(The following year)
Dean and Sam were home for Spring Break and were enjoying a Tuesday at home while their parents were at work. Sam was watching TV in the living room while Castiel did a few chores Mary had asked him to do. Dean was upstairs.
Once he was finished with the work, Castiel went upstairs to see what Dean was doing. He'd been quiet all day. He was a few feet away from the door when he heard someone playing guitar and singing. Castiel realized it had to be Dean but he'd never heard him sing or even look at a guitar. He moved closer to the door, which was cracked slightly, and listened.
The singing was soft but Castiel could hear it well and was shocked at what an amazing voice Dean had. He put a hand on the door and pushed it open slowly. Dean was sitting on his bed and facing away from the door.
Castiel stepped into the room and pushed the door mostly closed behind him. He watched as Dean continued strumming the guitar and singing quietly to himself. His head was moving along with the beat and Castiel could see he was getting lost in the music. Castiel smiled.
When Dean finished his song, he looked to the side and took a few breaths. It was then that he noticed the angel listening by the door. Dean jumped up from his bed, holding the guitar by the neck with his left hand.
"Cas! How long have you been there?" He had never sang in front of anyone before and was very self conscious about it.
Castiel grabbed his marker board from Dean's desk and wrote. Not long. Please don't stop.
Dean huffed a laugh. "No I won't put you through any more of my singing." He moved to put the guitar away.
Castiel shook his head and moved forward to grab Dean's wrist. Dean waited as Castiel wrote.
You have a wonderful voice.
"You don't have to lie, Cas."
I'm not. Please sing.
Dean smiled at the written words. Castiel seemed to genuinely like his music. "Alright." Dean moved back to the bed and sat with crossed legs. Castiel took a seat at the desk and waited for Dean to decide on a song to play.
After thinking a minute, Dean decided on one of his favorites: Hey Jude. It was what his mom used to sing to him as a lullaby and it was the first song he remembered learning and singing. He didn't even notice Castiel's presence after the first few chords.
Castiel sat motionless as Dean got lost in the song and closed his eyes. He watched how his fingers moved over the strings easily, like he'd played this a thousand times. Castiel recognized some of the words and realized it was something Mary would sing to herself around the house during the day.
As Dean lost himself more, Castiel had an urge to get his sketch pad. Mary had bought it for him when he turned 18. Castiel picked it out of the desk and started sketching Dean as he continued singing. He had gotten much better at drawing people and moving objects.
They sat that way for several minutes as Castiel got a good outline of his sketch. He wasn't anywhere near finished when Dean ended the song. Dean looked at him as if to question if he wanted him to keep going or not. Castiel encouraged him to keep going.
Dean laughed and picked another song. As he continued playing, he could tell his voice was getting louder, but he wasn't nervous about that now. He had been worried that Sam would hear him and come up to watch, but now he didn't think about that and just played.
He went through a couple more songs before finally putting down his guitar. Castiel seemed too focused on his drawing to notice immediately that Dean had stopped. Dean smiled as the angel concentrated on his work.
When the angel finally looked up, Dean pointed to the sketch pad. "Can I see?" Castiel shook his head and pulled the sketch pad closer. "Why not? I sang for you."
Castiel closed the pad and wrote on his board. It's not finished yet. When it is, you can see it.
"Fair enough." Dean stood and put his guitar back in its case. He heard a tap and turned to see more written on Castiel's board.
When did you learn to play? I've never seen you do that before.
"Last summer. When I went to that camp for a couple weeks, one of the girls there taught me the basics. She could tell I had an interest and helped me." Dean put the case in the back of his closet. "I haven't had a lot of time to practice since then, but I do when I can."
You should keep it up. You're good and obviously enjoy it.
Dean smiled. "I might. It's a nice way to relax. Kind of like the way you are with drawing." Castiel nodded in agreement. "Let's go see what Sam is doing."
Dean led Castiel out of the room and felt the angel's hand in his. Castiel still held Dean's hand most of the time when they walked around. Dean had gotten so used to it that he didn't find it strange or even notice it was happening most of the time.
