When I had the idea for this I thought it would be a kid!fic. Turns out the story had different plans :) I also intended this as a one-shot but I doubt that's going to happen. I'm just not good at writing one-shots, I guess.
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this story. Happy reading :)
"Uncle Cas? Can you tell me another story?" a soft voice called from the top of the stairs, interrupting the ball game Cas was watching with his best friend, Dean.
"Sorry about that," Cas said to Dean, before looking up at his niece. She was standing at the top of the stairs, clutching her favorite doll to her chest.
"Claire, what is wrong? It's very late," Cas told her gently, as he walked up the stairs to bring her back to her room and tuck her in.
"I can't sleep. I'm scared. What if no one wants to be my friend there?" Claire asked her uncle in a pitiful voice.
Claire was spending a week with Castiel because her family was moving to the other side of the country and her parents needed some time to move all their stuff into the new house. They would pick up Claire just in time for her to start Kindergarten.
"Why wouldn't anyone want to be your friend?" Castiel asked the little girl, remembering how his big sister, Claire's mom Anna, had said those exact same words to him about 15 years ago.
"I don't know. I don't want to go," Claire just said and Cas took her hand and led her back to her bed.
"How about I tell you a story about how I met my first friend in Kindergarten and then you will go to sleep, okay?" Cas asked her and Claire looked up at him with big eyes. She nodded slowly and Cas started telling her the story.
"It was a long time ago. I was about as old as you are now and I, too, was just about to start Kindergarten and I was scared as well," Cas started, letting the story take him back to the day he had met his best friend.
He was the youngest of his siblings by far. Anna, his next older sister, was 16 years old and she was the one who had been looking after him most of the time, since their mother had died two years ago. But now it was time for him to start Kindergarten. Cas was scared as he walked through the door, tightly holding on to Anna's hand. He didn't know anyone there, what if no one wanted to be his friend?
"Don't go," he told his big sister, pleading with her.
"I have to go, Cas. I have school. But you will be fine. You'll make lots of new friends." She bent down and gently kissed the top of his head before carefully freeing her hand from his grip. Cas gave her a doubtful look but didn't argue any further and let her leave.
He looked around the room and studied all the other kids that were there. Who would be his friend? Uncertain he clutched the one thing that meant the world to him, his teddy-bear, to his chest. It was not a normal teddy and his brothers teased him about having chosen that particular bear, but Cas loved it.
The bear had a lighter patch of fur on his head, as if he had blond hair. But that wasn't all, unlike the usual brown eyes his teddy-bear had emerald green ones.
Finally Cas dared to take a few steps into the playroom but he didn't get very far.
"Who are you?" a little boy with dark hair asked him. He was dressed in all black, staring darkly at Cas, blocking his way.
"I'm Castiel." The little boy held on to his teddy even more.
"You're a baby," the other boy stated and a few kids snickered. "Can't even leave mommy without your little baby toy."
"Be nice, Crowley," the teacher admonished but she didn't have time to make sure that Crowley really left the new kid alone. She was too busy greeting the newcomers. Therefore she didn't see, when Crowley reached out and grabbed the teddy-bear in Castiel's arm. Cas refused to let go and held on to his bear with all his strength. Eventually the fabric of the toy couldn't withstand the force of the two boys pulling in opposite directions. With an awful ripping sound a long tear appeared on the teddy's back, causing the stuffing to ooze out.
"Nooooo," Cas cried horrified, staring at the damage. Crowley grinned and finally let go of the teddy-bear. His job was done.
Cas dropped down on the floor right where he'd been standing. He held his teddy close, crying silently. The quiet sobs were shaking his little body, while Crowley and his friends were laughing at him.
After just a moment Cas felt a hand on his shoulder. "Ssshh, it's going to be okay." Cas looked up to see a boy with eyes the same shade of green as his teddy's.
Something about the boy made Cas believe him. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and stood up. The boy now turned to face Crowley. "Leave him alone, you mean troll," he called before turning his back on a stunned Crowley to talk to Cas again.
"Don't worry about him. I'll protect you. You are my friend now," the boy stated.
"I...I am?" Cas asked carefully.
"Yes," the boy nodded. "My name is Dean. What's your name?"
"Castiel. But my brothers call me Cas."
"Hi Cas." Both boys smiled. "Let me see your teddy," Dean said, holding out his small hand.
"He is hurt," Cas said, on the brink of crying again.
"I can help him," Dean said and reached into his small backpack. He pulled out a teddy-bear, showing it to Cas. "Look, it looks almost like you."
The teddy-bear had dark, tousled hair and bright blue eyes. It also had clothes and was currently dressed in a tan trench coat that reached almost to its feet.
