Castiel meets him at a tail-gate his brother forces him to go the summer before he has to leave for school. It's not really his scene, but it's close to the university where he's starting his first semester as an undergraduate, and his brother convinces him that he has to try to fit in for this. This isn't what he's used to, no preppy Upper East Side school with the stiff collars and collegiate cardigans. He's not supposed to speak with perfect diction and use as many big words as he can possibly find. He's not supposed to try to discern how smart the person he's talking to is and try to be even smarter than he or she is. This is a humble town, Castiel is told, and as such he's supposed to be humble himself.
It's not that he's stuck-up, far from it as far as he is concerned, but the learning curve is a little different for him as it is for the people around him at the moment. See, Castiel comes from a very wealthy and prominent family which originates from the New England portion of the country. His father is an awarded author and his mother a professor at Juilliard, where, up until a few months ago, he was supposed to be going away for school. He has five older brothers and two younger siblings. Yes, if you can look up the words 'conservative, old-fashioned American' you'll probably find Castiel's family portrait as the very first link in the search. Michael and Lucifer, the eldest, are lawyers with competitive firms. They try to outsmart and out-case the other all the time, they cannot live together but they are crippled when they are apart. They almost killed each other last Christmas and the kitchen needed certain amounts of renovation after they somehow made the oven and the microwave explode simultaneously (Castiel is of the belief that Lucifer exploded the oven while trying to cook dinner, and Michael was not satisfied until he matched his younger, by three minutes, sibling.) Then there is Raphael who has become a relatively famous pianist. Raphael plays in old men clubs, at least that's what the younger siblings think of them as. If there is anyone more conservative than their mother, it is him. Then is Gabriel, the first but not the last, black sheep of the family. Gabriel is loud and outspoken and flamboyant. Gabriel is the type of kid to form the Gay-Straight Alliance at the school against their parents' wishes and the one who gorges himself on sweet. Gabriel is the one who revealed himself as pansexual his freshman year of college and refused to receive therapy, and therefore was mostly kicked out of the family. (Castiel knows for a fact that Gabriel is out of their parents' will. Then again, so is he.)
Then there are the three younger kids. Samandriel, who when he was about two years old decided to start calling himself Alfie after he saw this cartoon on the TV that their parents most certainly did not approve of, and who's name had stuck for Castiel and Gabriel since then. He is ten years old right now, and has the kindest soul Castiel has ever met. His heart pangs every time he remembers that he left him, that perhaps he will be twisted into a younger version of his siblings and parents, and that hurts him. Alfie wants to be a doctor when he grows up, and he's certainly in the right path. He is compassionate and kind and patient and understanding. He is better than any of the Novak-Shurley kids. Then there is Annael, or Anna for short, who is fourteen at the moment. She's the female version of Gabriel, if Castiel is being honest with himself, and he is so proud of her every time he manages to sneak in a text message to her contraband cell phone. She has bright red hair and a bright, rambunctious personality. She has a 4.3 GPA average, is an accomplished gymnast, a very important member of the debate club and an infiltrated member of the GSA after Gabriel left. Castiel kept tabs on the club but was never really an active participant, he was much too afraid of his parents' wrath back then.
Then Castiel, the third youngest who had never been really good at anything. Michael and Luci were good at politics and public relations respectively, then Raphael who had not soul while playing but excelled at hitting notes on a piano. Alfie had an affinity for sciences, not to mention his compassion. Annael the gymnast debater. Then there was Castiel, who was an average guitar and violin player, who was an average lacrosse and hockey player, and who had successfully maintained a 3.5 GPA his whole school career. No one had hit a GPA lower than a 4.1 in his family with the exception of Gabriel during his sophomore year of high school, and that had never wavered from a 3.8. in essence, Castiel had always been the disappointment. Still though, he had managed to get an appointment with a Juilliard counselor, had been in the path for passing his audition according to his mentor, and had managed to become second best in the hockey team. Then, during the last week of his summer vacation before senior year, he had to go and fuck all of that up by discovering he was attracted to boys. He'd immediately called Gabe, panicking, but his older brother proved to have more wisdom than anyone gave him credit for. Between the two of them, they'd convinced their parents to let Castiel go and live with Gabe for a year. They had said that, since Castiel would be living at home during college, sometime away might be good for him.