Sam was still watching TV when they entered the living room. He glanced up as they entered the room. He then looked at their joined hands and smiled before looking back to the TV. Sam saw them do that a lot. Castiel also seemed to stand close or touch Dean a lot, but Dean never noticed. Sam shook his head and took a drink of his soda.
"What're you watchin'?" Dean let go of Castiel and sat next to Sam. Castiel sat by Dean.
"Nothing." Sam was flipping through the channels trying to find something good. "What were you guys doing up there?"
"Nothing. Mind your own business." Dean wasn't about to tell Sam that he had basically been singing to Castiel for the last half hour.
Sam laughed at Dean's quick answer. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for work, Dean?"
"No, why? What time is it?" Dean leaned forward and tried to grab Sam's watch.
"About 2:15." Sam smiled. He knew Dean worked at three today.
"Shit!" Dean stood up quickly and ran upstairs. It usually took him about 30 minutes to get downtown so he didn't have much time to change and leave.
Castiel opened his sketch pad as Dean rushed around upstairs. He looked at the picture of Dean. He still had a lot of shading to do but e liked how it looked so far.
Dean came down the stairs while buttoning his work shirt. "Okay, mom should be home in about two hours." Sam just nodded so Dean looked at Castiel. "Cas, you've got all the numbers if something happens."
Castiel nodded an affirmative. They'd gotten Castiel a cell phone when he'd mastered the written language. It was easier for everyone if they needed something when they weren't home or on a different floor. He only used the texting obviously, but they had regular calling available too in case of emergency.
"Good." Dean went to the closet by the door and took out his jacket. "Hey, Sam, what did you have to do tomorrow? I remember you telling me, but I don't remember what it was."
"Don't worry about it. I'll just ask mom to take me."
"She said she might be picking up some more time this week. I can take you. What did you need?"
"I just have a class project I need to work on with my partner."
"It's Spring Break."
"Yeah, well not every teacher lets their students off during that week."
"Okay, so where do you need to go?"
"The library. We're meeting there to work on it together."
"No problem. See you guys later. Have fun."
"You too." Sam looked back as Dean opened the front door and slipped on his jacket. He left with a wave to them.
Sam sighed when he couldn't find anything to watch and turned off the TV. He looked at Castiel as he worked on a drawing. Sam leaned over to see what he was doing. He caught a glimpse of Dean's face before the angel pulled it away.
"Sorry. I was just curious."
Castiel waved and turned to a blank page to write. It's okay. I'm just not finished with that one yet.
"Oh," Sam chewed his lip as he thought of what to do. "So, anything new with you, Cas?" The angel shook his head. "Me either."
What's the project for?
"English class. We have to do a short presentation about a poem the teacher gave us." Sam wasn't excited about it. He liked reading and most of the assignments he got in English but this one was hard, mostly due to his partner.
Do you get to work with a friend?
Sam felt his face get warm at the question. "Yeah, you could say that. We got to pick partners for this."
That's good. Who's your partner?
He hesitated before answering, but he knew Castiel wouldn't tease him like Dean would. "Jessica."
Castiel nodded. He recognized that name. Sam had worked with her a few times before and Dean had always poked fun at him about it.
"Can I tell you something, Cas?" He nodded. "Promise you won't tell Dean." Castiel put a hand over his heart in a promise. "I really like Jessica and I don't know what to do about it."
Castiel smiled. He had suspected as much by the way he reacted whenever Dean teased him. Sam seemed worried and was wringing his hands.
"I mean, she's really nice and smart and I think about her a lot. I think she likes me too but she's so nice that I don't know if she's just like that with everyone or not."
He wasn't sure how to help. Castiel didn't have any experience with something like this, but Sam seemed to be looking for help.
"Do you think I should tell her?"
Castiel furrowed his brows in thought before writing his answer. I don't know, Sam. I'm a little out of my element with that, but maybe you could try to show her how you feel and see what she does? If she doesn't seem to respond, you might have your answer.
"Thanks, Cas. I might do that. I'm not sure how but…" he sighed and slumped against the couch in defeat.
He put a hand on Sam's shoulder to comfort him. He hoped he didn't worry about it too much. He would be 13 in a couple months but he had a lot of time for girls.
