As a second grader, the only things Dean Winchester needed to think about were the multiplication tables and fat crayons. Well, and taking care of Sammy. Their mother had to work two jobs just to keep food on the table, their father absent. John Winchester had left the family of four, now three, when Dean was 5; Sam had barely begun to talk. John moved from Lawrence, Kansas to some northern city in Washington State. At least that's where he was the last time anyone bothered to check.

He had said the split with Mary was a mutual thing and promised to visit every other weekend. That promise soon fell through. Within two months, John had stopped coming to Lawrence. Soon after that, he stopped all contact.

But it was New Years, and John had some urge to come visit his kids. Mary reluctantly handed them over and let him take them to some cheap vacation rental a few blocks over. Sam was busy in the living room watching Bill Nye while John and Dean…

Dean couldn't register that anything his father was doing was anything abnormal. He couldn't know it was wrong; he was only 8. John gently laid Dean down on the bed and kissed him gently on the cheek, distracting Dean from the hands slowly sliding his jeans down his legs.

To this day, his father's whispered command constantly echoes through Dean's head.

"Don't tell Sammy, okay? It'll be our little secret."

Years passed. Dean hadn't told Sam. He hadn't told anyone. He figured he'd never have to see that guy again and Sam wouldn't have to worry about his big brother. No big deal, right? Besides, he'd already blocked out most of the memories.

Dean and Cas met in their junior year of high school. Castiel Novak, the new kid from California, appeared suddenly in Dean's English class. The boy nervously shuffled to the seat right in front of Dean's. Before he could turn to the front, though, Dean got a clear view of the boy's sapphire eyes. He had written some sissy poem about angels or some crap but when he had to present it to the class, Dean was smitten. He heard the gravelly voice of the shy, blue-eyed boy and it was like "Love At First Nervous Cough."

Their first kiss took place on a field trip to the zoo. Dean and Cas had snuck away from the group together to see the giraffes (Castiel's favorite animal) when the dark-haired kid got up on his tippy-toes to press his lips against the ones of the ruggedly handsome boy. Dean returned the kiss, almost over-eagerly. He wrapped his arms around the shorter teenager and pulled their bodies flush against each other. They split apart at the sound of the teacher/chaperone clearing her throat.

Between the zoo and now, the two had shared many more kisses. Dean's birthday, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, Castiel's birthday, warm summer nights on the hood of the Impala, cold autumn afternoons in the backseat snuggling in the blankets, the one snowstorm that had them held up in Castiel's tiny apartment with his 3 other siblings; all littered with kisses ranging from a chaste peck of the lips to downright mouth annihilation.

Castiel finished his classes with a solid 4.0 GPA and a scholarship to Stanford. Dean, not so much. Dean excelled in his auto shop class and, with help from Cas, managed a B+ in English.

The graduation ceremony was in the morning, then in the afternoon a graduation party consisting of the Winchester and Novak families.

Dean pulled the elastic of the mortarboard around the crown of his head and turned to Castiel.

"Who decided that this is what people have to wear to graduate? It looks ridiculous," he griped, shaking his head to make the tassel move.

Castiel chuckled lightly and stepped toward the other graduate, placing his hands on Dean's sides. "Well, at least you're graduating." Dean grimaced.

"Don't even joke about that, Cas. I worked my ass off to walk across the stage with you." He leaned down and lightly pressed his lips to Cas's for a moment. "Still, I've worked way too hard to have to look like an idiot with this piece of cardboard on my head."

"We'll all look the same, Dean," Cas noted.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, we all look like idiots."

A knock on the door interrupted the complaining.

"Guys, come on, it's time to go," Sam's voice carried through the door.

Dean knocked Castiel's cap forward on his head with his knuckle and snickered. "C'mon, loser, we're graduating."

Cas lifted the mortarboard back to its original position and kept his eyes on Dean as he opened the door. "I don't understand that reference," he muttered before following his light-haired boyfriend out to the living room. Dean stopped and Castiel awkwardly bumped into his back.

"Dad," he breathed.