In that year, Castiel had submerged himself in online classes to get his high school diploma, Netflix marathons during his day off, and conversations with his brother. Slowly, Castiel had begun to accept the fact that he was not diseased. He was not sick, or a sinner or any of the other things that had been taught to him since he was old enough to understand basic words. Gabriel had been invaluable when the time came to tell their parents and the rest of his siblings. They had flown together, stayed for exactly 37 minutes at their house before booking a hotel and going to their favorite places around the city. They had left the very next day. Needless to say, Castiel had also been cast out of the Novak-Shurley clan and was no longer in his parents' will. Not that he needed it, Gabe was a successful business owner in the town, was the co-owner and partner of a car-restoring shop at the edge of town and was planning on getting his masters in child psychology at the moment. Clearly, the two of them would be more than well off for a while.
Anyway, at the moment, Castiel kind of wished he had stayed at the house. They were driving in Gabe's restored Chevy pick up truck. That was the very first problem with tonight's outing, the car was a neon blue. Like, kind of the color of the sky in a perfect summer day but… brighter. Much brighter. Gabe said it was a representation of his personality, Castiel thought it was tacky, the neighbors shook their head at it, and Bobby Singer from the salvage yard just called him an idjit and lamented the fact that such a beautiful piece of machinery had been degraded with such color scheme. The second worse thing about today was the outfit. Not Castiel's, he had gotten quite used to the cargo pants, wife-beaters and Vans in contrast to his old khakis, button ups and sweater vests. No, the outfit in question was Gabe's. He was wearing a cowboy hat, and a really bright green plaid shirt, ripped jeans and a belt with a huge buckle. He was every stereotypical cowboy wanna-be to have ever been created. As they neared the field where the other cars were parked, Castiel lowered himself a little bit more in his seat.
"Oh, lighten up, Cassie! This is going to be fun!" Gabe told him as maneuvered the truck. He was blasting some twang-y country song on the radio while he sung along off key. Castiel felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He loved his brother dearly, but his personality sometimes was a little too over the top for the younger Novak-Shurley boy.
"Do you think they'd mind my attending of this function?" Castiel asked him as they sat on the cab. He pulled at his shirt subconsciously while he tried not to panic. He had never been one for social events, but at least cotillions and balls he had been used to. He could pretend like he wasn't the biggest weirdo at those, but this was so much different. Gabe had been attending these things since his freshman year of high school when he'd moved down south for school, and had met his brief-boyfriend Odin. (Yeap, like the Norse God. Castiel pities him and his siblings.) He was used to the music and the atmosphere and the drinking. Castiel, on the other hand, was very much not.
"You'll be fine, little bro. just try not to talk in big words and stop being so stiff. Remember, southern hospitality is very much not a myth," Gabe grinned at a girl who walked by their truck, and she winked back at him. That was another reason why Castiel had been hesitant to attend one of these things before, he had no idea how to flirt. His siblings often compared him to a baby duck. He was cute, they said, but he was awkward as fuck. Not only that, but Castiel sometimes had the tendency of latching on to particular people. If he fond someone that he thought was worth knowing, he'd latch on to them like his life depended on it. He imprinted on people, much like baby ducklings. It was quite annoying, but he couldn't stop it.
"What if someone tries to flirt with me?" Castiel asked him, suddenly horrified. He had no idea what he would do if a girl tried to hook up with him. He wouldn't want to be rude, but the idea of huge breasts and long hair kind of horrified him.
Gabriel laughed loudly, and shook his head at his brother. Of course he'd freak out about something like that. He clasped a hand on Castiel's shoulder and forced him to look at him. "Cassie, nobody is going to flirt with you if you don't want them to, okay? They know about your preferences, little brother."