"Here, I have another coat for my teddy-bear but you can have it." Dean showed Cas a small leather jacket that looked like it had been worn a lot. He quickly put the jacket on Cas' teddy before handing it back to Cas.
"See, all better," Dean smiled. Cas nodded in awe.
"Thank you."
"That's how Dean and I became friends. And we're still friends today," Castiel ended his story. "Now, go to sleep. You will be fine. Who wouldn't want to be friends with a sweet girl like you?"
"Okay. Goodnight," Claire yawned. She finally closed her eyes. Cas waited by her bed until her breathing evened out and he was sure that she was really asleep. Then he got up and quietly left the room.
In the hallway he almost bumped into Dean who was leaning against the wall next to the door.
"I came upstairs to tell you that the game is over and I'm going home. But I couldn't help overhearing what story you were telling Claire." Dean smiled. "I haven't thought about that day in a long time."
They walked down the stairs together, lost in thought as they remembered how their friendship had started. "I think I might still have that teddy in a box in the attic. Did you know I never got the tear fixed? The leather jacket was just too perfect for it," Cas told Dean.
"Yeah, a leather jacket can cover up a lot," Dean said as he pulled on his own leather jacket that he always wore in public because it made him look tough, as well as hiding the scars on his left arm from a car accident a few years ago.
Cas was always tempted to touch Dean's arm, right where the scars were, to tell him that they weren't so bad and didn't need to be hidden. With a little imagination they looked almost like a hand print. Misshapen, but recognizable. It made Cas curious to see how it compared to his own hand. But he was afraid to go that far. He was afraid Dean would think it was strange, to say the least.
"It sure does," Cas replied. "Hey, do you remember that one time we actually let our teddies get married?" Cas laughed as he remembered that scene.
"Yes, I do. We were just copying the girls who let Ken and Barbie get married. Freaked out the adults though, since our teddies were both male." Dean chuckled. "And we didn't understand what all the fuss was about."
"I still don't understand the fuss they made." Cas shrugged and looked at his friend, waiting for his reaction but at this moment his phone rang in the living room and he had to go and answer it before Dean had a chance to say anything else.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Cas. It's Anna. Sorry to call so late, I forgot about the time difference. Claire is probably in bed already, isn't she?"
"Yes, she's sound asleep. Sorry. But she's fine. She misses you though."
As Dean walked into the room, Cas automatically put the phone on speaker, so Dean could hear both ends of the conversation. They always did this as they both hated for the other to feel left out.
"Aww, poor baby. But it's only for a few more days. Give her a hug from me in the morning, will you?"
"Of course I will. How are things with the house?"
"We're getting there. It's exhausting though. Thank you so much for looking after Claire."
"No problem."
"But enough about us. Tell me about your night. Is Dean there with you?"
"Yeah, he was just about to leave actually," Cas answered and was about to tell his sister that the phone was on speaker and she could talk to Dean as well if she wanted to, but Anna ploughed on, leaving Cas no chance to say anything else.
"Oh really? Shame. I thought you'd finally get it on. You don't have to worry about Claire, she has a very deep sleep."
"Anna..." Cas tried but Anna wasn't finished yet.
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me there's nothing going on between you two. Everyone can see it. The way you sometimes stare at each other for minutes? The stolen glances when you, or him, think no one is watching? It's so obvious. You spend almost you're entire free time together. If that isn't love..."
"ANNA!" Cas had raised his voice to stop his sister, although it was already too late. Dean was staring at him with wide eyes, his mouth moving but unable to form words.
"Anna, stop. You're on speaker," Cas said wearily.
"Oh." There was a pause. "Well, I guess I better go now. I bet you two have a lot to talk about now." Anna hung up and Cas slowly put down the phone. He looked up at Dean, trying to find the right words to say.
"Dean, I...I don't know what say. I'm sorry, I don't know..."
"Don't say anything, okay?" Dean told him, taking a step back as Cas tried to get closer. "What have you been telling Anna? Why does she think that we, that I..." Dean shook his head as if he was trying to shake off the things that Anna had said.
"Look Cas, we've been friends for so long and we've always talked about everything. But right now I think I need some time alone. I'll call you," Dean finally said before turning to leave. He was in such a rush to leave that he didn't even say goodbye.
Cas watched the door close behind his best friend and he heard the car leaving the driveway before he was able to move. Slowly he went back into the living room and heavily sat down on the couch. He could still see the imprint of Dean's body on the cushions.