The following day, Dean and Castiel walked into the library with Sam. He seemed nervous and kept smoothing down his hair. Dean watched him curiously.
"What're you doing?"
Sam put his hands down quickly. "Nothing."
"Uh huh. So, how long do you think this is gonna take?" Dean really didn't want to hang out in a library during his week off.
"I don't know." Sam scanned the library to see if he could find Jessica.
"Well should I bother driving home or will I have to drive right back?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "I don't know, Dean! We'll probably be here an hour or two."
"Great, then I'll just go home and you can call when you're done."
"Sounds good." Sam spotted Jessica coming in the front door. "See you later, thanks." Sam tried to push Dean to the door before he saw Jessica, but it was too late.
"Hi, Sam." Jessica waved as she made her way over.
"Hi, Jess." Sam felt a wide smile on his face. She was smiling too and it was contagious.
Dean looked between them and could see how big a crush Sam really had on the girl. "Jess?"
Sam looked at Dean. "Jessica, this is my brother Dean."
"Yeah, I've seen you around school." She turned green eyes to him, long blonde hair falling behind her shoulder, and smiled again.
"Glad to finally meet the Jessica Sam always seems to be working with." Dean laughed as Sam covered his face.
Jessica chuckled. "We have a lot of classes together. Besides, I like working with Sam. I know he'll actually do his work and not put it all on me like other people do."
Sam felt his heart skip a beat when she said that. He saw Castiel watching him with a pleased expression. He shrugged at the angel and looked back when Dean spoke.
"That's Sam. Such a good kid."
Jessica nodded in agreement and then looked at Castiel. "Who's this?"
Sam stepped toward her. "That's Castiel."
"It's nice to meet you, Castiel." Castiel nodded to her. "We should probably get started." She put a hand on Sam's arm.
"Yeah," Sam looked at Dean and tried to keep his smile down, "I'll call you."
Dean was smirking at him, wanting to stay and watch Sam squirm, but Castiel tugged on his arm. "Yeah alright." He waved as they walked off. "You think we could hide somewhere and see what happens?"
Castiel rolled his eyes and started pulling Dean to the door. He hoped Sam would try to test how much Jessica liked him, but it seemed like she felt the same as Sam.
Dean drove them back home after picking up some lunch in a drive thru. Dean was already eating his food as he unlocked the front door. He sat on the couch and pulled out his fries. Castiel walked to the other side of the couch to join him.
"So Jess is cute, for a thirteen year old." Dean talked around a mouthful of food. Castiel shrugged. "I wonder if Sam will be able to tell her how much he likes her."
Castiel smiled as he thought about the talk he and Sam had. He ate his food slowly while Dean had already finished his and took his bag to the kitchen to throw away.
"We've got an hour or so to kill. Anything you want to do?"
Castiel considered the question and then pulled out his phone to text the answer to Dean. I would really like if you could practice playing your guitar some more. Just so I could finish my sketch.
Dean read the text and laughed. He didn't think the angel would ask that. "Really?" Castiel nodded. "Okay. Let me go get it, and I'll grab your sketch pad too while I'm up there."
Dean went up the stairs to get his guitar. The sketch pad was on the desk. He picked it up and flipped it open. There were a few drawings of the yard and one of his mom and Sam. Dean then saw the page with the unfinished drawing of him. It was pretty good already. Dean couldn't believe how much Castiel had improved since starting.
He made his way down the stairs and saw Castiel throwing his bag of trash away. Dean handed him the pad and a pencil and then moved to sit on the couch. He put the guitar case on the floor and opened it.
Castiel sat on the floor with his pad resting on his crossed legs. He waited while Dean decided what song to start with. Once Dean started playing, Castiel continued shading in the guitar.
Dean simply played a couple songs to start with. He needed to build up to singing anything. Even though Castiel was the only one home, he was still nervous to sing in front of anyone.
About ten minutes later, Castiel had moved up to Dean's face. He was lucky that that was the moment Dean started singing. It was a country song Castiel had never heard. He had to wait a minute to continue drawing so he could really listen to Dean sing. His voice was so pleasing to Castiel that he was sure he didn't want to ever listen to anyone else sing. Dean switched to an upbeat song and Castiel was snapped out of his trance. He continued his drawing.
