupcakes were almost as well received as Castiel’s and they soon realize who their competition is. Something Cas reiterates later in interview.

Lisa ends up having underbaked her cupcakes. It’s obvious coming out of there that it’s gonna be her or Aaron leaving early. Castiel can’t decide which one he wants to leave more.

In the backroom Cas happily curls up against Dean on the couch and the camera is sure to get plenty of angles of that.

After about thirty minutes Ben Braeden stands up and calls Dean over to the snack table set up off the set. Castiel really doesn’t want to let him go but he reluctantly does, and sits alone while Aaron glares at him.

When they get away from camera men Ben starts talking quietly, “Listen it’s looking like we’re probably going to be leaving soon so I wanted to warn you and Cas about the Rizzolis. They turned off our oven.”

Dean has always been a quickly protective person. He doesn’t know the Braedens that well but he could tell they were good people. “They what? Why don’t you tell anyone?”

“We can’t really prove it. Besides, my mom and I aren’t really ones to start fights. Our cupcakes would have been ten times better than there’s. But they sabotaged them. You use different ovens them, but just watch out okay?”

Dean nods, understanding, and puts a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, “Thanks, man. This is really big of you. You didn’t have to tell me.” Ben just gives a meaningful nod so Dean continues, “and listen if you ever find yourself in Lawrence, feel free to stop by.”

“Hey maybe you can give me my first tattoo” Ben jokes, finally smiling.

“Yeah dude I’d love to.” Dean answers, smiling as well. With that they join the other bakers once more. Ruby and Lilith glaring the whole time.

Castiel wraps himself around Dean once more and asks with his eyes what that was about, Dean whispers in his ear that he’ll tell him later, and kisses his temple.

Their worried and loving moment makes it in the final cut of the show.

Chapter Text

Lisa does end up going home.

Justin gives the speech and then they kick it into gear again.

“Okay let’s do iconic characters as cupcakes.” Cas starts, “Yoda, obviously. Pistachio cupcake with white chocolate frosting.”

“I can probably make fondant Yoda heads?"

“That would take too long. Just make the little walking cane.”

Dean nods already planning how he’ll mix the colors to give texture, “Okay and... Princess Leia?”

“Yes! The cinnamon-apple cake! Cream cheese frosting. We can make her buns out of fondant. Dust it all in cinnamon.” Cas lists it off barely giving his ideas any thought. They’re both already on different sides of the kitchen getting ingredients.

“And then what babe? Darth Vader? We already did chocolate cake.... Black berries?” Dean’s already measuring out ingredients for the cinnamon apple.

“I don’t think fruit and Darth go very well together... Espresso!”

“Yes! With dark chocolate buttercream. It’ll be like those candies we had in Costa Rica on our honeymoon.”

“Oh, I love you. Okay, 72 minutes left. Do we have this?”

Dean leans over and kisses him cheek, “Of course, love.”

“I love you. Babe. Honey. Love. The light of my life, the apple of my eye!” Aaron says dramatically in interview later, “Blech! Give me a break.” He rolls his eyes. (Dean throws popcorn at the screen three weeks later).

It’s not until the first batch of pistachio go in the oven, and he’s filling the tray of cinnamon apple does Dean remember that he hasn’t told Cas what Ben said yet.

“Dean come here and taste this.” Cas has the white chocolate on his finger and Dean’s goes over to lick it off, instantly making a face.

“Ew babe what the f***k is that?” (the camera bleeps it out).

Cas looks like he’s about to cry, “I don’t know it tastes like sea water!”

Dean picks up the bag that clearly says “Sugar” and sniffs it. Shit. Silently, he hold it under Cas’s noes and Cas instantly grabs on the bag, flipping it over, reading it, and then rereading it.

“What the f***k? This is f***king salt? How did that even-” Dean puts a hand over his mouth before he can go on a rampage, and grabs the bowl of ruined frosting, running to the trashcan while Cas silently brutes.

When he brushes past Cas, he says “Rizzoli” like a whisper. He grabs a new bowl and places it on the counter- very aware of the camera man very much in their space, and the lapel mics on their shirts. They share a look that communicates everything. What Ben said, the underbaked cake, and the demon sisters. (Props of knowing someone for nearly ten years. Living with them for eight.)

And then they are back into gear. Dean grabs the tray of cinnamon apple and goes to oven, making sure the pistacchio are still cooking as he does. Castiel makes icing faster than he ever has in his life, and then works on the espresso cake. Dean makes the best damn dark chocolate buttercream this side of the world has ever seen, and then sets to work on decorations, right as the first batch are coming out of the oven.

Dean is kneading the marshmallow fondant and the cameras are getting enough footage of it to make a whole show just from that. Every little movement of this tattooed and muscular arms is documented twice, categorized by level of intensity, and the sub-categorized by sexiness.

