"Seriously? You want to try out for wrestling?" Dean wasn't a small guy. He stood at 5'9" which was taller than the average guy in his grade. But he was scrawny. Especially compared to these seniors who were running tryouts. Cas was sitting on the bleachers for moral support.

Dean felt awkward asking him, but Cas's last class was P.E. anyway and he didn't want to go alone. His only other pseudo friend was Lisa, and he didn't feel comfortable embarrassing himself in front of her yet.

"Ok, we owe him a tryout." Another boy stepped onto the mat. The guy was about Dean's height, but more buff.

Cas was shocked at how fast Dean was. He wondered where Dean learned to fight like that. He, unfortunately, knew nothing about wrestling, but he could tell Dean was winning. However, it clearly wasn't easy. At certain points, it really seemed that the other boy would win. But Dean was able to maneuver his way out of a tight grip and flip him onto his back. He held for a bit and then the older boy grinned.

"You're pretty good." He said, taking the Dean's extended hand.

"Good?" Cas titled his head. "Dean beat him?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't trying all the way. It's good sportsmanship to go easy on freshman." A girl from the row in front of him said. "But Benny's right. Dean's really good."

Cas stared at the girl for a moment before she cleared her throat, "Cassie." She said nodding at him.

"Hello Cassie. I am Castiel."

"Whoa. Cool." She gave him a small smile but refocused. Dean started heading towards Cas as some other kids got ready to try out.

Cas flushed slightly at the bright grin Dean was sporting and refusing to look anywhere but directly at Cas. Cas found himself wanting Dean to smile like that every moment. "They're letting me in! And that Benny guy seems pretty cool. Maybe this school doesn't suck so bad."

"Yeah, Benny's nice. That's why he deals with freshmen. But like 95% of the jocks are still assholes."

Dean looked at Cassie and it occurred to Cas that he hadn't even noticed her presence. After noticing her, he became visibly flustered, "Yeah?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I mean, Steve, Reggie, and Tim are mean. Probably the worst bullies in the school. But I swear to god, Gordan Walker is a straight-up sociopath. He's quieter but I know he can make people suffer." Dean and Cas both glanced over at the boy in question, who happened to be eyeing them too.

In the locker room, Dean noticed his amulet was gone. He swallowed panic as he started rummaging through his things. Once he had flipped his gym bag's contents onto the ground, sorted through them, and still couldn't find it, he freaked. Dean looked around frantically for one of the only things he owned he actually cared about.

"What's wrong Dean?" Cas had taken notice of his stress. If Dean wasn't freaking out about the Amulet he'd be freaking out about the fact that cas' shirt was unbuttoned and there were suddenly miles of incredibly soft skin that Dean hadn't seen before.

"You know my necklace? I uh... I can't find it."

Cas opened his mouth to soothe Dean, also looking for it, but was interrupted, "Looking for this, Winchester?"

Dean and Cas both turned around to see Tim, swinging the amulet on his finger. Dean wasn't stupid. He knew Tim was fucking with him, but he tried to play nice. "Yeah, that's it. Thanks, Timmy." Dean held his hand out for the necklace.

"It's sorta freaky. I mean the head. Not the fact that you wear a necklace. Although that's sorta freaky too. What other jewelry d'you got?"

"C'mon man it's the end of the day. Give me my necklace so we can all go home." Dean was reaching his breaking point. This guy was only a sophomore. And he was the same size as Dean. He wasn't in the mood but need be, Dean could bring him down.

"Hey, don't get so worked up I'm just looking at it. Honestly, I think it's kinda cool. I'd ask if it was valuable but," He looked Dean up and down with a smirk, "we both know the answer to that."

Dean nodded, keeping an air of nonchalance. He gave this douche a chance.

And then Dean's fist connected with Tim's jaw. Tim stumbled backward and Dean took the opportunity to kick him over the bench and into the lockers with a crack.

