A/N: Another story based on a Tumblr prompt. This one asked for Dean and Castiel - who is adopted - meeting as children, but Castiel only revealing the reason why he was adopted once he was older. I hope you like it! Thank you for your time :) x

TW: Discussions of Child Abuse.

Dean and Castiel had been friends since their first day of kindergarten. Dean still remembered walking up to the quiet little boy who was sat all alone in the corner, looking longingly at the other children like he wanted to join in but didn't know how.

"Hi, I'm Dean!"

Castiel looked up at the green-eyed boy, blinking feverishly, obviously surprised at being approached.

"What's your name?" Dean encouraged.

"Castiel" the boy replied meekly.

"Huh, that's a funny name" Dean mused. "I like it though! Want to play cars with me?"

Castiel still seemed hesitant, but he gave a small nod.

"This one is my favourite" Dean continued as he showed off the black Chevy Impala toy. "My dad got it for me when he went away one time. He goes away a lot so me and my little brother Sammy stay with our Uncle Bobby."

"Why don't you stay with your mom?" Castiel asked with a curious head tilt.

"She went to live with the angels a while ago" Dean explained as he sat down next to Castiel and put his Impala on the ground.

"Oh" Castiel said looking a little sad.

"What are your mom and dad like?"

Dean could have sworn the little boy grew a shade paler and his hands started to shake.

"I-I don't live my real parents anymore. I-I was born in Canada, b-but then I got adopted by Chuck and Becky. Th-they let me call them mom and dad ,though, a-and I have four older brothers, w-well, t-they're not my real brothers, b-but…"

He trailed off and started to clench and un-clench his fingers around his trousers nervously. Dean could tell he was upset, although he didn't know why. He figured it was best to try and distract Castiel.

"Here, you can play with this one" he said with a broad smile as he handed the smaller boy a gold Lincoln Continental toy. "This one's my second favourite."

Castiel looked at the toy in awe and took it very cautiously as if it were made of real gold.

"Thank you. I'll be careful with it."

"I'm sure you will. C'mon, let's race!"

Now, Castiel and Dean were in their thirties. They'd known each other for twenty six years, and for five of those they had been married. Dean would have laughed at the thought of marrying his best friend back then, but now he couldn't imagine being with anyone else.

Dean had always been Castiel's protector against idiotic bullies, and he dreaded to think what his academic career would have been like without Cas' tuition. Castiel always laughed at Dean's corny jokes, and Dean always laughed at Cas' unintentional hilarity from lack of understanding. Dean always joked that is was Castiel's pie making skills that had sealed the deal, but really it was the fact they shared everything and were always there for each other.

Said notion was put to the test one Friday morning.

Dean groaned as he twisted over in bed to turn off his alarm. Just one more day - he reminded himself – and then he could spend the weekend on the couch with Cas in his arms.

He rolled back over so that he could place a soft kiss on Castiel's forehead. The smaller man grumbled in protest and Dean smiled lovingly; his husband was certainly not a morning person.

"C'mon, we've got to get ready for work" he urged.

Castiel sighed. "I know."

He sat up and rubbed his eyes - mixed with his bedhead, Dean found it an adorable sight.

"Do you want to shower first? Or maybe we could have one together?" he asked with a suggestive eyebrow raise.

"Mmm…I'm hungry" Castiel complained. "You can go first. I'll make us breakfast."

Dean couldn't say he was surprised or disappointed. Castiel was usually half a sleep and lacking energy until he'd had his first coffee.

"Okay" Dean replied.

He grabbed his clothes and shared a quick but fervent kiss with Castiel before heading into the bathroom.

Dean could have stayed under the hot spray of the showers for hours, but he didn't think Bobby would appreciate him being late to the yard again. Last time is was because Castiel had accepted his morning advances.

Once he was cleaned and dressed he headed to the kitchen to see how Castiel was getting on. He froze in the doorway when he saw his husband sat at the table with a ripped open letter in his hand, looking like he was close to tears.

"What's wrong, angel?" Dean asked concernedly as he quickly pulled a chair around to sit next to Castiel and wrapped an arm around him.

Castiel let out something reminiscent of a sob and placed his head on Dean's shoulder.

"I-It's from my parents. M-my biological parents" he sniffed.

Dean immediately knew this couldn't be a good thing. For all that they shared and trusted each other, Castiel had never told him why he'd been put up for adoption. He never mentioned his real parents. He always said as far as he was concerned Chuck and Becky were his mother and father because they had been the ones to raise him in a loving family.

"They wrote to you?" Dean asked softly.

"Y-yes. Th-they want to see me."

"Okay" Dean nodded. "And I take it you don't want that?"

"No" Castiel whimpered. "The truth is…the reason I was adopted was because the police took me away. My father, he was an alcoholic. He used to shake me when I was a baby and I wouldn't stop crying. Then when I got older he'd hit me, call me ungrateful, refuse to feed me. My mother would never do anything about it. She didn't care. One of our neighbours called the police one day because she heard my father yelling. Then I ended up with social services and they took me away to be safe."

Dean was shocked into a tense silence. He could feel tears building in his own eyes. When he thought back to that sweet and innocent kid he'd met on the first day of school he couldn't believe anyone would want to hurt his beautiful Castiel like that.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you before" Castiel wept, believing that Dean's silence was because he was mad at him. "I-I just don't even like to think about it…so I definitely don't w-want to see them."

"Hey, it's okay" Dean said as he wrapped both his arms tightly around his husband and pulled him so he was practically sat in his lap. "I understand how personal this is, and it took guts to tell me. Thank you" he said lightly pressing his lips to the side of Cas' head. "God, I'm so sorry that ever happened to you."

"It's okay" Castiel tried to convince himself. "I have my parents now, my brothers, and you."

"Yeah, exactly" Dean said as he started to rock them slightly. "Don't cry, angel. They're not worth it."

It broke Dean's heart to see his husband this way. He never wanted to let go of Castiel again, and wanted to protect him from the world. He also wanted to hunt down Cas' real dad and beat the shit out of him, but he knew that wouldn't really be much use.

"I know. I-I just thought they'd never find me" Castiel fretted.

"It doesn't matter, because I sure as hell ain't letting them get to you" Dean promised. "We'll talk to Michael, yeah? He's a cop; he'll know what we can do."

Castiel nodded. "Yes, that's a good idea." He pulled back and pushed his lips forcefully against Dean's in a fierce act of gratitude. "I love you" he proclaimed when they broke apart.

"I love you too" Dean said. "I'll keep you safe, Cas. Always."