"You told them?!" Castiel didn't know if he should be glad or offended by that. Yes, it would be much easier than having the girls try to hook up with him, but it also had the potential danger of being humiliated. He knew most of the people at the tailgate were incoming freshmen with a splattering of upperclassmen, and that made things worse. Back in his old school, kids had teased him and called him all kinds of names even before he had declared himself with a preference for me. He didn't want that to happen again. He'd worked himself into a panic before Gabe shook his shoulder.
"Castiel, you are fine. You will be fine, and you're going to have fun. These guys aren't like the other assholes you've met, they're actually pretty cool. Plus, you're not the only gay kid in here. I mean, I'm bisexual, little man, and I haven't had trouble making friends. Just calm down, alright?" Gabriel waited a beat after Castiel nodded to open his door.
They walked close together to their tailgate and lowered it, before walking to where the other people were standing by. There was a bonfire in the middle of the circle of cars. There were mostly trucks, with two exceptions that stood out like sore thumbs. They were next to each other too, so attention was drawn to it. Gabe grinned as Castiel eyed the black monstrosity of a car with unveiled interest. Okay, so Gabe maybe had more than one reason to bring his little brother at the tailgate. He had met Dean Winchester at the library last semester while he'd been finishing his undergraduate and Dean had been finishing his freshman year. The details are a little fuzzy, but the thing was that Gabe had invited him to one of their tail gates and they had become friends. He had known the green eyed boy was just the kind of guy his little brother would go for without question. He just hoped things worked out well.
"1967 Chevy Impala," Gabe said conversationally. Castiel turned to him and tilted his head to the side in confusion, which made the older brother snicker. Just like a baby duck. "The car, it's a 1967 Chevy Impala, you should probably know before you meet him."
"And why would I be meeting the owner of that car?" Castiel questioned him. He had suspicious glint in his eyes, and Gabriel just smirked.
"Cause I've been meaning to introduce you two for some time," Castiel opened his mouth to protest but Gabriel hollered "The trickster has arrived!" before he could. His declaration was met with cheers, raised beer bottles and laughter. He grinned to himself, he loved these things. Castiel had ducked his head in embarrassment and tried to hide himself behind Gabe. Which, admittedly, was difficult to do since Castiel was like three inches taller than him. "C'mon, bro, let's see if we can't help you make some friends."
They'd been around for about an hour, and Castiel was feeling lighter and more comfortable than he had his whole life. He had a beer bottle in one hand (it wasn't bad, but it also wasn't that good) and was talking pleasantly with Charlie. She was an incoming freshman, just like him, with bright red hair and a ready smile. She was a computer science major, and a ginormous geek. She had made obscure references to some old movies and TV shows that he had never even heard off, and she laughed at his confused face every time. They had begun talking about more recent stuff, and Castiel had excelled. Netflix really was a wonderful aid. They were on the quick path to becoming friends.
Castiel had also met Kevin, another incoming freshman, who was studying philosophy and English in the hopes of becoming a politician. He was twitchy, and Castiel was informed it was because he mainlined caffeine like it was oxygen, but he was a sort of pleasant, if not manic, guy. He had also met Sam and Jess, the only high school students at their gathering. They were both about to start their junior year in high school, and had been invited by Sam's older brother to hang out. Then there was Balthazar, a college junior theatre major with a smooth French accent. He was funny and witty and extremely sarcastic, and he liked to call everyone by pet names. Castiel, apparently, was darling.
They were all hanging around the bright yellow beetle, which turned out to be Charlie's car, before trouble started. First, it was the sound of really loud pop music and a cloud of dust blowing behind a big black truck. Castiel heard Balthazar gag, and Charlie bang in the trunk of her car. Sam huddled a little closer to Jessica. Then the people in the car got off, two brunette girls and a blond. Accompanied by a big, sourly looking blond and a short, dark haired kid. They looked around at everyone and snorted derisively, before they moved to a group of kids huddled around the darkest part of their circle. Kevin twitched one last time before everything went back to normal. Castiel stared for a little longer, before turning back to his new friends.
