Chapter Two

Castiel tried his hardest to focus on his homework; he really did. But his mind continuously betrayed him, and just kept wandering back to thoughts of Dean and the time he wanted to spend with him. His resolve gave way, and he surrendered, just grabbed his phone, shakily punching in the numbers and calling Dean.

"Hello, it's Castiel. I, um, I'm not busy and I finished my homework. So if I could come over, or if you prefer, you could come here, and we can get working on the project. If you want, that is. We don't have to. I was just...Offering." He stammered, tripping over his words as he spoke in a rush. Dean simply laughed; he wasn't used to hearing the boy stutter like this.

"Yeah, I can come over. Wait... you have a brother named Gabriel don't you?" Dean shuddered again at the earlier phone call.

"Um...yes. But he's out right now." Castiel replied, realizing that they would have the house to themselves, since Castiel was home alone at the moment. The thought made his whole body get hot, even though part of him wanted to smack his dick and say "no". He bit his lip and curled his toes, glad that Dean couldn't see him at the moment.

"That little... where'd he go?" Dean muttered under his breath, mostly to himself. Sam wasn't home, and he wasn't at Gabriel's... His train of thought cut off as the realization hit him. Gabriel and Castiel lived in the same house…So Dean had actually always known where Castiel lived. "Oh well, I'll be over in five. See you then." He hung up the phone and ran to the bathroom to check himself over in the mirror. He then grabbed his keys and left the house, heading for Castiel's.

Castiel sat in awe for a few seconds, realizing that Dean Winchester was about to come over to his house. And it would be just them. Together. Alone. Oh god, he felt the sudden urge to throw up. Castiel fluttered around, cleaning what he could, changing into better clothes, brushing his hair, then messing it up again, then brushing it because he couldn't decide what looked better. As Dean pulled up, he quickly turned on the TV and opened a Sports Illustrated magazine, setting it on the coffee table to give the illusion that he had been chilling out, rather than tripping over his feet while madly scrambling to clean the house.

Dean quickly checked his hair in the mirror and winked. He was one sexy bastard... but would Cas think so? It was then that it finally hit him. Him and Castiel...together. Outside of school. When he started to get nervous he mentally slapped himself. He was Dean Winchester, and Dean Winchester didn't do nervous. But then again, this was Castiel. He slid out of his car and locked the door. Deciding this was no time to be nervous, he knocked four times on Castiel's door.

Castiel nearly jumped out of his skin as Dean knocked at least four times. He scrambled to the door, tripping over the carpet and his lanky limbs on the way there. He took in several deep breaths as he tried to fix his hair one last time before opening the door for Dean.

"Hello. Please, come in." Castiel said, stepping aside so Dean could enter. He knew his house wasn't that great; but it was all they had, and it was more than enough for Cas. "Can I get you anything?" He asked, trying to be as hospitable as possible.

Dean looked around, slightly impressed. It was bigger than the apartment he and Sam lived in. And homier. It had a warm feel to it, which Dean envied. Suddenly, he realized Cas asked him a question.

"Uh... no... thank you." He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with his arms. He settled for shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

Castiel nodded finally, and shut the door behind Dean.

"Alright. Well, we can stay in the living room, if you prefer." He said, gesturing to the few couches around a coffee table and TV. He could tell Dean felt awkward, and didn't blame him. He didn't know what to say or do at the moment...

"Right." He sat down at one of the couches and once again marveled at Castiel's house. "So... Nice place." He cleared his throat and sat up slightly. Castiel nodded.

"Thank you. It's not much, but it's...Home." He said simply, glancing over at Dean. He hated how awkward this was... "So. How was your day?" He asked softly, trying to grasp at any sort of conversation starter.

"It's more than I have..." Shit. Dean did not mean to let that slip out. He rushed out, "My day was amazing... How was yours?" Inside Dean's head, 'please ignore that, please ignore that.'