He was almost finished when Dean's phone rang. Sam was calling to be picked up. Castiel opted to stay home while Dean left. He put a few finishing touches to the drawing and was proud to call it finished before Dean got back.
When Sam and Dean arrived, Castiel was reading on the couch. He looked up at Sam when he passed and he gave Castiel a thumbs up. The angel smiled, happy that it worked out well for Sam.
Dean sat next to Castiel as Sam went up to his room. He nudged the angel. "So, did you finish that drawing?"
Castiel nodded and put down his book. He picked up his pad and held it out to Dean.
"You sure?" Dean knew the angel could be hesitant to show his work to others, much like he was with his music.
Castiel nodded slowly. Dean took the pad from him and opened it up to his picture. He had to stop his jaw from dropping. The progress from just a couple hours ago was astounding. The detail gave Dean an eerie feeling of looking at a black and white picture.
"Wow, Cas," he looked at the angel and saw a guarded hope in his eyes, "this is incredible." The angel relaxed and smiled. "Seriously, it's really good."
Castiel's wings flared up briefly in happiness. He had hoped Dean would like it. Castiel knew it was the best drawing he'd ever done.
"You know, you could probably be a professional artist." Dean handed the pad back to the angel as he shrugged. "No, come on. I mean it."
Castiel turned to a blank page to write. Well, you could be a pro musician.
Dean laughed. "Except for the whole terrifying anxiety thing."
I'm sure if you started letting more people hear you it would get better over time.
That sounded like the opposite of what Dean wanted. His heart rate picked up just thinking about it. "No, Cas, I don't think that's for me. It's a hobby, but that's all."
Castiel dropped it for now and they settled in to watch something on TV until Mary came home.
Sam and Jessica started hanging out more outside of school and considered themselves a couple. At 12 and 13, they didn't do much other than go to movies or hang out at each others houses playing games or watching movies.
Jessica was even a part of the family celebration for Sam's 13th birthday that May. Everyone cheered and clapped as Sam blew out his candles.
Mary was cutting up the cake when Jessica pulled Sam aside into the living room.
"Happy Birthday, Sam." She had a hand on his shoulder and she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his lips.
Sam's heart stopped for a second and he barely had time to return the kiss before Jessica pulled back. They smiled and laughed. It was Sam's best birthday.
Dean looked at Sam and Jessica when they came back to the kitchen. By the bright smile on Sam's face, Dean could guess what happened. He was proud of his little brother. Dean slapped Castiel's arm and pulled him closer by his sleeve.
Castiel looked up in alarm as he stumbled closer to Dean. He then pointed to Sam. Castiel looked over and saw a very happy Sam and Jessica. He looked back to Dean and shrugged.
Dean leaned in close to whisper. "I think little Sammy just got his first kiss."
Castiel turned back to Sam with a smile. He was happy for him and he could tell that Dean was too.
Everyone took a piece of cake and stood around the kitchen to eat. Sam and Jessica were eating at the counter. Sam looked across the room at his brother and saw him standing close to Castiel speaking in a low voice. The angel seemed transfixed by what Dean was saying. Sam wondered if his brother could tell how much Castiel cared about him. Dean laughed and held the angel's elbow gently and led him out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
That night something happened that hadn't happened in a long time: Castiel had a nightmare. It used to be a pretty frequent occurrence but it hadn't happened for months. He had woken up when one of Castiel's wings hit his bed hard.
"Cas?" Dean sat up and was nearly hit by the wing. "Cas!"
He quickly slid off his bed and moved to the end of Castiel's cot. He couldn't be hit by a wing if he stayed by the angel's feet. Castiel was twitching and flapping his wings frantically.
"Cas, it's okay. You're dreaming." Dean crouched down and gently touched the angel's ankle. Castiel flinched and pulled his legs up. "Come on, Cas." Dean leaned over the bed some and put a hand on his leg again.
Dean felt a strong punch to the cheek and fell back to the floor. Castiel had bolted up to a sitting position and swung his wings around, landing a hit to Dean's face.
"Son of a bitch!" Dean rolled to his side and touched the hot cheek, feeling it swelling already.