"The Assholes," Charlie said by way of introduction. Balthazar and everyone else made a noise of agreement. "They come around every once in a while and try to stir trouble, they're friends with some of the kids that come to these things. They were, like, royalty in their old high schools and they think it still applies to them. The girls, Ruby, Lisa and Lillith used to be cheerleaders together or something. Then Alistair was the head of the wrestling team, and Crowley (the short one) was a cunning soccer jock. Nobody really likes them much, but they hang out with Meg and her friends so we let them be."
"I used to know people like them," Castiel muttered and everyone turned to look at him. "They gave me a few wedgies when I was a freshman," he grinned faintly and everyone else laughed.
He thought that would be the end of it, but when another truck rode down the path to their group, Ruby was suddenly next to them. She stared at Sam like he was a piece of meat, and he glared back at her. Jess tucked a hand in his back pocket.
"How you been, Sammy?" she asked, trying to lean up into Sam's personal space. From his angle, so far up, he had a very good view of her cleavage as she leaned. Castiel stared wide eyed at her, a mixture of horror and amusement swirling inside of him.
"Fine," Sam replied curtly and tucked Jess closer to his side. Ruby glanced at her derisively before looking back at Sam. She pouted, it was all very fake.
"No need to be surly around me, sweetie. I just want to be friendly," Castiel couldn't help his snort when she batted her eyelashes at him. Charlie giggled next to him.
"Sorry, Ruby, but I'm not interested," Sam's voice was a lot colder than it had been. Ruby, though, didn't get the message.
"I think I could change your mind, Sammy. Why don't you come grab a beer with me? We could have some fun," She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger in what was, probably, meant to be a sexy manner. To them, it just looked really fake and really annoying.
Before Sam could reply, the crunching of gravel under two heavy pairs of boots came from somewhere to their right. Castiel squinted his eyes to see two tall brick walls walking towards them. One of them was taller than the other and had a baseball hat on top of his head, while the other was covered in flannel and had blond hair. Once they got closer, Castiel distinguished them as two guys not two brick walls. They were just very, um, broad. The tallest one was thick. Muscles everywhere, on his arms and his chest, even on his neck. He had a scruffy beard his eyes shone an alluring gold in the light of the fire. The other one was a couple inches shorter, and his muscles were more concealed. He had dirty blond hair, and was wearing a plaid flannel on top of a t-shirt, ripped blue jeans and boots. He was smaller than the other one physically, but there was something about him that screamed power.
"Ruby," the shorter on drawled, and Castiel bit his lip. Not only was the stranger gorgeous, but he also had a sex voice. Castiel wanted to know everything about him immediately. The guy, even though his jaw was set in a harsh angle and there was stubble dusted on his chin Castiel could tell he was still a teenager, leaned closer to Ruby from behind. She stiffened, and the hand holding the beer bottle dropped to her side. "I thought I told Crowley I didn't want any of y'all around my friends. Especially," he hissed into her ear, "my brother."
"I was just trying to be friendly, jackass," she said. Castiel knew she was trying to sound defiant, but her voice shook.
"Get lost, Ruby," Sam told her as he turned his attention back to Jess. Ruby huffed one more time before she turned around in her heel and stalked away from the group. Her shoulder connected with the new guy's roughly, but he merely chuckled. The stocky short guy from The Assholes called Ruby's name, and glared at the group. The blond guy who had run Ruby off didn't even turn around, merely raised his hand and flipped them off over his shoulder. The big bear of a man chuckled.
"Sure you wanna start a tussle right now, brother?" he asked as he squeezed the shorter man's shoulder. Blond/Gorgeous/Sex voice laughed, and made his way over to the cooler.
Unfortunately, it was right beside Cas as everyone had circled around him when Gabriel dropped him off with Charlie. The guy moved forward to get to the cooler, but stopped short as his eyes took Castiel in. He narrowed his eyes, obviously he was not that friendly towards strangers, before he looked at Charlie and raised his eyebrows. The red head huffed out a laugh before she draped an arm around Castiel's shoulders.
