Hi! So this fic has been giving me a hard time. I've been debating on whether I wanted it to be a fanfic or to write it as an original piece, but it keeps going back to fanfic. So if you've seen it in my struggle to find a home for it, I apologize. This is where it will be from now on, as a fanfic. Again, sorry for any confusion.

FULL SUMMARY: Sam and Dean left home to escape an alcoholic father; Cas went with them to get away from his abusive siblings. Now they've settled into a little family of their own and things seem to be going well until Sam falls for a guy who becomes more and more controlling and violent. Cas helplessly watches the man he loves fall for a guy who hurts him, and Dean watches the family they've built fall apart, even as he desperately tries to keep it together.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters within.

Complete warnings: domestic abuse, child abuse, rape, sexual abuse, language, slash, homophobia, and violence

Chapter warnings: mentions of abuse and alcoholism, slash

I hope you like it!

"Cas, make me something to eat," Dean moaned from where he was sprawled out on the couch in their apartment. He reached up towards the wall and stretched his out, listening to the pops of his spine with satisfaction. He cracked his eyes open to look at his roommate, was purposefully ignoring him.

"Cas," he whined, flopping back down off the side of the couch dejectedly.

"I'm busy, Dean," Cas didn't look up from where he was curled up in their beat up recliner with a thick book propped open in his lap. He adjusted his glasses on his nose and kept his gaze fixed intently on the small text of the page he was reading.

Dean sighed and looked up at the electric clock, reading it upside down from where his head hung off the edge of the couch. 7:45. Sam's last class ended a forty five minutes ago; he should have been home by 7:30. "I wonder where-"

Dean's thought was cut off before he could complete it when he heard Sam's key in the lock and the front door being pushed open. He heard the sound of Sam's heavy jacket landing on the bench next to the door and his boots clunking against the wall as he kicked them off.

"Hey," Sam greeted them as he passed through the living room and made his way to the small kitchen. "What's up?"

Dean was surprised by how upbeat his younger brother suddenly sounded. They'd been having a rough time since they'd moved to California. The second Dean had turned eighteen, he'd taken Sam and left home to get away from their alcoholic father. Dean doubted his Dad even noticed they were gone. He had nothing to gain by trying to get Sam back; he was probably thrilled he wasn't responsible for two kids anymore. It had been a relief when Sam turned eighteen and Dean could relax a little bit about their situation; at least he wasn't technically kidnapping a minor anymore.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Dean grunted, using the arm of the couch to pull himself up into a sitting position. Cas apparently deemed Sam's good mood important enough to put his book aside for a moment, Dean noted. Cas was his best friend, he had been since his family had moved in down the street from the Field's house when Dean was three. Cas had been all too happy to join Dean when he left home, eager to get away from his oppressively strict Christian family. He had thirteen brothers and sisters, and they were all locked in series of constant battles with each other. After their mother died, their father had left them alone for long periods of time to preach, and the oldest sibling, Michael, had taken over the household and ruled with an iron fist. He'd almost beaten Cas to death when Cas's bitch of a sister had outed Cas to their family.

"Nothing," Sam grinned down at his hands as he spread mayo on a piece of white bread.

"Nothing?" Dean snorted. "You're coming home a half an hour late and smiling at your sandwich. That doesn't seem like nothing."

Sam shrugged, but didn't say anything else, just grinned stupidly at the counter.

"Want a sandwich, Cas?" Sam asked, glancing up at the dark haired man. Cas watched Sam from the armchair with his wide, piercing eyes. He seemed as surprised by Sam's sudden good mood as Dean was.

"Yes, thank you," he nodded, tilting his head and regarding Sam curiously.

"Is it a girl?" Dean asked, leaning forward and digging his toes into the worn couch cushions. He wasn't going to just let this drop; Sam had been in a funk lately, ever since he'd started classes at Sanford. There was a group of kids that absolutely terrorized him and he was reluctant to do anything in retaliation for fear of losing his scholarship. Dean had tried to get the names out of him, but Sam had so far refused to tell him, or Cas.

Dean considered his brother for a moment before adding hesitantly, "Or a guy?"

Sam froze and his eyes snapped up to meet Dean's. Dean could read the fear there, and it made his chest ache. Sam hadn't quite stopped shadowboxing yet. "Dean..."

Cas shrunk back in his chair and clutched his book tightly to himself. Dean saw him out of the corner of his eye and hesitated, but didn't say anything to him. "Sam, whatever. It's fine. I mean, I've sort of always known you were interested in guys..."