Castiel's head inclined slightly as he heard Dean's first sentence. He really wanted to pursue, and further question him about that, but he resisted. "Well at least you have Sam." He said softly. "And it was good, thank you." He then replied, figuring Dean didn't want to press the subject. Dean visibly relaxed as Castiel let the earlier topic drop.

"Well that's good. Um...So, what do you do for fun around here?" He grasped for something, anything, to make up for his mistake. Castiel thought for a second.

"Well, I read usually. Or do homework. Sometimes I just sit here quietly and think. It's quite peaceful." He said. "...And you?" He then asked, feeling extremely boring. He knew he was a terrible entertainer, but he couldn't help it. Castiel rarely ever had anyone over, let alone the sex idol Dean Winchester.

"Really? No music, no videogames or tv?" Dean was kind of shocked. He never did his homework if he didn't absolutely have to, and Castiel did it for fun.

"Well, music, when I can. I have a cassette player in my room, which I listen to when I go to sleep. And I only recently started watching TV. I quite enjoy it." He said with a ghost of a smile on his lips. He couldn't help but think about the time he stayed up too late and accidentally turned on the pay-per-view porn channel. He cleared his throat, trying to shake the thought from his mind. "But no, I don't play video games. I've never tried." He finished.

Dean smiled, he knew there was a normal kid in there somewhere. "So... where are your parents? They go to work?" Dean knew he shouldn't have asked about parents... it was a touchy subject with him, but there was no denying his curiosity.

"My father is a lawyer. He tries to be home as much as possible. He has a trial in the city this week, so he probably won't be back until monday. He's great though, very helpful and wise. My mother...Well, I never knew my mother, she died giving birth to me. Then my father remarried and they had Gabriel. He takes after his mother. She died in a car crash..." The smile disappeared as he thought about his deceased mothers, the one he never got a chance to meet, and the one he didn't have enough time to get to know. He looked at the ground, using his toe to mess with the plush carpet. He unknowingly moved ever so slightly closer to Dean, seeking comfort. "...And you?" He finally asked, softly, his bright blue eyes gazing up into Dean's.

"Oh... My mom's gone too. She..." Dean's voice broke; he was already close to tears. This happened every time he talked about his mom. That's why he always tried to avoid the subject. But Castiel shared his story... why couldn't Dean tell his? "She died in a fire when I was four. Sammy was just a baby..." He laughed bitterly. "It was my entire fault too. I left a candle burning when I told mom I would put it out." He didn't even register the fact that a few tears ran down his cheeks until the cold liquid fell on his hands. Snapping out of his reverie, he wiped his face clear of tears. "Sorry, Cas. I shouldn't have pushed my problems on you. I, uh, maybe I should leave…" He shifted uncomfortably. Castiel's shoulders sagged as he heard Dean's story. He held his breath, quickly grabbing Dean's forearm.

"Wait. No, please don't go. Dean, it's okay. It's not your fault, trust me." He said, his words dripping with honesty and sincerity. He felt so bad; he couldn't begin to imagine what that amount of guilt would do to someone. He gently pulled Dean closer, giving him a rather...Awkward hug. He felt guilty for bringing up the topic; it wasn't his place to pry, and now it was his fault that Dean was feeling this way.

"S-Sorry. I just...I'm here for you, and I want to talk, okay?" He said softly, looking down into Dean's gorgeous green eyes.

Dean couldn't believe it... here was Castiel, hugging him. He didn't know what else to do, so he wrapped his arms around Castiel and hugged him back.

"Thank you. You... you have no idea how much that means to me." He felt himself crying again, but he didn't want to break contact with Cas so he just buried his face in his shoulder and continued to cry.

Castiel gently patted Dean's back, holding him close against his body. He wanted to offer some form of comfort to Dean, whether it be verbal or just physical. He rested his chin on top of Dean's hair, giving him time to settle down. He didn't mind prolonging the hug for as long as Dean needed. In fact, he quite wanted the hug to continue as long as possible. He couldn't believe that he was currently holding Dean Winchester in his arms as he cried into his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, Dean. You've done so much good, you need to realize that." He said quietly.