"Dean, this is Castiel Novak, Gabe's little brother. He moved here like a year ago and is started his first semester at the U. Gabe decided this was a good time as any to introduce him to our shindigs," she squeezed Castiel's shoulder. Dean looked back at him for a moment, raked his eyes up and down Castiel's body, and the younger man blushed. Now would be a very inappropriate time to pop a boner. He willed himself to remain calm, but his pulse was trying to beat its way out of his heart. For an irrational moment, he thought Dean was checking him out. Not in a "Hey, look, new kid; hope he's not a weirdo" kind of way, but in an "I'm undressing you in my mind and imagining everything I could do to you," kind of way. He shook his head, obviously the heat of the bonfire was affecting his rational thinking. "Castiel, this is Dean Winchester. Sophomore at the U, Sam's over-bearing older brother and mechanic extraordinaire."
"Hey-a, Cas," the guy, no, Dean said with an easy smile. He shoved a hand into his pocket and extended the other. The nickname rolled smoothly off his tongue, and although Castiel often dreaded being called abbreviations of his name by his siblings, he could not find any fault in Dean calling him Cas. Cas, he thought, yeah I can get used to that.
"Hello, Dean," he said and had enough presence of mind to grasp the other man's hand. He might have been painfully uncoordinated and antisocial, but there was no way he was missing out on touching Dean any way he could. He ignored how creepy that sounded in his head, and concentrated on the firm grasp of Dean's fingers around his. Dean's fingers were calloused and rough, but his grip was firm and gentle. His fingers didn't try to engulf Castiel's, even though they were longer and stronger, rather they wrapped around his digits gently. It felt less than shaking, and more than cradling.
Castiel realized that he'd been gaping at their grasped hands, and quickly turned his eyes up to meet Dean's. He didn't even remember that just because he wasn't staring at their clasped hands didn't mean that his fingers had uncurled from Dean's. but neither let go, Castiel could now see that Dean's eyes were a vivid green. Pulsing and vibrating with like, the speckles of gold in them made all the more prominent because of the firelight. He found himself getting lost in those eyes, the freckles dusted over his nose and cheeks because of the sun, and he grinned back.
His musings and appreciating were disrupted by the loudly clearing of a throat. They snatched their hands away as if they had been burned, and Castiel turned to look at the floor. He was sure his face was tomato red. God, what had gotten into him? Practically salivating at a mere stranger. He tried to look at Dean from under his lashes, but the other boy had turned away from him.
"Well, if you're quite finished," Gabriel said with a smirk. And wow, Castiel must have been really gone if he hadn't even heard Gabe approaching. He narrowed his eyes at his brother in warning, but the older Novak merely smirked. "I think it's time to get this party started." Charlie shooed Castiel from the trunk and popped it open. Inside was a set of ginormous speakers, and Castiel's eyes widened. He had no idea these things were such great productions.
"None of that pop shit, Gabriel!" Dean yelled out gruffly.
"Hear, hear!" the big bear of a man agreed and Dean grinned at him. Castiel narrowed his eyes, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Of course, Dean had to have been either straight or taken. He seemed, and sounded from everything his new friends had said about him, to be available. He sighed and looked down at the floor again. Gabriel hushed them and put down some really loud country song with loud drums and twang-y guitar. Castiel sighed and sat himself on the bumper of the car, his whole frame vibrating, while everyone else gather round the bonfire to dance.
He looked over at the people gathered around him and wished, for just one moment, that he could have been able to be a part of that. Up until now, he had never been much for parties or dancing or socializing. He preferred to stay indoors with a cup of coffee and a good book. But as he looked over at how much fun they were having, and looking over at Dean twirling a pretty blond haired girl around, he wished he had participated in something like this before. Maybe if he had, he could have walked over to Dean and asked him to dance. Maybe if he had been a little more social before, a little more talkative, he could have gotten to know Dean a little better. He sighed and cut his eyes to the clearing again, seeing as how Dean was now goofing off with the big tall guy with the baseball hat. They were holding hands, but they were fairly separated, while the big guy pretended to sing the lyrics along. Castiel was mesmerized as Dean laughed, throwing his head back and messing up his rhythm. He was so full of life, charming and fun and spontaneous, and everything that Castiel was most certainly not.