Castiel was awake now and jumped off his cot and rushed to Dean. He helped him sit up and looked terrified. Dean's cheek was already getting dark. He got up and ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs to get some ice and a towel.
Dean sat on his bed while Castiel made him an icepack downstairs. He had hoped that the angel wouldn't have any more nightmares but it was probably something he'd deal with for most of his life.
Castiel came back with the ice wrapped in a towel. He held it against Dean's cheek. Dean hissed from the cold and pain. His wings were pulled in tight behind him. He shook his head when Dean put his hand over the angel's to take the icepack.
"I got it, Cas."
He nodded and slipped his hand out from under Dean's. He picked up his marker board to write on it.
I'm so sorry, Dean.
"I know you didn't mean to. It's okay."
No it's not. I could've really hurt you.
"I'm fine." Dean felt part of his eye swelling now too. "You wanna talk about it?" Occasionally, Castiel would tell him a little bit about his nightmares. They usually revolved around his last owner or the abuse he took on the street.
Castiel shook his head. This last nightmare was about his last owner and some of the things he wasn't ready to tell Dean about yet.
"Alright, that's okay. I'll be right back." Dean stood to go check himself in the bathroom.
He moved the icepack once in front of the mirror so he could look at the blue and black cheek. It hurt but he knew it would be a lot worse in the morning. He took a couple Aspirin out of the cabinet and took them before heading back to his room.
Castiel was sitting on his cot when he got back. When he made to stand up, Dean put up a hand.
"You're fine. We should get some sleep."
The next morning, Dean's family was alarmed by the bruised face, but once he explained what happened, they were sympathetic and understanding. He was more irritated by the questions he got at school that day. He usually just replied with 'nothing' when people asked what happened. Eventually, they stopped asking.
A couple weeks later, the school year ended. On the last day, Sam was quiet and seemed upset the whole drive home. They were almost to the house when Dean finally asked him what was wrong.
"Nothing." He mumbled it with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Right." Dean drove silently and they pulled into the driveway. He knew Sam would talk if he wanted to.
"It's Jess."
"What about her?" Dean shut off the car and waited.
"She's leaving." Sam dropped his arms and stared out the passenger window.
"The school or…?"
Sam shook his head. "The state. Her dad got a job in Nevada and they're moving there. They were just waiting for her to finish this year of school first."
"I'm sorry, Sam."
"She wanted to tell me earlier, but she found out right before my birthday and didn't want to spoil that for me."
They sat in the car together in silence for a few minutes. Dean felt bad for Sam. His first crush and girlfriend was leaving. He'd never had that happen, but he couldn't imagine it would be easy.
When Sam got out of the car, Dean followed and stopped him with a hand. Sam looked like he was ready to say something, but Dean silenced him with a hug.
"I'm sorry, brother. This really sucks."
Sam stood still in confusion. Dean didn't let go so Sam returned the hug. It wasn't often that Dean was this nice to him. Dean clapped him on the back a couple times and then pulled back. He put an arm around his shoulders and walked in with him.
Mary and Castiel were folding laundry in the living room when they entered.
"Hi boys. How was your last day?" Mary smiled at them both.
"Great! Can't wait for the summer break." Dean held Sam tight in a head lock and led him to the stairs. Sam slapped at him and pulled at his hold.
"Dean, stop!" Sam couldn't help but laugh as Dean led him up the stairs. He knew that he was trying to get him away from their mom before he had to tell her about Jessica.
He let go of Sam when they got up the stairs. "See ya." He waved at Sam as he went back down the stairs. Sam rolled his eyes.
Dean was getting a drink out of the fridge when Castiel entered the kitchen. He greeted the angel as he read what was on his marker board.
Is Sam okay?
"He's fine." Dean opened his soda can and saw the angel raise a brow in disbelief. "He'll be okay."
What happened?
Dean lowered his voice so his mom wouldn't hear. "Jess told him that she was moving today. Her family is moving to Nevada."
Castiel's face fell in sadness. Poor Sam. How long until she leaves?
"I don't know. I think he said a couple weeks. He'll be alright, he just needs some time."
Castiel nodded. Dean walked by him, clapping his shoulder a couple times.