It was his last day of class with Castiel, and his heart felt heavy. He knew he would see him around the school, but he would not have any more classes with him, and that was going to suck. He had spent the last two weeks dreading this day and tried to be as engaged as possible during class. Castiel had surprised him by showing up to another game last Friday, confirmed by a sneaky shot from Charlie where he wasn't looking.
His first semester as a senior was over, and he couldn't believe how quickly time had flown by. For the last day of the semester, most of the teachers let their students hang out where they wanted, as long as they had a permission slip. He had chosen to spend the day with Charlie and Benny in Cas's classroom, even convincing the man to come play cards with them for a while. He had laughed all day long and couldn't remember having a better day. When the bell finally rang, Dean hesitated to leave, Charlie giving him a knowing look before dragging Benny out the door.
"Hello, Dean," Castiel smiled sincerely, reclining in his desk chair.
"Hey," Dean smiled shyly, nerves beginning to churn his stomach. "I just wanted to thank you again for a great semester and for uh, believing in me when no one else did."
Castiel's expression softened as he straightened the papers on his desk, "You never needed me to do any of what you have accomplished, Dean. You did this all on your own."
Dean blushed, anxiously shifting his weight from side to side, "Even so, you saved me, Cas."
"No," Castiel said firmly, wincing at his directness. "I just mean that if anyone should be thanking anyone, it's me. I never meant to get you involved in my personal life, but you listened and understood what I was going through. You saved me, Dean. Quite literally, if I remember."
Dean ducked his head once more, embarrassed by the softness in Castiel's eyes, "I... I'm really going to miss your class, Cas." I'm really going to miss you.
Castiel nodded sadly, "I will miss you, too, Dean. You are a brilliant student and a talented writer. You're going to have a fantastic senior year."
"Thank you," Dean whispered, fighting against the wave of emotion that threatened to spill over. "I can't even begin to explain what that means to me."
Against his better judgment, he approached Dean cautiously, wrapping him into a hug. There was nothing wrong with a teacher hugging his student on their last day of class together, right? Dean quickly relaxed into him, squeezing him tightly. Castiel breathed softly, inhaling the intoxicating scent of the other man, working to commit every second of this embrace to memory.
Dean did not want this moment to end, knowing that there was a decent likelihood that he would not get this chance again. He sighed, reveling in the clean, addicting scent of Cas, clinging to him for longer than was necessary. When they finally pulled away, their eyes met, both aware of what had just happened between them. Feeling exposed, Dean cleared his throat, "I uh, guess I should probably get going. We have an away game tonight."
Castiel nodded, offering a slight smile, "Yes, that's probably good. Gabriel and I will be making the drive tonight as well. I'm sure your performance will be exceptional, Dean."
Dean grinned at the other man, "That's awesome! It's going to be a great game. Coach has been working us hard all week, and we are going to kick some ass."
Castiel laughed at Dean's excitement, touched by the realization that his attendance had brought about that excitement, "I look forward to it, Dean. You should go."
Dean deflated ever so slightly, remembering that he would no longer be seeing Castiel every day, "Yeah, you're right. I… I'm going to miss you, Cas."
Castiel met his eyes, searching the deep green with purpose, "I'll miss you, too. I doubt that we'll be rid of each other so easily, though. This is not the end, Dean."
Dean took a step closer, eyes glancing over Castiel's lips for a long moment, "No." Shaking his head to meet Cas's eyes once more, he turned towards the door, "No, it's not. I'll see you later, Cas."
"You're in deep, kid," Gabriel shrugged, turning onto the highway.
Castiel sat with head against the window, staring out at the passing reds, oranges, and yellows of an Ohio autumn. "I can't be, Gabriel. This is so far from being okay, that I don't even want to talk about this."
"You haven't actually done anything wrong, baby bro," he reassured him, glancing over at his brother before changing the radio station. "It's not like you're Mrs. Robinson or anything like that."
Castiel groaned, putting his face in his hands, "I just need to get a grip. I know this cannot happen. I absolutely cannot let this happen."
Gabriel gave him a knowing look, "Yeah, Cas. I'm sure that if you give yourself a stern talking to, it'll all just stop."
"You're a dick, Gabriel," Castiel growled, leaning back in his seat. "Wake me up when we get close, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
"Mhm," Gabriel smirked, "I wonder why that i- OW! What the fuck, Castiel?" Castiel smirked, nestling into his hoodie, his hand slightly stinging after punching his brother in the thigh.
Dean was on his back, head swimming, and his ears ringing. He was aware of people surrounding him, but struggled to focus on where he was, or why he couldn't move. Coach Singer jogged out to kneel beside him, as well as one of their trainers, all quickly assessing a likely concussion. They helped Dean off the field, pausing as he puked on the sideline, eliciting more shouts of disapproval from the stands.
Castiel had returned from the bathroom just in time to watch Dean being loaded into the ambulance, his heart plummeting. He sprinted up the stands to his brother, quickly making his way through the crowd. "What the fuck happened," he demanded, glancing around to watch both teams' coaches arguing with the referees.
"Number 16 on the other team hit him helmet-to-helmet, and Dean didn't get back up," Gabriel shouted over the 'boos' resonating around the stands.
"Is he going to be okay." Castiel questioned, panicking over the welfare of his student.
"Honestly, Cas? I don't know," Gabriel winced, removing his hat, "Most likely a concussion, but it could be more serious like a neck injury.
Commotion from the field brought their attention back, looking to see the other coach and the player in question being escorted out of the stadium. Cheers erupted from their side of the stands, and play resumed. Castiel took his seat once more, his chest constricting in anxiety. He was uninterested in the outcome of the game at this point, too worried about Dean's injury to care. Several minutes later, the game was over, and they had won, but it wasn't the same without Dean on the field. Against his better judgment, he quickly made his way down the stands to where he could yell out to the head coach, "Robert!"
Coach Singer turned quickly, pulling his headset down to address his colleague, "Damn it, Novak. I've told you to call me Bobby. What can I do for you?"
"Right," Castiel muttered sheepishly, "Have you heard anything regarding Dean's condition?"
Bobby's expression softened ever so slightly when Dean was mentioned, "That boy's tougher than he looks, which is saying somethin'. They just texted from the hospital saying that he has a mild concussion, and he ought to be okay to play next week."
"That's good news, I'm sure he is happy to hear that," Castiel smiled, "Congratulations on the win, Coach."
Bobby tipped his hat to his coworker, then rounded up the boys to the locker room, and Castiel returned to his brother to relay the news. As they climbed back into the car, he pulled out his phone to send a quick message.
From: Castiel Novak castfromthepast83
To: Dean Winchester allidoiswinchester44
Date: October 23rd, 2020, 10:17 PM
Subject: Feel Better
Hello, Dean.
I'll make this short so that you don't have to strain your eyes reading this. I hope you're feeling better and be sure to get plenty of rest this weekend. Coach Singer tells me that if all is well you will be able to play next Friday. I know this is important to you.
Please take care of yourself,
Cas