"It's all so stupid, isn't it?" Castiel had been wrapped up in Dean so much that he hadn't noticed the guy sitting next to him. He recognized him as the tall blond guy from The Assholes. He was suspicious immediately.
"I don't see how," Castiel said stiffly. "So they're two guys, who the hell cares. They're enjoying themselves, at least."
The other guy looked at him, his eyes flashing eerily in the firelight. "But you're not," he said in what Castiel assumed was supposed to be a seductive tone. The guy was leaning closer to him, the hand between them inching closer to Castiel. The blue eyed boy didn't know what to do. He didn't want to cause a commotion if it turned out that this guy wasn't really coming on to him, but he also didn't want to be molested like this. He cut his eyes to the clearing, meeting a flash of vibrant green, before focusing on his assailant again. "Bet I could make you feel better," and his disgusting, sweating hand was in Castiel's thigh. Much too close to his crotch for comfort.
Castiel's eyes widened, and his neck and face flushed. He had no idea how to proceed, nothing like this had never happened to him. He had a horrifying image of this guy groping and taking him from the clearing to rape him, and no one would even know. He took at deep, sharp breath to scream, but heard a yelp before he could utter a sound. Then, the hand on his thigh was gone. He opened his eyes, when did he close them? And saw Dean with his fingers tightly wrapped around the creep's hand and a murderous look on his face.
"What the fuck have I told, Alastair?" he growled.
"This ain't none of your business, Winchester. Get fucking lost," the idiot growled back. Dean was having none of his bullshit and twisted his arm back viciously, Castiel winced in sympathy. "I was just talking to him. Being friendly," the meathead continued. Obviously, he wasn't very smart.
"Cas," Dean said softly. Blue eyes snapped to green, his pulse thudding in his chest from nearly getting molested and simultaneously having his knight in shining armor rescue him, and Dean gave him a reassuring smile. It was like he could tell, from one glance, that Castiel was not okay. "Did you consent to Alastair either talking to you or touching you in any way?"
The meathead looked up at Castiel and smirked, as if he had it in the bag now. Castiel was suddenly in a rage; just because he was gay did not mean he wanted every guy that came near him. Unable to form words, he once again met Dean's gaze and shook his head vehemently. Dean gave him a sunny grin, and twisted more painfully, his other hand coming to hold the asshole by his shoulder. He heaved him off the bumper and threw him to the dirt road. He then came to stand in front of Castiel, who still sat gripping the metal under his hands tightly, and glared at the other blond boy.
"You and your crew stay the fuck away from him, Alastair. Until it's explicitly stated otherwise, Castiel is one of us, so you stay the fuck away. Capice?" Dean leaned down and got on the other guy's face.
Alastair stare up at him with hatred, and then cut his eyes to Castiel. He heaved himself off the ground and dusted his pants. "This isn't over, fags," he spit out.
Castiel saw it happening in slow motion. Saw the way Dean stiffened even more and his back muscles contorted under his tight black t-shirt (he had disposed of the flannel when he went to dance.) Before either blond could move, Castiel had gotten a hold of Dean's t-shirt and pulled him back, before he could punch the idiot.
"Fuck off," Castiel growled at him, still holding on to his rescuer's shirt. They were all surprised at his outburst, Castiel included, but then Dean started laughing. He took a step back and draped and arm around Castiel, like Charlie had done, but somehow this felt a lot more intimate.
"You heard the man, asshole," he said with a cheeky grin. Alastair looked at them in disgust before he walked away. Castiel watched him, seeing the stocky guy with black hair staring back at them. From this far away, and with the shadows the light casted over the clearing, his eyes looked eerily black. "Damn, that was fun!" Castiel snapped his eyes back to Dean, forgetting the other boy, and found him smiling from ear to ear.