He ends up with a beautifully swirled shades of brown fondant and starts cutting it into slithers he can twist together to make a cane. He then kneads a new color of honey auburn he pulled off by mixing food colorings and makes Leia’s buns. Then he shapes black fondant into perfectly shaped and flowing capes- and coats them in glycerin to make them shine.

During all this Castiel was frosting cupcakes like a mad man, and suddenly there is only two minutes on the clock. Dean grabs the decorations and runs. Cas knows enough to grab the canes and set the up because that’s the easy bit. He then follows Dean with the cinnamon as the buns are added. And lastly once the capes are meticulously set to flow off of the espresso and dark chocolate, there is 15 seconds left and Dean lunges to get the black edible glitter and sprinkle just a little bit on Darth to make the light catch it. In the last second the last speck of glitter falls and Dean backs off.

They hug tightly, mumbling ‘i love you’s, and pray that nothing got sabotaged that they didn’t catch.

---

Aaron describes the world’s most boring cupcakes, and the least inspired decorations Dean has ever seen and heard in his entire life. But nothing went wrong either. Everything was baked enough, and everything tasted fine.

Ruby’s flavors are 10 times more inspired, but their decorations are lacking- especially compared to Dean’s. Castiel thinks that maybe, if they’re lucky, she’ll go home instead of Aaron. He knows he can beat Aaron at least.

When Cas explains their cupcakes he clenches his fist and tries his best not to shake. What if he mistook the salt and sugar again? What if Lilith had snuck in some human bones to his cupcakes while they weren’t looking at the oven? With every bite the judges take he breathes easier at the lack of body parts.

Finally, finally, they give their opinions.

“Well you certainly have the best looking plate here.” Candace starts. Castiel beams and Ruby shoots him a side glare the camera’s catch. “The dark chocolate buttercream was to die for. I think I have to go to Kansas just to have that again.” Cas smiles and Dean fucking beams, “I’m not usually a fan of pistachio, but I don’t know, this worked. The cane is gorgeous. And your cinnamon apple cake reminded me so much of apple pie. I love the play on the cinnamon buns and Leia’s hair buns.”

Florian goes next and Castiel is having trouble breathing again, “I do have to disagree with Candace just a little bit. While the pistachio cake was very good, the icing I do not think went with it very well.” Castiel could practically hear the ‘dun-dun’ they were gonna edit in. His heart sank, and then did even further when he sees Candace nod in agreement. “However I will say the cane is very very beautiful. As is this cape on the espresso. Everything else I think was very nice.” Cas breathes a bit better after that.

Ashley goes on about how beautiful they are and even mentions how the light catches the Darth Vader cupcake “spectacularly” and how much she loves the cape. Cas thanks God for his husband, who just might be saving his ass this round.

---

“I’m a lot more nervous leaving round two than I was round one. Choosing the wrong flavors is a stupid mistake that can get you sent home on Cupcake Wars. I’m really just praying that the decorations set us high enough to keep going. And thanking all that is holy that I had Dean to make them.”

Dean grabs his husband when he comes back from interview and holds him tightly. Cas’s head falls right as Dean’s chest and he can hear the nervous beat of his heart. He knows his sounds the same.

Chapter Text

“Adam. Pack up your stuff. You’re going home.”

Cas and Dean breathe for the first time in what seems like ages. In a daze Castiel half-listens to the spiel about baking assistants and contractors. He hasn’t even thought this far yet. He has no idea what the display is supposed to look like. Shit.

When Cas gives Dean the “I have no idea what I’m doing” look Dean takes over and Cas thanks god for husbands for what is probably the eight billionth time today.

Dean grabs the pen and the sketch pad with hardly any notice. If anyone finds it odd that the assistant is sketching the design, none of them say anything. Especially not once he gets started. Castiel doesn’t even pay attention, just lets Dean’s voice calm him down and half-notices how beautiful and intricate and detailed the sketch is for something that was done in 30 seconds. The contractor looks like an odd mixture of stunned, nervous, and grateful. Cas figures he’s used to getting really gross looking half-ideas, this is probably either really terrifying or really awesome for him. Most likely both.

Once the contractor leaves Castiel kicks himself into gear. He starts out speaking to Dean and then ends up talking to the baking assistants as well as they all grab ingredients and utensils. “Okay we’re changing the white chocolate icing to champagne icing, because they didn’t like it and it’s easier anyway. Dean I need you to focus on the decorations. I can take over the dark chocolate buttercream. I can get that close enough. If I tried to do your decorations I’d fail miserably.” Dean kisses him on the temple when he says that but cas doesn’t miss a beat. He calls out orders and Dean tries to not find it sexy as hell. Bossy as always.

Dean becomes a machine. He makes fondant and dyes it and kneads it and repeats. He decides the assistants could help him shape the shit they just can’t get the colors right. One has already been exiled to cane-twisting when Cas found out she had never baked anything in her life. Why the hell they hired her is beyond Dean. But she was really sweet and had a pretty cool tattoo on her wrist- which was bonus points in Dean’s book. He was at least glad for the help.