"You're okay with it?" Sam asked, hesitant relief showing clearly in his expression. His gaze flickered over to Cas, who had relaxed marginally when Dean hadn't started yelling and screaming the way Michael had when he'd found out about Cas's sexuality.

"He's my best friend, isn't he?" Dean shrugged, waving a hand at Cas. "Why would it bother me?"

Sam shrugged and pursed his lips, returning to making Cas a sandwich. Cas was specific about what he ate, and Sam had been working for years and years just to get the man's sandwich order right. White bread, then two slices of turkey folded in half and placed next to each other, then two slices of cheese lined up with the edge of the bread but not spilling out of the sandwich, and another piece of white bread. Sometimes he would eat it with three slices of tomato. Sam figured it was a way Cas had coped living in his strict home. He wasn't allowed to make his own decisions about most things in his life, but making a sandwich was something he had control over, so he'd taken advantage of the opportunity.

"So it was a guy, then?" Dean asked after a moment.

Sam let out a frustrated sigh and tossed the knife he was using to cut the sandwich into the sink. "For God's sake, Dean, let it go. It's none of your business."

"Who was it?" Cas spoke up innocently.

Sam sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "You two are impossible." he could feel both of the staring at him, waiting expectantly for an answer. "Okay, okay, it was David Green, alright? Are you happy now?"

"No," Dean replied bluntly. He was perched on the arm of the couch closest to the kitchen by now, watching Sam intently. "Not really. What happened? Did he ask you out?"

"Yeah," Sam muttered, plating Cas's sandwich. He picked up his plate, Cas's plate, and Dean's plate and carried them into the living room, balancing his own on the inside of his elbow.

Cas looked like he was about to say something, but he was distracted when Sam handed him his plate and he realized that Sam had made his sandwich perfectly. A warm feeling grew in his stomach and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Sam handed Dean his plate and plopped down next to his brother, setting his own plate in his lap. "Anything else you want to know?"

"What did you tell him?" Cas asked.

Sam shrugged and shifted uncomfortably under Cas's familiar, yet unnervingly penetrating gaze. "I said yes."

"Oh, God," Dean breathed, staring at Sam in horror. "Sam, you've never been on a date. This is a date, right? Like, he doesn't want to meet in some parking lot and get it on in his car, does he?"

"Oh my God," Sam dropped his sandwich onto his plate and rubbed his forehead, mortified. "No, Dean, no. Just...this is why I didn't want to tell you. We're going to dinner, we might see a movie. Just...okay, that's enough bonding for one night."

He grabbed his plate and started to stand, but Dean's hand on his wrist stopped him and pulled him back towards the couch. He found himself looking right into Dean's green eyes, and was stunned to find that his brother's gaze was completely serious. "Sam, wait a second. Is this guy...is he gonna treat you right?"

"It's just one date, Dean," Sam tried to shake his brother off, but Dean had a solid grip on his bicep that kept Sam from standing up. "C'mon, man..."

"Dean's right to be concerned, Sam," Cas cut in quietly, leaning forward in the chair. He ran a hand through his ruffled dark hair and scrubbed his hand over his mouth. "David Green isn't exactly...I've heard things about him."

"What kinds of things?" Dean demanded, his grip on Sam tightening.

"He's had quite a few relationships in a short period of time," Cas replied, not looking at Dean, but keeping his gaze firmly locked on Sam. "I'm concerned that he may want you for the wrong reasons. You don't deserve that."

"You guys, we're not getting married," Sam laughed lightly, trying to wipe the serious, concerned expressions of their faces. "He's a nice guy. Is it so ridiculous that someone could be interested in me?"

"No," Cas said bluntly. Dean shot him an exasperated look and took over.

"Look, Sam," he began, ready for this conversation to be over. "Just, uh...be careful, okay? If he does anything, if he tries anything, you just say the word and me and Cas'll take care of it."

"Okay," Sam muttered, ducking his head so his hair hid his eyes. "I'm gonna go to my room now. Homework."

He stood up and retreated to the bedroom with his sandwich, closing the door behind him.

Dean turned to Cas and hissed softly so Sam wouldn't hear, "God, Cas, either man up and ask him out before this Green guy does or stop making it so goddamn obvious you're pining for him."

"I'm not pining," Cas replied stoically, frowning at Dean. "I'm glad he's happy."

Dean sighed and shook his head. He sat back against the couch cushions and dug into his sandwich, letting it drop for now.