"I fail to see how a physical confrontation with a Neanderthal can be considered amusing," Castiel muttered sourly. Dean stared at him for a beat before throwing his head back and laughing. It was deep, belly laugh and Castiel found himself warmed up by it. Still, he didn't see why the beautiful boy was laughing, so he tilted his head in confusion and narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, man," Dean told him. He wiped imaginary tears from his eyes as he continued to chuckle. "It's just that I've been thinkin' that you just didn't talk all night, and about how to start a conversation with you, and here it turns out you're actually hilarious." Castiel blushed, and noted that Dean still had his arm around him.
"I was being serious, Dean," he said.
"I know, and it's great!" Dean smiled down at him, and irrationally, Castiel found himself smiling back up at him. Dean's arms slip from his shoulders, and Castiel thinks he's going back to dance with his… whatever the big guy is. He feels sad for a second, and then disappointed, but doesn't dare say anything. So he's startled when Dean heaves a sigh as he sits back on the bumper, and stares expectantly up at Cas. When the blue eyed boy doesn't move, Dean grins and pats the space next to him. With only a small amount of hesitation, Castiel goes and sits with him.
They end up talking for the rest of the night. It takes Castiel at least half an hour of being with Dean to become fully comfortable with this arrangement. Not that he had anything against it from the start; it's just that he's used to having guys he likes not giving him the time of day. Dean, though, Dean is different. He's funny and kind and sweet, and a good listener. He laughs at Castiel's jokes, even when he says them in his usual deadpan ways. He stares at Cas like there's nothing else in the space around them, and Castiel allows himself to do the same thing. They don't drink, one beer was enough for Castiel, and they don't grow bored. Instead, they talk about anything and everything they can think about. From mundane things such as their favorite colors to deeper stuff about favorite poems and the reasons behind why.
They talk about their families. Something that, Castiel finds out, neither of them are overly confident or comfortable about. Castiel tells Dean about getting rejected by his family, about his reclusion of the last year, and about living with Gabriel. Dean, in turn, tells him about his life. And if Castiel thought he was amazing and gorgeous and wonderful before, by the end of the night he thinks there is nothing on God's green earth better than Dean. The green eyed boy tells him he lives with his Uncle Bobby and his new wife, Ellen and her daughter Joanna Beth, who nobody dares to call by her given name but her mother (they call her Jo.) He tells Castiel about getting kicked out of his house when he was thirteen by his father for finding him kissing a boy behind the bleachers after a baseball game. He tells him about how he had to leave Sammy with his parents and move with Bobby, because he refused to deny who he was. He tells him about his mother divorcing his father when he was sixteen, and about seeing Sammy in secret in the playground of the elementary school. He tells him about the beating his Dad gave him for "flaunting his deviance" down the street when he was out getting ice cream with his boyfriend Michael. He tells Castiel about Michael breaking up with him because he was "Fucked up," and about the depression that ensued after that. He tells him about meeting Benny and Gabe and the others during his freshman year, and about how he's now a lot better than he used to be.
Castiel tells him about his inability to talk to people, about his social anxiety, and about the fact that he has never really had friends. He tells him about, embarrassingly enough, how he has never had a relationship. He tells him about how he's so afraid he's going to be alone forever, and how today was the first time he had ever allowed himself to just… go with the flow. He tells him about his fear of depending on anyone else. He expects Dean to pity him or sneer at him, but he does neither. Instead, Dean nods with a soft smile on his face, and tells him that he has felt exactly like that for the last few months. But then he looks at Castiel, and there's something in those green eyes that Castiel feels returned by his blue ones, and they find themselves smiling goofily at each other.
As the evening is winding down, Castiel realizes, as Dean leans down to talk into his year, that they have drifted much closer. And he's not talking about the distance between their bodies, but as people. Castiel has revealed much more than he ever has to this person who, up until a few hours ago, had been a complete stranger. But Dean has done the same, and now they find themselves into this contented bubble that Castiel does not want to burst. But he feels like he should do something, lean forward and plant a kiss on that cupid bow or leans his head on Dean's shoulder, but he is so incredibly afraid. If nothing else, surely they're friends, and Castiel can already tell that being Dean Winchester's friend would be much better than being nothing at all.
