It was a beautiful spring day in Skyloft. With the Wing Ceremony only a week away, Dean woke up bright and early to get some extra practice in. The sun was just coming up and nobody else was awake in the Knight Academy. This was a good thing, because he wouldn't be bothered by anyone as he trained.

After leaving his living space, he ran down through the edge of town and jumped off one of the ramps. He called his Loftwing, a large black-feathered female, who showed up immediately. They soared high into the sky and the bird gave a caw of delight.

"Good mornin' to you, too!" Dean called out from her back.

The bird made another sound of cheer and flapped her wings happily. They dashed through the air a few times and Dean laughed.

"Perfect day for it, eh, Baby?"

More happy cawing continued as they practiced. The sun was rising as they did loops, soared high and then dove quite low. After about an hour, Dean decided they would head back. As the Light Tower approached, he saw figures down below waving to him.

"Deeeeaaaaan!"

It was Castiel and Zelda, two of his peers whom he had grown up around. Zelda had just started at the Knight Academy as she was a few years younger than him, fourteen or so. Her best friend was actually Link, who had also recently started, but he kept to himself for the most part. Dean would see Zelda more often, but if he saw Link he was always with her.

Castiel did not go to the academy. He was a year younger than Dean at sixteen and he had never been blessed with a Loftwing, so he stayed at home taking care of his sister and mother. It was just as well, he thought, because he had always been rather clumsy and flying wouldn't help.

"Hey, Cas! Zelda!"

Dean Loftwing landed with ease in the stone center, then he hopped off and waved back.

"Are you training for the Wing Ceremony?" Zelda asked with wide eyes.

"Yep."

"That's amazing! I hope you win!"

"Thanks," Dean said, smirking. He turned his attention to Cas now, who was smoothing out the tan apron around his waist. "Good mornin', Cas."

"H-Hello, Dean," Cas said rather bashfully. His blue eyes twinkled up at Dean from behind a mess of black hair.

"Any plans for today?" asked Dean.

Cas shook his head. "Only the usual. Oh, do you want to hunt butterflies with me later?"

"Sure, I'll have time for that. I made sure to get up early so my practicing is already done."

"We were watching," said Zelda. Her eyes began to glow. "You were incredible! I think you're going to win for sure! I bet you're excited for the winning ceremony."

Dean shrugged at her comment. "I'm mostly focused on becoming a knight," he said, still looking at Cas. "I promised my old man that I would."

"Oh," Zelda hummed. She of course knew that Dean's father had died when he was little. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Making you think about that."

"Nah, you're fine. Don't worry about it."

Dean smiled to reassure her, but just then Link came running down the stairs and up behind Zelda. He tapped her on the shoulder and, without exchanging any words, they went off together. Cas chuckled.

"They are funny, aren't they?" he asked Dean, watching Link and Zelda walk away together. Dean put his hands on his hips and agreed, but he was looking at Cas.

"I dunno," said Dean. "Hey, so, I'm going to go by mom's house, see how she's doing and grab her bug net. Then we can go catch butterflies. How's that sound?"

Cas cooed with delight. "Wonderful! Thank you, Dean."

"I'll meet you by the marketplace soon."

"Very well."

Cas went running back up the stairs and Dean dismissed his Loftwing, who immediately went soaring into the sky. He then took off towards his house.

Dean grew up on the east side of Skyloft, contrary to Cas whose family was near the marketplace. That didn't matter, because the sky island wasn't all that huge and everyone knew each other anyway. His immediate neighbors were mostly young couples with tiny children or elderly people whose offspring had grown.

"Mom?"

He came through the front door and caught the attention of a blonde woman at the stove. She turned around and smiled warmly at him. There was another boy, barely a teenager, standing close by.

"Hi, Dean. How was practice?"

"Great. I'm totally going to be a knight soon."

"I'm glad you're so confident," his mother said, smiling more. She turned to the other boy. "And in two years, Sam, you're going to join the academy."

"Mh. I suppose so."

Dean stepped closer to his brother and nudged his bony shoulder. "Isn't that what you want?"