Sam was already tired and ready for the weekend, though it was only Tuesday. He honestly just wanted to go home, curl up in bed, and listen to Dean yell at the TV while Cas irritably told him to quiet down so he could read. If he was being completely honest with himself, he wanted Cas curled up in bed with him and Dean out of the picture for a little while, but Sam reminded himself that he'd given that up years ago. Cas was like a second brother, but he could never be anything more, because that's how Cas saw him; as a brother.

"Hey, Sam," Sam paused when he heard his name and turned around, surprised to find that David Green had been the one who had spoken. "Wait up a second."

Dave smile when he approached Sam and ran a hand through his dark hair, brushing it out of his eyes. "Hey."

"Hi," Sam replied, not sure what was happening. Dave didn't really talk to him outside of class, unless he needed help on homework or something. Stopping him in the hallways was unprecedented. "Do you, uh...do you need something?"

"I just wanted to talk," Dave grinned warmly and Sam felt something in his chest squirm pleasantly.

Sam smiled back, a little hesitant.

"Are you heading in town?" Dave asked, holding the door open for Sam and stepping out into the cool air after him. The sidewalks were well lit by street lamps and there was a steady stream of students walking to and from their classes around campus. "You live that way, right?"

He pointed away from the building in the direction of Sam's apartment. Sam nodded. "Uh, yeah, I do. Down by the library."

"I'm heading that way," Dave shrugged. "I could give you a lift it you want."

"Oh, no, I don't want you to go out of your way for me," Sam insisted, stepping away from Dave and preparing to leave.

He stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. He lifted his gaze to meet Dave's and was taken aback by the sincerity in Dave's brown eyes. "It's really no problem. It's not out of my way at all. I barely see you around outside of class. It'll give us some time to talk about non-school related stuff."

"Uh, yeah," Sam agreed, shrugging. No one had made much of an effort to get to know him; he'd been pretty much dismissed as a freak. People knew he was good friends with Cas and Cas wasn't really normal, so Sam had been declared a freak by association and ostracized by most of his classmates. "I guess that'd be okay. Thanks."

"No problem," Dave's grin brightened and Sam felt the warm feeling in his chest grow a little bit. "My car's over in the lot on the other side of the hall."

Sam was pleasantly surprised to find that he and Dave had things in common to talk about. Dave had an older brother who had been overprotective when they were kids (Sam didn't bother mentioning that Dean had never grown out of the overprotectiveness), they both liked some of the Same books, music, and movies, which carried them until Dave pulled in next to Sam's building where Sam had pointed out the small parking lot. Sam didn't realize they'd been parked for fifteen minutes until he happened to glance at the clock. He cut himself off from what he was saying about 'The Tempest' and pushed open the car door.

"I'm sorry, you must be so bored listening to me," he apologized, managing not to blush. He hadn't realized how long he'd been rambling. "Thank you so much for the ride. I'll see you Thursday."

He slid out of the car and shut the door behind him. He turned to go inside before he was stopped the sound of another car door opening and closing.

"Hold up a minute, Sam," Dave called, moving around the car to stand a few feet away from Sam. Sam turned on his heel and titled his head at Dave, cocking an eyebrow curiously. Dave dug his hands in his pockets and smiled bashfully at Sam. "I was anything but bored listening to you."

"Thank you," Sam said quietly, trying to keep the shock out of his voice. Cas was the only person who had never told him he was boring, or to shut up when he was explaining something. "I...good."

"Listen, Sam," Dave rubbed the back of his neck and let out a deep breath, bracing himself. "Would you want to go out sometime?"

Sam's blank look told Dave that the younger boy hadn't really gotten it. "Go out?"

"Yeah, like, on a date," Dave clarified, grinning. Sam was fucking adorable, with his chocolate curls flopping into his confused, wide eyes, clutching the strap of his shoulder bag tightly. "Dinner, maybe a movie, whatever you want."

"A date," Sam repeated, rolling to word around in his head. "I...Dave..."

"Oh my God," Dave's stomach sank when Sam hesitated. "You're straight. I'm so sorry, man, I thought..."

"No, no, that's not it," Sam shook his head, and finally, a genuine smile crossed his lips. "I've just...never been asked out before. I'd love to."

"Really?" Jake's grin was back on his face in seconds. "Awesome! Uh, okay, so I'll pick you up here, Saturday, at seven-ish? Does that work?"

Sam nodded and met Dave's eyes for a moment before he glanced away, blushing. "Yeah. That's perfect."

So there's chapter one. It's a little short, but the whole thing is about 30,000 words right now, so if people are interested, I'll keep putting it up as I write.

Drop me a review if you have a second! I love hearing what you think, and it's nice to see if there's any interest or not.

Thanks for reading!