Now that Tim was cornered, Dean was about to go in for another hit but a hand caught his. He looked around to see Cas, looking almost stern with him. Not disappointed, afraid, or angry. Just trying to communicate that Dean made his point and it was over. Cas put a steadying hand on Dean's chest before stepping over the bench and snatching the amulet from Tim's hand and helped him up. Cas then turned to Dean and gently put the necklace back around his neck. The action was strangely intimate, like something only they knew the full breadth of, but it was over as quickly as it came. He grabbed his things and herded Dean out the door.

"Did you hurt your hand?" Cas asked once they were outside.

Dean rolled his eyes, "I'm fine." Cas sighed, taking Dean's hand to examine it.

"It's swelling," Cas mumbled. "I don't have an ice pack. But I'll drive you back to your house."

Dean yanked his hand back, "I'm fine." But Cas was persistent, getting into the driver's seat of the impala, "Hey! No one drives Baby but me!" Cas simply rolled his eyes and started her up.

"Hey, Cas!" Jody greeted them. "What's up?"

"Dean hurt his hand punching someone," Sam said before running to his room.

"God Dammit Sam!" Dean went to chase after his brother but Jody caught him.

"You were in a fight?" Bobby asked, emerging from the kitchen.

With a straight face, Cas shrugged, "It wasn't much of a fight."

Dean rubbed a hand over his face groaning, "Thanks for that Cas."

Bobby leaned against the door, "So, you beat someone up?" Jody crossed her arms. Dean could feel the disappointment radiating off of both of them.

"They stole my necklace!"

Jody threw her hands up shaking her head, "So you beat him up!"

Dean rolled his eyes, "I punched him once!"

"And kicked him," Cas muttered returning from the fridge with ice wrapped in a piece of cloth. "Give me your hand." He pressed the ice to Dean's hand. Dean rolled his eyes heavily but didn't put up a fight.

"Dean, everyone knows you don't kick in a school fight. You only kick if it's life or death. Same with hair pulling bit-"

"Alright, that's enough." Jody held her hand up giving Bobby a look. He shrugged but looked apologetic.

Cas finally spoke up. "I have to say, Mrs. Mills, I don't believe in violence," Dean rolled his eyes, "but that boy was not being very nice. Personally, I think if Dean hadn't hit him, he would've kept increasingly making life miserable. You know kids like that." Dean was grateful that Cas was defending him, but he was annoyed by how diplomatic this conversation was.

Jody sighed, "I'm sure Dean wouldn't have punched him unless he had a reason, whether it was a good reason or not, I'm mainly worried that this kid will go to the school and get you in trouble."

Dean shrugged, "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Now wait for a minute son." Bobby stood up straight looking serious, "I know you had a tough last few years. I know Mary dying just made things worse," Dean rolled his eyes for perhaps the hundredth time that day and broke eye contact with Bobby. "Nu-uh you look at me boy." Dean forced his gaze back with his most intense bitch face, "I don't care what your Daddy says. You're a smart kid. You don't have to go to grad school, hell you don't even have to go to college. But if you want to go to college, you're gonna fucking go to college. If you want to be a damn good auto mechanic, hell you're halfway there already. But I'll be damned if I let you lead a life without options." Bobby stopped to take a breath and let Dean process what he said.

And then with a far calmer voice, he concluded, "So you're gonna get decent grades. You're gonna work hard on some teams. You're gonna be nice to your friend and you're gonna keep your nose clean. You understand me?"

Dean nodded, "Yes Sir."

Bobby shook his head, "Don't call me Sir, I ain't your father."

"You know I'm actually pretty good in school," Cas said a few weeks later as Dean slaved over his geometry book.

Dean huffed, "Yeah thanks for that Cas."

The other boy shook his head, "I mean, I'm pretty good at studying and am in a stable place since everyone's just studying for finals and no one assigning homework."

Dean threw his pencil down, "Are you trying to make me feel like shit."

Cas looked almost amused, "No. I'm offering to be your tutor."

Dean's eyes widened. "Really?"