Dean, as always, is already a step ahead of him. He leans until their shoulders are touching and their thighs are close together, and turns to look at Cas. Whispers the blue eyed boy's name in that way that has Castiel immediately looking at him, and then there's a hand on Castiel's cheek. They both take a deep breath before their lips meet, and Castiel swears he's never felt anything better. Not even burgers or chocolate cake can compare to how amazing this is. Without his biding, his arms go around Dean's shoulders and he leans their chests against each other's.
It's nice, and comfortable, and safe and Castiel doesn't want it to end. Especially when Dean's other arm goes around his waist to pull him closer. But then, a loud sound breaks through their bubble and he can feel Dean grinning against his lips. Castiel belatedly realizes that the noise he's hearing is catcalls and clapping and whistling, and he laughs under his breath as he hides his face on Dean's chest. It' a very nice, and firm chest and it smells like apple pie, spice, and leather. He wishes he could stay there forever.
"Well, hello little brother!" Gabriel's obnoxious voice cuts through the noise. Castiel buries himself into Dean even more. "That's certainly nothing I've ever seen before from you~" he sing songs.
"Oh, fuck off, Novak" Dean says but there is no heat behind him. He laughs and buries his nose into Castiel's curls. "All of you too!" he yells out as everyone keeps cat calling them. Most of the group laughs good naturally and goes back to dancing.
"All right! Last song of the night!" Gabe yells out as he changes the song to a country love song. Castiel raises his head to see him walking towards the girl who had winked at him when they parked. Dean stands up abruptly and leaves Castiel feeling bereft. Before he can wonder what's wrong, he sees Dean smirking at him.
The green eyed boy stretches a hand towards Castiel and smiles sweetly. Castiel looks up at him and tilts his head in confusion. "C'mon, Cas, dance with me," he murmurs. The blue eyed man hesitates for only a second, just long enough to see the fondness and sincerity in Dean's eyes, before he lets the green eyed man pull him towards the clearing. Dean pulls him to his chest, and winds his arms around Castiel's waist. Castiel, for his part, tucks his head under Dean's chin and fists his hands on Dean's chest. They're as close as they can be, swaying in the heat of that august night, and Castiel finally feels light. It's like they're walking on air.
As Luke Bryan sings in the back, Castiel feels Dean kiss the top of his head. "Hey, Cas," Dean murmurs and Cas hums in reply. "Would ya, maybe, wanna be my boyfriend?"
Castiel giggles, he can't help it, and shoves his head into Dean's chest. "Of course, Dean," he answers back just as lowly, just as sweetly. He feels Dean's chest vibrating under his cheek and can't help the goofy smile that breaks across his face. They keep swaying along to the song, pressed as tight as they can go, and Cas knows he'll never forget that song.
"This is my first love song
First time I felt the words,
First time I sang along
Whenever it comes on,
I just think of you and everything you do
You're my one, my from now on..
My first love song"
Dean kisses him one last time, right before the song ends, and it's messy and uncoordinated because they're both smiling like a couple of goofs. And there are catcalls in the background again, but this time they don't care.
"Yeah, baby, my first love song."
It's about an hour later, and Castiel and Gabriel are in the cab of the neon truck going back to Gabe's house. Castiel can't help but run his fingers over his mouth from time to time, ignoring his brother's laugher, and smiling to himself. He's so giddy, has Dean's phone number in his cell and a promise for a date the very next day, and he feels so light. He can't remember a time when he was more at peace. He turns to his brother, and catches him looking at him with an indulgent smile.
"Hey Gabe," Castiel says with a grin. His brother matches him and raises his eyebrows. "Thanks," Castiel says sincerely and looks back to the dirt road.
Castiel falls asleep with the sound of Gabriel's laughter in his ears and the feel of Dean on his lips.