Dean was in shock. Gwen was dying. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"What would make you feel better?" Cas asked, his blue eyes sparkling. "I don't like seeing you this way."

"Trust me, I don't like feeling this way." Dean murmured in response.

"Is there anything at all that I can do? Anything?"

Dean glanced over at him with sadness in his eyes. "Not unless you can get rid of Gwen's leukemia."

Cas gave a look of sympathy. "I'm so sorry. Do you think I could go with you? When you go see her?"

As much as Dean wanted him to be there, he thought it best if he went alone. "I don't think so. It's just that... this is one of those family matters. You understand, right?"

Cas sighed, hoping he could go, but he nodded in understanding. "Yeah. I get it. It-it's a family thing."

"But just so you know, that doesn't mean I don't think of you as family."

That made him feel a little brighter. A small smile played at his lips. "I'm glad."

Dean smiled back, kissing his forehead. "What should we do now?"

Cas actually wasn't sure. "I... I don't know. Anything, really."

Dean started thinking, and he realized there was something that Cas had been dying to do. And he knew it was right, even through his fear. He decided that, if there was ever a time to do this, it would be today. It would be now.

"Let's come out."

Cas looked at him in surprise. "But, Dean, I - I thought-"

"Not to everybody. Just Jo and Charlie."

"Are - are you sure?"

Dean smiled. "If I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with you, people oughta know about it."

Cas smiled, happy to hear these words. "Okay. Let's tell them, then. Should we call them, invite them over?"

"Yeah, let's tell them in person. That sounds like a good idea to me."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll call Jo. You call Charlie."

They called Jo and Charlie to invite them over to Dean's place. They were both a little jittery at the thought of anyone knowing, but jittery in a good way.

As they waited in Dean's room, Darling in Cas's lap, he couldn't help but smile. "They're gonna know. We're gonna tell them."

Dean smiled back, scratching Darling behind the ear as she purred softly. "Yeah, they are. You nervous?"

"Nervous? Not even close. I'm terrified. I know they'll be supportive and everything, but still. It's just... that feeling. Y'know? The thought of someone knowing something you feel should be protected like the freaking Holy Grail. I'm nervous... but, at the same time, I am so freaking excited. I'm... 'nervous-cited'."

Dean smiled at the word. "Cas? Are you..." He didn't want to ask. What if he wasn't?

"What?" Cas was curious about what Dean had to say.

"Are you a... a brony?"

Cas smiled at the question, wanting to flip out screaming "YES!" at the top of his lungs. But he figured it would freak Dean out a little, so he kept his cool as best he could. "Yeah, kinda. Why?"

"Because that's the same word Pinkie Pie came up with in the first Equestria Girls movie."

And that basically gave Cas permission to fangirl. "Oh my god, Dean! You are the best person right now! God, I love you!"

There it was. The "l" word.

Dean found himself choked up. "Oh." He couldn't really speak for some reason. His heart began hammering in his chest, like it was trying to bust out of his body. "Well, I, uh, I-" There was a knock at the door. "Hey, someone's at the door! We should answer the door now!" He jumped out of bed, hoping Cas didn't notice anything.

"Yeah, okay." He didn't seem to notice, which relieved Dean.

Why couldn't he say it back? It was a simple phrase. Just four words. "I love you, too." Why didn't he say it? Perhaps it was out of surprise, as he didn't expect him to say that he loved him. Yeah. That's what it was.

They noticed Sam was still in the living room, playing his video game. "Someone's at the door." He spoke, his eyes still glued to the television screen.

"Gee, thanks, Sammy. Never would've figured it out otherwise." Dean replied sarcastically.

Dean opened the door, where he saw Jo and Charlie kissing. So much so, they didn't seem to realize Dean had opened the door.

"Oh, sorry, I'm afraid you're mistaken. The Get-A-Room Services are just down the street."

They separated, looking at Dean. "Sorry." Jo chuckled.

They noticed Cas had a kitten in his arms and practically melted. "Oh my god, is this Darling?" Charlie asked excitedly.

"Yep." Cas smiled.

They went inside, Jo and Charlie petting the kitten. They were both suckers for cats. Any animal, really. But mostly cats.

"You're the cutest thing in the world." Jo cooed.

"I thought I was the cutest thing in the world." Charlie pouted.

Jo chuckled at her. "It's a tie."

"Dude, why's there a cat here?" Sam asked, still playing his game.

"It's not ours, Sam! It's Cas's!" Dean replied.

"Okay. Why's Cas's cat here?"

Dean scoffed. "Just play your dumb game!"