Cas laughed. Actually laughed, Dean wasn't sure if he had heard that before, "Of course. It'll be helpful for both of us. I'm more likely to actually work if I'm being useful to you. And it'll be a good review for me. And hopefully, you'll understand the material better. And it's an excuse for us to hang out more outside of school."

Dean furrowed his brow skeptically, "I can't pay you…"

Cas rolled his eyes. Wow, he was more expressive today than usual, "You don't need to pay me, Dean. We're friends." And then his smile faltered as if he was suddenly unsure, "We are friends right?"

Dean nodded grinning, "Yeah we are."

So every Tuesday and Thursday, Dean and Cas would meet at the library after school and study together(Dean had Wrestling the other three days.) Both of them quickly discovered, even though they didn't tell the other, that those study sessions were the highlight of their weeks.

"You know what these are called, you learned them last unit."

"I really don't know."

"Pretend these lines keep going after they intersect."

"Ok."

"So what are these two angles?"

"Oh! Opposite interior! And opposite interior angles are complementary-"

"Supplementary-"

"So that means that angle m is 40!"

"Yep." Cas smiled at Dean, who looked proud of himself, "Ok, the next few are similar to that one so work on those and if you run into a problem tell me."

"How long is this assignment?"

"Twelve through forty even and then you can do 42 or 43 for extra credit."

Dean groaned, hitting his book with his head a few times. "This is torture."

Cas smiled, "You only have to get to the end of this unit Friday, and then we have finals the next week and then it's winter break."

Dean sat up with an exaggerated far-off look, "Oh yeah… freedom. I forget what that's like."

Cas rolled his eyes fondly, "Don't be so dramatic."

Dean turned to look at Cas, "So what're you doing for break?"

Cas shrugged, "Probably what we do every year. Help out at the farm."

Dean looked surprised, "i would've thought the Shurley's went big on Christmas."

Cas looked at the ceiling thoughtfully, as if considering God, "No. We acknowledge it, but we don't buy any excess food or gifts. We're not exactly Christian, we're like a strange solemn mixture of Judaism Christianity, and Islam. My brothers don't believe in using a religious day as an excuse to celebrate."

"Huh. So what do you celebrate?"

Cas shook his head, "Nothing."

Dean's eyes widened, "Nothing? Not even birthdays?"

Cas gave his friend a look, "Dean. There are sixteen people who live in my house. No, we don't celebrate every individual child's birthdays. Most of us don't even know our birthdays."

Dean regarded Cas sadly, "Do you know yours?"

Cas shook his head. He didn't seem upset. "All we know is that I was born on a Thursday. We don't know which Thursday."

Dean grinned, "I guess we'll just have to celebrate your birthday every week then."

Cas gave Dean an unamused look but appreciated the gesture on the inside.

Dean was true to his word. The next Thursday, he brought two slices of blueberry pie to the library. He was going to give it to Cas during lunch, but decided after school at the library would be more- not intimate- private. And Cas didn't like attention so it worked out. But they had to eat quickly because if the librarian caught them with food- especially blueberry filling- she'd have a fit.

"This was very nice Dean, but I hope you're not planning on doing this every week."

"Of course not," Dean said, looking like he didn't mean it at all. Cas regarded him skeptically but didn't say anything.

The next week, Dean brought Cas a book of new york times crossword puzzles. He had seen it at the grocery store and he was sure the little nerd would like it. Sure enough, Cas had to control his excitement, afraid that encouraging Dean would lead him to spend more money.

"This is very nice Dean but-"

"Relax. It was cheap and I'm making up for fourteen years of lost birthdays."

Cas sighed but smiled.

"You know we were watching a documentary in Biology since we already took our final. We got to choose between tornadoes and Zombie Bees. I voted for tornadoes because I didn't want to watch the bees get hurt. I had to leave class because it made me sad."

"I didn't know you liked bees."

Cas nodded, "I think I respect them. They're a large family. There's no confusion or chaos. Just loyalty and purpose. And they die to save each other."

Dean frowned, "Sounds like slavery to me."

"Sounds like love to me," Cas responded with a far-off look. Dean thought that that was a messed-up idea of love, but he understood. Bees were cute.