"Cas?" Dean sniffled. "Can I... Can I be completely honest with you?"

Castiel pulled away slightly so he could look Dean in the eyes, and nodded.

"Of course you can, Dean." He replied reassuringly. Dean wiped his tear stained cheeks and looked back at Castiel. He sighed and looked down at his hands, which were in his lap.

"The thing is... my father always blamed me for what happened. It got to the point where he couldn't stand to look at my face. He kicked me out when I turned sixteen. He was almost always drunk, so I took Sammy with me. Right now, we're living in a small apartment and I work for my uncle Bobby." He shook his head. "I don't really know why I'm telling you this... No one else knows. I just... I somehow feel like I can trust you." Castiel's eyes widened at Dean's confession.

"Dean...I...That's horrible!" He exclaimed, standing up. "I won't allow that. I will not. There is plenty room in my house, I can explain the situation to my father, leaving out some details, and let you and Sam grow up in a proper house. Dean, neither of you should be living like that. I want to help you. Please." He begged, taking Dean's hands in his. He knew Dean was far too prideful to accept something like this, but he knew that Dean wanted the best for Sam. And living in a rundown apartment for one was certainly not acceptable. Dean looked shocked.

"I...I don't know if I can accept that..." He didn't know what to say. And as much as he would love to spend every waking moment with Castiel... he wouldn't want to burden Castiel's family like that.

Castiel shook his head. "No. You will accept it, Dean. Please, it's the least I can do after you've been through so much. I want to give you a home. A proper one." He said firmly, leaving no room for objections.

"I..." He shook his head. "I'll have to talk to Sammy."
"Talk to me about what?" Sam said as he and Gabriel walked through the door. Dean stood up.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Sam blinked at his brother's sudden outburst, while Gabriel just laughed.
"Out." Gabriel answered as he grabbed Sams hand and ran up the stairs to his room. "Sam's sleeping over tonight, Cassie! Hope you don't mind!" He cut off as he slammed the door to his room, leaving Dean and staring.

"What... the hell... was that?"

Castiel looked up as Sam and Gabriel came crashing in, and hurried up to Gabriel's room. He then awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Erm, honestly, Sam does sneak over quite a lot. Sometimes when I'm staying up to do homework, I hear Gabriel let Sam in, and then they sneak back up to Gabriel's room. I'm sure they would quite like to live together." He said, his voice flat. He didn't mind in the least bit, but it was slightly annoying to have to pretend to be asleep as they snuck away. Dean laughed.

"I always did wonder where Sam snuck off to in the middle of the night." Dean shuddered. "Do you... do you think they're... dating?" Castiel didn't flinch at the question, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Perhaps. I'm not sure, though. They may just like listening to music really loud while jumping on the bed, 'cause that's what it usually sounds like." Dean burst into laughter so hard he ended up on the floor. As soon as his manic laughter died down they heard music from upstairs. Dean burst out laughing once again.
"If you wouldn't mind... We're trying to study up here. Could you keep it down?" Came Gabriel's annoyed voice. Castiel blinked as Dean continued laughing extremely hard.

"I...I don't get it. What's so funny?" He asked, clueless. Dean finally caught his breath and stopped laughing hard enough to answer.

"Seriously, Cas? You're too funny. Um... people generally use the excuse 'studying' to have sex." Dean realized this, and shuddered. "Which is probably happening right now..."

Castiel's eyes widened and he slowly looked back down at the ground. "Oh." Was all he said. "Um...how about we go somewhere, then?" He offered. The sound of them "jumping" on the bed was starting, and Cas was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable. Dean was extremely uncomfortable too.

"Sounds like a great idea. Shall we go then? I know a park not too far from here."

Cas nodded, grabbing his sweater and shrugging it on as he hurried to the door.

"Sounds good. We can get lunch and continue talking, if you like." He added, wanting to make sure they had something to do. "Let's start walking."