Castiel had been leading him around the school buildings for the better part of an hour. Dean had tried to weedle some information from the kid; maybe Cas knew something about the supernatural situation that was apparently going on. Unfortunately, the black-haired, blue-eyed boy just glanced at him oddly when he asked questions, occasionally humming yes or no.

"So, Cas, got any siblings?" Dean asked. It was a go to subject for him, safe, easy, a good conversation starter. "I got a brother, Sam. He's twelve. So smart. Gonna be a lawyer or something."

Cas smiled at the ease with which Dean spoke. Then he seemed to consider his answer for a few moments. "I have eight siblings."

"Eight? You're not serious. I barely manage getting through the day without hitting my one!"

Castiel hummed. "Lucifer, Anna, Balthazar, Gabriel, Raphael, Zachariah, Hannah, and Zeke." He listed, counting on his fingers as he mentioned the names."

"Woah."

"Gabriel is my twin."

"OK, OK, but what I wanna know, is who the Hell name's their kid 'Castiel'?" Dean grinned.

At this question though, Castiel smirked. "I don't know."

"…What do you mean?" Dean sneered.

"I never knew my parents. I live in a care home, just around the corner from here."

Damn. Now he felt stupid. "…Oh. I'm sorry, Cas. I…I didn't…"

Cas smiled at him, only semi-forced. "It's OK, Dean. Like I said, I never knew them, so I don't miss them. I have my brothers, and I have my friends at home. I don't need people who didn't want me."

"Still, I mean…Do you never just want…time to yourself?"

"Oh, I'd kill for it. But, I'm used to it."

Dean smirked. As if he's ever been able to resist a pretty face and good backstory. "Well, y'know, if you ever wanna drop by, or…uh...hang out, somewhere, if…y'know, if you wanna…" Wow, Winchester. Real smooth.

Castiel had the good grace to smile, and Dean thought he saw the ghost of a blush under the collar of the other boy's collar. "Thank you, Dean, the offer is greatly appreciated."

That's how they spent the first part if the day. Wandering through yellow corridors, lined with lockers, talking about nothing at all. Dean found out that Castiel liked to draw, and was good at math. Castiel found out about Dean's near-obsession with 80's rock and love of all things motorized. He even found out about his brother Sam's fascination with the psychology of serial killers and interest in law.

The more Dean found out about Castiel, the less he could deny his crush. Which was definitely there.

Dean had known about his bisexuality for a while, though he'd yet to do anything about it. He doubted Sam would mind at all, really, but his father was unpredictable; a loose cannon at the best of times, John Winchester could do any number of things in reaction to the news that his eldest was anything but straight as a ruler.

Castiel, however, was out as out can be, at least about his sexuality. His status as a trans boy, however, was less known. As in, no-one knew, except for his teachers and siblings. He had friends, and though they would make jokes, and his siblings that would laugh at said jokes, all of them were willing to stand up for him if the need arose.

Like now, for instance.

It was lunch, and Dean hadn't left his side yet. They had decided to bunk, at least for a bit. After all, the school was a large one. Dean was a slow walker.

They'd made their way to Castiel's locker, and he was fishing his books for next lesson out from the tiny space when Dean had spoken up.

"Hey, Cas, why has someone written 'fag' on your locker?"

Castiel glanced back at him, eyebrow raised. He pulled a pack of baby wipes out of his locker and began to scrub at the letters. "Three guesses, Dean."

"Y-you're gay?" Dean cursed. The words had seemed less harsh in his head.

"Is that a problem?" Castiel's tone had a warning edge, and he paused in his cleaning to glace back at Dean.

"N-no, not at all, I was just...I didn't-" Dean decided the best way to extract his foot from his mouth was to stop talking. Castiel, however, was grinning.

"Relax, Dean, I know you don't mean any ill will. Come on, let's go eat."

Lunch was good. Dean had been introduced to Cas' friends: Charlie, a geeky redhead that Dean instantly clicked with; Meg, who he was less sure about. Then there was Balthazar and Gabriel, Cas' siblings. They were nice people, and when Jo decided to join them, the group just got happier.

The lot of them spent the lunch hour laughing like maniacs over the stupidest of things, and Dean couldn't stop himself from looking forward to the time he'd spend with them.

After lunch Charlie joined them on their walk to their next lesson, which they shared. It was English. Fun. Dean ended up passing notes to Castiel, who sat the other side of the aisle between desks.

'Why do we need to learn how to do this anyway?'

'I don't know, Dean, but we do. Stop moaning and get on with it!'

'Fine, fine, but you have to promise me something.'

'If it will get you to stop before we get caught, anything.'

'You have to promise to go on a date with me.' Dean practically thrust the note at Cas before he could scribble it out. As Castiel read the paper, Dean did more work distracting himself than he had done all lesson. No reply came.

What if I've messed up? God, he hates me. That means we can't hang out.

Five minutes before the bell rang, Dean found himself looking out of the window away from Cas. The only thing that kept him from his inner self loathing was something hitting his hand. He looked down. Paper. The note. He unfurled it slowly, not letting anyone see how shaken he was inside.

'Sure. When? :)'

Now Dean was shaken for a whole other reason.

They spent the evening texting back and forth, until Castiel excused himself to eat, citing a prestigious 'no phones at the table' rule that was apparently gospel to the care workers.

Dean had decided that that was as good a time as any to start on their own dinner. He called Jo and Sam to help him, and the three ended up making pretty decent burgers.

Dean was washing up when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

So, Dean-o, who are you waiting to text u?

He turned to Jo, who sniggered into the plate cupboard.

He threw a rag at her.

"Cassie, who ya textin'?"

Cas shuffled further away from Zach, who had climbed onto the sofa to try and see his phone. "No one."

"Ooooh! Cassie, lying is a sin, you know." Anna giggled.

Castiel sighed. "I'm texting my friend."

"What's their name?"

"Nunya."

"Nunya?"

Castiel nodded, and glanced at Anna. "Nunya business."

This shut Anna up, but only encouraged Balthazar.

"Ah, Cassie! So sassy! Well, you're defensive, so it's more than a friend. The fact that they're texting so much means that it's probably new. Our Cassie is gay as a rainbow, so he's a guy."

Gabe chuckled. "Cas met a new kid at school today; his name's Dean. They totally have the hots for each other!"

Lucifer frowned. "Cas, you know you should be careful, yeah? You don't know anything about this guy. He could be a transphobe, or he might find out about, y'know…" Lucifer trailed off, glancing slightly behind Castiel.

"I know, Luc. I'm being careful. He's a good guy." Castiel stood, his seat instantly filled by Hannah, and trudged upstairs, bored of interrogation.