Prompt: A Drop In the Ocean by Ron Pope [song]
They met when they were eight years old. Castiel entered their third grade classroom on the first day of school with a black eye. The teacher, immediately concerned, sent him to the school nurse. She chose Dean as his escort. From there, a friendship blossomed. Cas said that he'd tell Dean whenever he got hurt, and Dean said he'd protect Cas no matter what.
They'd even pinky promised on it.
From then on, they were inseparable. Their parents realized very quickly that keeping them apart was no use, so they let the boys play and scheme and entertain each other at every opportunity. Even John Winchester, Dean's dad, was grateful that Dean had someone to call a friend.
In 7th grade, when Cas came to school with a broken arm and a busted lip, Dean promptly took him to the nurse's station, then told the principle that if he didn't do anything about Cas's dad, then Dean would have to do it himself. Needless to say, Cas's dad was sent to a jail-like rehab facility and was assigned as a ward to his big brother, Gabriel. Which worked out kind of nice, because Dean had a little brother, so they could all hang out.
In 10th grade, when Dean's dad died, and their "Uncle" Bobby came to live with them, Cas held Dean for hours while he cried. Sure, it wasn't manly, but his dad had just died. And he didn't even have to threaten Cas not to tell anyone. It was an unspoken rule that whatever happened between them, happened without anyone else's knowledge.
They'd even pinky promised on it.
So when senior year rolled around, there was a comfortable routine to things. Bobby didn't worry about his boys as long as they were with Cas and Gabriel. Gabriel always kept sweets around the house. They never left Sam out of anything, even though he was four years younger. They each had their niche, too. Cas was the math wizard. The kid could do complex calculus in his head. Dean loved English class, which surprised everyone. He never went anywhere without a notebook and a pen, writing whenever an idea popped into his head. Sam liked history best. Mostly because it was the subject that required the most research and Sam lived for research. Their family was as perfect as a mixed-up family could get.
That is, until Sam got a girlfriend. Then Gabriel started drinking copiously, which made life at home remind him Cas too much of his dad. And as awesome as Bobby was, he couldn't let Cas just live with them. Which meant that it was suddenly a family that hated each other.
It changed when they were eighteen years old. Castiel entered their Spanish classroom one Spring day with cuts on his wrists. Dean nearly smacked his best friend. Instead, he hugged Cas so hard that their breathing synced up perfectly. That night, they talked for hours, like they usually did, but it was…different his time. They suddenly felt the fleetingness of life itself. From there, a love blossomed. Cas said that he'd follow Dean anywhere, and Dean said he'd always be with him, so it wouldn't matter.
They'd even pinky promised on it.
On June 6th, instead of going to graduation, the Winchesters went to Cas's funeral. No, it wasn't Gabriel's fault. Sam had finally broken up with Meg and realized that his was in love with Gabriel. So, everything was perfect as far as that goes.
Cas's dad had come back. He'd shown up at their house drunk, demanding to see his son before he graduates high school.
Cas, being fragile to begin with, broke.
So here Dean was, standing at the funeral of his best friend, the man he had intended to love forever.
Years later, Dean wrote a book. It was a book of poetry, of course, because he didn't have the attention span to write a full length novel, but it was a book non-the-less.
He won several awards for it. The media went on and on about it. However, his family knew that's not why he wrote it at all.
The inscription said everything he needed it to say.
"To Cas, because we even pinky promised on it."
The first poem was one he'd written the day of his Graduation from Dekker High, the day of his beloved's funeral.
"It's too late to cry
Too broken to move on
And still I can't let you be
Most nights I hardly sleep
Don't seek what you don't need from me
It's just a drop in the ocean
A change in the weather
I was praying that you and me might end up together
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert
But I'm holding you closer than most,
Cause you are my heaven.
It's just a drop in the ocean
A change in the weather
I was praying that you and me might end up together."