Before he knew what he was doing he found himself in the attic, looking through old boxes until he found the old teddy-bear. It was a little dusty but otherwise looked just like it always had. It looked just like Dean. With the teddy in his hand he returned to the living room and sat back down on the couch.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. What a mess. It wasn't like he had never had those thoughts himself but he'd anticipated this reaction from Dean. Anna wasn't wrong in what she'd said and Cas had often wondered if he and Dean could possibly be more than friends. But now he could feel lucky if they'd even be friends anymore. Why hadn't Anna just kept her mouth shut?
Cas sighed, trying to think of ways of fixing things with Dean. He hadn't really done anything wrong, but he doubted Dean cared much about that at the moment. He had looked so shocked.
Meanwhile Dean was driving around town, without really having a destination. He had just needed to get away from Cas, from what Anna had said. He just needed some space right now. He had been about to leave to go home when Anna had called but now he didn't want to go home. Eventually his aimless driving brought him to a remote park and he stopped. He stayed in the car and just sat there, thinking about what had happened.
First Cas reminding him of the same-sex-marriage they had performed for their teddy-bears and then Anna saying that everyone could see some kind of sexual attraction between him and Cas. It had been too much at once.
After sitting there for a while he started to calm down until he could finally think straight again. And reluctantly he had to admit that maybe Anna had a point. He also realized that he had been unfair to Cas. It wasn't his fault that Anna had said those things. He needed to apologize to Cas. Even if he didn't know if he'd be able to talk about the things Anna had mentioned yet, he at least needed to save their friendship.
Two hours after he'd stormed out, he found himself in front of Cas' front door. Since he didn't want to risk waking up Claire he decided to use the hidden spare key instead of ringing the door bell. He knew where the key was. He'd been the one to suggest the hiding place after Cas had locked himself out for the third time.
Quietly he entered the house. "Cas?" he called softly as he noticed light in the living room. When there was no answer he went into the room where he found Cas asleep on the couch, holding the old teddy close to his chest.
He looked so peaceful and adorable, it warmed Dean's heart. He really couldn't risk losing this friendship. But he decided that their conversation could wait till the next day, Cas obviously needed sleep.
Dean was about to leave but he noticed that Cas was shivering. He looked around for a blanket to make sure that his friend would be warm and comfortable but he couldn't find one. For lack of anything else resembling a blanket he shrugged off his jacket to cover Cas with it. He'd just pick it up in the morning.
When he spread the jacket over Cas, the sleeping man stirred and blinked up at him in confusion. Those big blue eyes in combination with the tousled dark hair made Cas look vulnerable and Dean immediately felt protective of him, even though it had been him who'd hurt Cas in the first place. But now he could kind of see what Anna had been talking about. He just couldn't take his eyes off Cas.
"Dean?" It was a question, hopeful that this was real and not simply a dream.
"Yes, Cas. It's me. I came back to apologize for running out like I did. I guess I kinda panicked and I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. And I'm sorry for waking you up." He sat down on the couch next to Cas.
"No, don't worry about that. I'm glad you came back. I wasn't sure if you would ever come back," Cas admitted and it stung Dean that he'd given his best friend this impression.
"I guess I just freaked a little. Anna caught me by surprise." They sat in silence for a while.
"I see you found your old teddy-bear," Dean finally said when the silence became uncomfortable.
"Yes," Cas smiled. "It still looks the same."
"It does." Dean took the bear to have a closer look at it. "I think I need to go and look for mine now. The two belong together. Just like the two of us."
"Really?"
"Of course," Dean confirmed. He returned the bear before he took a deep breath to start talking about the things Anna had said on the phone. They talked the entire night deciding that maybe there really was some truth to what Anna had said. But no matter what would happen in the future, they would always be friends.
When the sun rose, Cas made coffee. They hadn't decided how their relationship would progress but they were sure they would figure it out eventually.
After the coffee Dean decided it was time to finally go home. He really needed some sleep. By the door the two men stopped to talk a little more. They became so engrossed in their conversation again that they didn't notice they were being watched.
Finally Dean ended the moment. "I really should go now. I need a few hours of sleep and then I'll look for my teddy." He smiled and stared into Cas' eyes for a while until Cas broke the eye-contact by nodding.
"Okay, be safe. And good luck finding the bear."
They looked at each other again for a while longer before Dean finally opened the door to leave.
"Aren't you going to kiss?" a high voice asked from the direction of the stairs, making them both look up. Claire was standing there, arms folded across her chest.
Cas was the first to shake off the surprise. "Why do you say that?" he asked.
"When mom and dad look at each other like that, they always kiss," she explained.
"Even a five-year-old notices," Dean whispered astonished. Aloud he said, "Well, if that is the case, we don't want to disappoint you."
He pulled a very surprised Castiel towards him and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.
"Hmm, that tastes like more. When your niece is gone." Dean smiled. Cas could only nod and stare after his friend who was already walking towards his car to finally actually go home.