"Hey, Mortal Kombat is not dumb!"

Charlie was suddenly interested. "Ooh, you're playing Mortal Kombat? Which one?"

"Uh, seven, I think."

"Sweet!"

Dean cleared his throat. "So, there's something we were planning on telling you, but not in front of you-know-who." He gestured toward Sam.

Jo and Charlie nodded. "Okay. Uh, your room then?"

Dean confirmed Jo's guess and they went to his room. (A/N: I am literally nervous for them even though I know how it's gonna turn out, what even 😂). Dean realized he had his fists clenched, his palms all sweaty. He really was nervous. He hadn't been this nervous since his first big game back in freshman year.

They closed the door, and as the door shut, Dean knew this was the moment. The big secret was about to be unfurled. The cat would soon leave the bag. And Dean still didn't understand his anxiety.

"So, what'd you wanna tell us?" Charlie asked.

Dean was the first to speak. "Well... see, the thing is... yesterday, we... or - or maybe the day before... well, Cas and I... uh, you see... the two of us-"

Cas grabbed Dean's hand, answering for him. "We're in love!" He smiled.

Jo and Charlie didn't seem to know how to respond. "You're serious?" Charlie asked, a small smile playing at her lips.

Cas nodded excitedly. "Yeah! It's really real!"

Dean nodded slightly, the color drained from his cheeks. "Yeah. Yeah. It's real." He couldn't be excited for some reason. He wanted to be, but the pit in his stomach must've made sure that didn't happen.

After a slight pause, both Jo and Charlie squealed with delight. This lifted a bit of weight off Dean's shoulders, making him sigh with relief.

"Oh my god, this is like a dream come true!" Jo shrieked.

"I know! This is huge! I love this so much right now!" Charlie smiled gleefully.

Dean smiled small. "Yeah. I - I need to sit down now." He sat on the bed, still recovering from his minor heart attack.

"Dude, I'm so glad we're not the only gay couple now!" Jo said to Charlie. "We've found more of our people!"

"Y'know what we should do?" Charlie came up with a stellar idea. "We should form a band and call ourselves The Gay Baes!"

They all seemed to find the idea amusing. "Yes! That is why I love you!"

Cas noticed Dean was looking a bit pale and felt concerned. "What's the matter, Dean?" He sat down beside him. "Are you still worried about... about Gwen?" He whispered Gwen's name.

This was another concern in Dean's mind, but his major concern at the moment was the pounding fear of judgement. Sure, Jo and Charlie were fine with it, but would other people be? Who's to say everybody won't reject him because of his preferences? Because he just knew they would.

"Dean?" Cas spoke after a few seconds of silence.

Dean glanced over at Cas briefly before looking down at his feet again. "I... I'm scared to death, Cas."

He didn't quite understand what it was he meant. He looked up at Jo and Charlie, who didn't seem to know what to say, then back at Dean. "What do you mean?"

"People will hate us. They'll say things. I... I don't want them to say things."

Cas was beginning to see what he was saying. "Oh. You mean, because we're a couple. Dean, not everyone is like that."

"But the majority of them are. And it terrifies me."

Cas sighed, trying to comfort him. "Dean, it'll be okay. We don't need them. If they can't handle the idea of us, then screw them. Because you and I? We'll last. We'll make 'em see. I promise you that. I swear on my life and everything beyond, Dean. We will last."

Dean looked over at him, directly in his bluer than blue eyes. He'd never felt so much love for anyone in his life. He could kiss this boy, if it weren't for the "aww"s of the two girls standing there.

Dean and Cas looked over at them. "Seriously, guys?" Dean asked.

"What? You guys are adorbs!" Jo squealed.

"That's just sad."

"Well you are!"

"You remind me of us when we first happened." Charlie said, looking over at Jo. "Remember that?"

"Oh, yeah! We were sneaking around constantly! We thought we'd die if anyone found out!"

This didn't seem to help the knot in Dean's stomach. If anything, it worsened it. Jo noticed this and tried to amend it. "Not that it would happen! I mean, you two know, and we're still alive! People knowing doesn't kill you, guys!"

"Jo," Charlie interrupted. "I got this."

She sat next to Dean, opposite to where Cas sat. "Dean? Have you ever been on the internet?"

Dean looked over at her. "Yeah. You know I have."

"Have you seen all the gay guys?"

He didn't understand the point. "Where are you going with this?"

"Where I'm going is simple. There are gay people all over the internet. Coming out videos, gay couples, gay singles, everywhere! And they have millions of supporters! Millions, Dean! Less than a billion, but a lot more than a thousand. Now, maybe you won't get millions of supporters, but you know there will be people out there to back you up. And that's a promise." She smiled.

