Dean was only six when he got his guardian angel. He was just a small, scared little kid with short blonde hair and big green eyes and freckles who had lost his mother and brother, hiding under his blankets from his father who smelled like the grown-up drinks that he wan't supposed to touch. He was scared. So he clasped his hands together and started praying.
"Angels? Are you there? My momma always said angels were watchin' over me so I thought maybe if I talk to them they would help me. My momma and my brother are up there in heaven an' I want you watch over them, kay? And maybe if you could watch over my daddy too, an' make him happy again an' to not smell like grown up drinks anymore." Dean thought for a moment. "Yeah. Okay. Amen." He unclasped his hands and turned off the lamp next to his bed. He went to sleep that night wondering if the angels had heard him.
His father did get better like he had hoped. Some nights he talked to Dean about somebody else he had met, someone he thought he was in love with. Dean told him to tell the person he loved that he loved him, because it was stupid to wait if you really did love them enough. The next night, Dean's father came in happier than he had been in a long time.
"Did you tell them?" Dean asked. His father nodded and swept Dean up into a hug.
"Thank you so much, son." He whispered. Dean's father carried him into the living room and sat him down on the couch.
"He's coming over to move in tomorrow. Is that okay with you?" His father asked.
"He?" Dean repeated, confused. He was getting a new daddy?
"Yes, Dean, he. You're going to have a new father instead of a new mother." His father looked nervous, apprehensive.
"Do you love him?" Dean asked. His father nodded and that was all the little boy needed. He jumped off the couch and hugged his Dad, suddenly excited to finally have another parent.
His new Dad, whose name was Adam, moved in the next day. Dean loved him just as much as he loved his father, even though people gave them strange looks when they went to a restaurant or the zoo. And soon enough, Dean started kindergarden.
But Dean didn't like kindergarden at all. The other kids teased him about having two dads. He tried to explain to them that it wasn't gross or bad or any other bad thing because his dads loved each other and that was what mattered. But the other kids wouldn't listen. One kid named Michael, was a bully, and called Dean bad names and made all the other kids ignore him. Dean didn't have any friends.
He refused to tell his dads because he wanted them to think that he was grown up and strong, and not scared and lost. But he hated how the kids picked on him, hated how he had no friends and was ignored at school. So he did what he had done last time. He prayed.
"Hi angels, I forgot to say thank you for makin' my daddy happy again so thank you. But I don't have no friends in kindergarden, an' I hate it. Nobody wants to talk to me. So maybe if you send me a friend, or even an angel friend 'cause that would be awesome then I would be really happy. Kay. Amen."
He went to sleep that night with hope in his tiny little heart.
He awoke the next morning and rushed getting dressed, almost tripping down the stairs to get to breakfast. His father laughed and put a bowl of cereal in front of him. Dean ate it in record time and started bouncing in his seat, backpack ready.
"Well now, someone's certainly excited to go to school." Adam laughed.
"I'm gonna get my new friend today!" Dean exclaimed, unable to keep it a secret.
"Is that so?" His father said, looking at his watch. "Well, we better get you to school then, shouldn't we." His father got up and kissed his dad goodbye, then drove a fidgeting Dean to school. They waved goodbye to each other and Dean rushed up the steps to his class. He dropped his backpack off in his cubbyhole and in his excitement he accidentally knocked a kid over.
"Sorry!" He cried, getting to his feet and keeping his eyes glued to the floor.
"It's okay." He heard the kid answer. Dean didn't recognize that voice, and when he looked up he was met with a kid about the same size as him, with a shock of messy black hair and astonishingly blue eyes. The boy stuck out a hand.
"I'm Cassiel." Dean cautiously took his hand and shook it. "You're Dean, right?" Cassiel asked.
"Yeah .. But how do you know my name?" He took a step back. "You're not one of Michael's friends, are ya?" He asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"No I'm not. I'm your guardian angel, Dean. I was sent from Heaven to be your friend." Cassiel answered.
Dean perked up instantly at that. "Really?"
"Yes." Cassiel answered, walking over to the cubbyhole underneath Dean's and placing his bag there.
The bell rang and Cassiel sat next to Dean as the room began to fill. The teacher introduced him to the class and Micheal sniggered at Cassiel's odd name, so Dean glared at him.
"Hey, can I call you Cas instead?" Dean whispered after Cassiel had sat down again. Cas smiled and nodded before starting their work.
The years passed and Dean and Cas became best friends, practically joined at the hip. They slowly learned that Cas was special, in ways other than the fact that he was an angel sent by Heaven to be his friend. For instance, Cas didn't get sick. He could practically make himself invisible, which was nice when they wanted to get extra snacks after Dean's dads told him it was lights out. He could make himself appear in Dean's room whenever he wanted, which was a lot of fun for him when he wanted to scare Dean.
People still made fun of Dean for having just one friend, but it was better knowing that Cas didn't want to be friends with anyone else, either. He practically lived with Dean, and had his own sleeping bag in Dean's room next to his bed.
They skipped prom in favor of driving out to a field that they often hung out in. But this time, Cas had promised to finally show Dean his wings. Dean had been waiting 11 years for this, there was no way he was skipping it. Not even for the girls who had told him he "grew up handsome" and asked him out.
They walked out to the middle of the field and sat down. Dean looked at Cas expectantly. They had been friends for so long that they could practically communicate by looks. Cas sighed and took off his shirt and hoodie and stepped forward, closing his eyes in concentration. Suddenly there was the sound of wings flapping and behind him were the most gorgeous things Dean had ever seen. They were black and sleek, and when they hit the sun a myriad of colors swirled through them, like oil. Dean sat there in awe, before finally stepping forward to touch them. Cas shivered, having never felt the sensation of someone's hands in his feathers before.
They stayed in that field until night, with Dean grooming Cas' feathers and Cas actually flying around, his giant black wings flapping and gliding through the air.
Soon enough they were graduating. Unsurprisingly, Cas was class valedictorian. Dean was proud to be on the honor roll, and waved to his dads while receiving his diploma. At the restaurant, they ate all of Dean and Cas' favorite foods, celebrating their achievements. And when the moment felt right, Dean leaned over and whispered "Don't you ever change." into his best friend's ear.