Once he figures there is enough fondant for 1,000 each (2,000 in Leia’s case). He remembers they had light sabers on the first cupcake and curses. He gives quick instructions to Isabel for the hair buns and gets to the stove to find all their burners being used. What the actual fuck?

Quick inspection showed him that they were all cooking the same fucking thing and they were all Lilith’s and Ruby’s. The closest stove had the same set up, leaving the only available one on the other side of the huge ass room. “Yeah, not happening.” he says under his breath and starts pouring all of their sugar into one pot quickly enough for it to not harden (he doesn’t fight fire with fire. Whether they deserve it or not). There’s a camera guy in his face catching all of this but he cannot find it within himself to care. He starts two pots of melting sugar, basks in the smell of diabetes and runs to check on his husband.

Castiel is in a similar state. He’s running completely on autopilot and has his mind in every space of the kitchen while his hands are in a bowl of buttercream. He sees Dean and immediately sticks his finger in his mouth. “How is it?”

Dean quickly gets over the assault and tastes the icing. “Amazing babe, you’re wonderful  and beautiful. Isabel is actually pretty good, so stop worrying about that. I started the sugar for the light sabers. I’m gonna go check on the display. We have a little over an hour left. We’re on schedule.” He kisses him for good measure, sees that his blue eyes are slightly less stressed, and runs out the back door.

Jonathan is a lot further ahead on it than Dean expected and is pleased to see it looks like it did in his head. He only went to exhibit design and drafting classes for like a month before switching to fine arts, so he’s glad he at least got through the blueprints part- and remembered it.

“Hey man it’s looking good!” Dean walks around the Death Star’s body while Jonathan continues to draw lines.

“Yeah dude thanks to you. Thanks for the equation you added by the way that would have taken me a lot longer.”

“Ha ha yeah man I remembered it from when me and my brother built a smaller, less-shelved version of this when I was in high school.”

“High school? Man that’s sweet. Did you major in engineering?”

“Fine Arts actually. But I was gonna do the whole engineering thing at first.”

Jonathan makes the impressed-surprised look most people do at that and struggles with a piece.

“Here let me.” Dean grabs it and fits it in easily, muscles flexing and cameras rolling. Women at home swoon and sob at the unfairness of it all. Dean shrugs when Jonathan gives him the look again and thanks him. That’s his cue to get back to baking.

The sugar is being poured when he gets back and he immediately starts shaping it with the help of Isabel. The majority of the cupcakes are baking and a lot of them are cooling, a few sheets are getting iced. Completed canes are laid out for placement. Dean sees that there are a lot of hair buns done, but the cape fondant hasn’t been touched. He makes sure Isabel has got it before rushing off to start on those.

Castiel plops down the bag of edible glitter when he’s halfway through his thirtieth cape and Dean thanks him with a quick peck to the lips. Before he knows it thirty minutes is being called and Castiel is yelling about hurrying like that’s gonna help anything. Isabel has come in at some point and finished the hair buns and he’s happy to see they’re being placed on iced cupcakes.

At twenty minutes, with the decorations done and being placed, the display comes in and Dean nearly cries. Sammy would be screaming and hugging people like the gigantor sasquatch he is seeing their childhood summer project coming to this big of a size. Castiel takes a grand total of three seconds to take it in before he starts calling them to action. Dean seizes him and kisses him like a mad man just for the hell of it. When they break apart Cas doesn’t know whether he’s thankful or annoyed. He decides he’s both.

At ten minutes the capes still aren’t all on and there’s a tray over there that hasn’t been iced yet. Dean starts to panic.

At five minutes they capes are finished but that fucking tray is still there. Where the hell is Cas?

At four minutes Castiel frosts faster than Dean thought humanly possible.

At three minutes the canes are placed on the previously unfrosted tray.

At two minutes 4 different hands scramble to take from one tray.

At one minute there are still 50 left on it.

At 30 seconds there are 26.

At 10 there are 8.

At one there are none.

When time is called Castiel collapses into Dean’s arms and tries not to cry. They fucking did it. Whether they won or not. They fucking did it.

For the first time they properly look the competition's display.

It’s beautiful.

Fuck.

---

Castiel swears the judging takes a million and twenty seven years.

When they are finally called in he can’t breathe properly. He can’t focus through whatever they are saying to him and can’t gage what’s about to happen. Finally though the words break through:

“Castiel Winchester, Congratulations. You have won Cupcake Wars.”

He actually cries and Dean comes and lifts him into the air. A motion that would usually get him slapped, but he can’t find himself to be angry. He kisses his beautiful husband and tries to here what Andrew is saying. It doesn’t matter. They won.

He thanks God for his husband one more time.

...Today anyway.