Dean let this sink in for a moment. There would be supporters. He would always have people to back him up. He liked the idea, but how many people would hate him for his preferences?

"It's still scary. Why is it so goddamn scary?"

"Because it's so different. Difference is pretty much always scary. But you just need to embrace it, and keep going strong."

Dean grinned slightly. "Since when are you so wise?"

Charlie returned the smile. "Well, I know a thing or two on this subject."

"How - how do we tell people?"

"Just let it happen," Cas spoke up, Dean looking over at him. "And don't fumble over your words for an hour." He grinned.

Dean simply scoffed. "What, should I leave that to you?"

Cas chuckled. "Well, if my memory serves me correctly, you're the one who kept on babbling and I'm the one who swooped in and saved you."

"Yeah, because I was doing an impression of you. Was it convincing?"

They both chuckled, their foreheads touching. Again, they might've kissed, if Charlie and Jo hadn't killed the mood with their fangirling. They looked over at them incredulously.

"Sorry." Charlie apologized sheepishly.

"You know what we should do?" Jo smiled at her idea. "Double date!"

"Oh my god, yeah! That's-" She stopped when she realized something. "Wait. Cas, didn't you say you went on a date today?"

Cas remembered his date with Hannah. "Yeah. With Hannah."

"If you're dating Dean, then what's with your date with Hannah?"

"Um... fake girlfriends."

"What? My god, are you two thick?"

"It was Dean's idea!" He exclaimed.

"And speaking of ideas, let's double date!" Jo intervened. "C'mon, who cares if they're fake dating other people?"

Charlie looked over at her. "You just don't wanna think about your fake boyfriend when we were first dating! Remember? What was his name? Ash?"

Jo's jaw dropped. "Don't you even go there."

"Hey, you were a sophomore, and he was, what, twenty? Five years, Jo. Five."

"It was a mistake, I know, but... shut up."

Cas was made a bit uncomfortable because he knew Ash. From his therapy sessions. He didn't like to think of the fact that he had to go to therapy, because it was like a trigger. Remembering therapy made him remember he had depression.

"Cas," Jo dragged him into the discussion. "You've met Ash. He's not that bad, right?"

He looked at Jo, unsure what to say. "Uh, well, he's...-"

"Yeah, sure, he's a 'raging alcoholic', but he wasn't when we were fake dating."

Cas nodded along. "Right, absolutely."

"I mean, he's in therapy now, he's getting the help he needs."

Cas began to feel like he was sinking, which was how he usually felt when his manic depression started acting up. Like there was an anchor tethered to his soul, dragging him down into hell. "Right." He murmured.

Dean noticed his sad tone and was concerned. "You okay, baby?"

"Fine. I... I'm fine." He felt the sudden, strong urge to cry. This happened frequently, what with the depression. That is, until Dean happened. Normally he'd cry himself to sleep almost every night, but the last time he had a manic episode was... well, yesterday. But there was a trigger involved; it's not usually because of a trigger, so he was making progress if anything.

Dean took his hand in his own. "You sure?"

Cas couldn't really answer past his tightening throat. Not to mention anything he said would cause tears to flow. He just looked Dean in the eye and hoped he'd understand.

"Is... is this... that thing you were telling me about yesterday?" He asked softly.

Cas only nodded, hot tears forming in his eyes. He wouldn't dare attempt to speak. The threat of tears was too certain. He didn't want to cry, not today.

"Shh, it's okay, Pumpkin," Dean whispered softly in his ear, kissing his cheek. "I'm here. I'll always be here. It's okay."

"Always?" Cas whispered, his lower lip slightly trembling.

"Indefinitely."

Jo knew exactly what was going on, while Charlie was left confused. "What-what's wrong?"

Dean glanced over at her, then back at Cas, not sure if he wanted to explain it. It hurt him nearly as much as it hurt Cas.

"Cas has depression." Jo explained it for them.

Charlie was slightly surprised to hear this. "What?" She looked over at Cas. "Oh my god, Cas."

"It's nothing," He murmured. "Nothing, really."

But she wasn't having it. She got up and went to give him a hug. He was a bit hesitant, but he hugged her back, squeezing her shirt in his fists.

"Cas, honey, it's okay." She comforted him.

Cas felt his tears flowing down his cheeks, and he didn't care anymore. Who cares if he cries? They're only tears anyway.

(A/N: ITS LIKE SIX AM BUT I AINT EVEN CARE SO HERES AN UPDATE YOURE WELCOME BICHES)