"Not really," Sam admitted, much to his family's disappointment. "There's nothing wrong with being a knight, but I just think there are better things for me to do."

"Like what?" Dean snarked, folding his arms.

"Well, um, like research. When I get old enough, Headmaster Gaepora is going to show me his library."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Of course that's what you care about."

Sam grew on the defensive here. He balled up his fists at his sides and glared at Dean. "Have you ever stopped flying to think about the cloud barrier beneath us? Doesn't that make you wonder?!"

"Boys!"

The mother interrupted. Dean and Sam both turned to look at her, feeling ashamed already. She laughed to soften the mood.

"Both of your interests are fair! There's no reason to fight over it, please. Now, Sam, do you want to help me with this bread or not?"

"I do," Sam admitted softly. He was given a lump of dough and began to knead it on the table, just as his mother did.

"So, mom," Dean continued now, acting as if the spat with Sam had never happened, "Could I borrow your bug net?"

"That's fine," she said, grunting a bit as she pressed her palms into the dough. "You should really save up and get your own."

"Well, uh, yeah, I know."

Dean hated the idea of owning a bug net. It seemed so sissy. Borrowing his mother's so Cas could use it with him was okay…

His mother smiled, not taking her focus from the dough. "Go ahead."

"Right. Thanks."

He dashed to the closet and pulled out the net, said goodbye to his family then headed over the bridge and back towards the marketplace. There was a great spot where butterflies always seemed to gather, and surely that was where Cas would be. As he walked closer, he could see the mop of black hair sitting between flowers.

"Heya," Dean said, coming up behind Cas and waving the bug net in front of him.

"Oh! You startled me!"

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

Cas turned around and looked up at Dean, smiling wide. Dean felt his cheeks heat up. "Er, so, you wanna catch butterflies?"

"I do," said Cas, "But when I came here, I sat down and realized how nice and warm it is. Do you want to sit here with me first?"

Dean held his breath. "Yeah, I do," he said finally. He tossed the net to the ground and took a seat next to Cas with his legs out in front. Cas was sitting on his heels.

"Do you want to know something funny?" Cas asked, hesitating just a tiny bit.

"Always."

"I followed Link and Zelda after we separated earlier."

Dean raised an eyebrow and turned to his friend. "Oh, did ya?" he asked, chuckling. Cas was staring up at the sky.

"Indeed I did," he said.

"And? What was so funny? What did they do?"

Cas covered his mouth with his hand and laughed politely, closing his eyes. Dean leaned closer. "What happened, Cas?"

"It wasn't really a specific incident that happened," Cas began, "But rather how Link was acting."

"How?"

"I noticed recently that he's been strange."

"He's always strange."

"Yes, but stranger. Around Zelda."

"They're best friends. Best friends can be strange."

"No, no, he's tripping and less agile. He turns red in the face and then runs away from her."

Dean suddenly laughed. He felt his face turn red and he immediately turned away.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, that is pretty funny," he said. "Link is that age now, I guess."

"Which age?"

Dean felt his stomach turn. "Cas, you're older than him. You know…puberty and all o' that."

"Oh. Yes. Of course."

How could Cas be so dense? He was a young man, he must have known what those feelings were all about. Dean bit his lower lip.

"Zelda is pretty cute after all," he said, "For a kid, you know. Don'cha think?"

Cas shrugged innocently. "If Link is interested in her then we should leave the two of them alone, shouldn't we?"

Dean suddenly nodded profusely. He tried to shake the blood that had rushed to his cheeks. "Yeah, absolutely. Totally. I agree. And we should definitely catch some butterflies now. Look! See? There's a bunch!"

"I don't see any…"

Dean got to his feet and shoved the net into Cas' hand, then pointed further away. "Go, get 'em! Before they fly away!"

He pushed Cas to start running and followed closely behind him.

"Dean, I don't see any!"

They ran to a few trees and Cas stopped. Dean shoved himself into the tree and a stag beetle fell down. "Look!" he said.

"Oh!"

Successfully distracted at last, Cas readied the net and squat down.

"How about that-"

"Sh!" Cas hissed. "Be quiet. Don't scare it away!"

"Heh. Right. Sorry."