The next week he got a Cas a bumblebee plush.

"Alright, kiddos put your pens down that's time." Dean didn't get to the conclusion of his final paragraph. He'd lose points for that and not restarting his thesis, but he did his best. He studied and everything. And a small part of him enjoyed it.

Wrestling was canceled for finals week, so he went to pick Cas up from his last class, and then the two of them got Sammy from school and headed home.

When Jody found out Cas didn't celebrate Christmas she respected it. When she found out he didn't celebrate any holidays, she insisted he spend Christmas with them.

"Dean set the table. Not you Cas you're our guest."

"No, he's not." Sam interrupted. Jody and Dean both gave Sam a strange look. Sam simply shrugged, "This is his home too." Jody and Dean both smiled, and Cas bowed his head, but a faint blush could be seen on his cheeks.

That night Cas and Dean were in bed. Cas was struggling to fall asleep, too excited for his first Christmas morning. Dean could tell by his breaths which were still too short and uneven.

"Was it difficult to get your brothers to let you come?" Dean asked quietly. Cas's eyes opened and met Dean's. Cas nodded slightly. It was barely visible but Dean saw, "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Cas smiled, "It was worth it." Their faces were centimeters apart. Dean could feel Cas's breath and their noses were practically touching. He partially wished it wasn't so dark so he could properly see the blue in Cas's eyes.

But he had the feeling if the lights were on, he would've made a joke to relieve whatever tension was existing between them. He would've desperately pushed Cas and all feelings he had about him away. So for now, he accepted the dark as a blanket that allowed him to be a little braver than usual.

Cas's eyes were still on Dean and they made him feel safe and fearless. He propped his head upon his hand and leaned forward a little bit, to where his nose did lightly brush Cas's.

Cas was quiet for a moment, seeming to consider what was happening. And then when Dean didn't move he spoke up, "Are you trying to kiss me?" He asked softly.

Dean huffed, Murder me. "Yeah maybe."

Cas nodded, "I'm not complaining but you're going very slowly."

Dean rolled his eyes, "I came 90 your supposed to come ten. I can't go the whole hundred."

Cas frowned, "I don't understand-"

Dean cut him off, sealing their lips together chastely. He didn't know what he was thinking. All this would do was open up an ugly can of worms. Complicate whatever weird relationship they had. But he didn't want to stop. He moved over slightly so he was kissing Cas into his pillow.

An arm wrapped around Dean's neck, Cas's hand running through his hair, pulling Dean closer. Dean put an arm by Cas's waist to steady himself, Nearly completely resting his chest on Cas's.

Cas receded into his pillow, "Dean we need to talk about this," Dean rested their foreheads together, catching his breath.

"Not tonight. Please-" His voice broke and he inhaled shakily, "Please can we just enjoy this tonight?" Dean opened his eyes and met Cas's which were hooded, looking up at him. He nodded, lifting his head up to capture Dean's lips again.

They went slow, more nuzzling each other than actually kissing. But after a while, Dean licked his way into Castiel's mouth, eliciting a soft sigh. He ran his hand from where it was on Cas's waist to under his shirt rubbing soothing circles into Cas's skin with his thumb.

"I guess we should go to bed." Dean breathed, keeping his eyes closed. He felt Cas nod slightly, but ignored him and started trailing kisses down Dean's neck and to his collarbone.

"Cas seriously I would love to keep doing this but we uh… we're-" Dean gets momentarily distracted as Cas sucks lightly on Dean's chest. "Ok wow- no yeah that's good but we- uh we have to be up kinda early tomorrow."

"You started this," Cas mumbled against Dean's skin.

Dean laughed humorlessly, sagging back to his side of the bed. Cas followed him, "Yeah that's uh- that's a good point." So they continued kissing for a few minutes until finally, Cas let up.

But he pulled Dean's head into the crook of his neck and wrapped his arms securely around the other boy. Dean was practically vibrating with warmth, gently kissing Cas's neck until he fell asleep.