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They were sixteen. Young, stupid, and headstrong as all hell. And definitely not in love.
Dean had driven them out of town at Cas's insistence. The smaller boy had something he wanted to show Dean, something that could only be seen away from town.
So there they were, at nearly eleven o'clock at night, sprawled out on the grass staring up at the sky. Cas propped himself up on his elbow so he could direct Dean's gaze.
“There," Cas said, pointing. Dean's eyes followed his friend's finger, grinning when he saw what Cas had seen.
“Meteor shower," Dean murmured approvingly.
“I like 'falling stars' better," Cas commented, settling onto his side to more comfortably view the show.
Without really thinking, Dean shifted closer, until his chest was barely brushing Cas's back with each intake of breath.
“Remember that time, the summer after fourth grade, when Gabe told us all those ghost stories?" Dean whispered, nearly in Cas's ear.
Cas laughed, his body bumping Dean's every other laugh. “We didn't sleep for a week! Had to have someone else in the room, and Sam snored."
“Yeah, and then your mom gave in and just let you stay over til we weren't freaked," Dean chuckled, watching how his breath stirred Cas's hair softly.
“I must've been there a month before your mom realized we just liked hanging out," Cas replied.
“Yeah. Man, she was pissed at Gabe, though. I thought she was gonna shout the neighborhood down." Dean's voice went soft without his permission, sounding almost sad. Cas rolled, turning his back on the falling stars so he could look Dean in the eye.
“She'd be proud of you, Dean," Cas said. Dean shrugged, but Cas didn't let it go. “Seriously. The way you're taking care of Sam, and kept an eye on your dad. It's more than she could've wanted."
Dean nodded, his throat feeling suddenly dry. Cas just stared at him, the lines and planes of his face brought into sharp relief by the moonlight. Dean stared back, stretching time between them until his phone went off, letting him know it was ten minutes to Cas's curfew.
He stood up quickly, offering a hand to help Cas up. They got into the car silently, Dean trying to quell something that seemed to be trying to escape his chest.
They pulled up to Dean 's house, parked, and started the brief walk to Cas's house. It was an old tradition, something they'd done as kids to get more playtime together. Now they strolled silently, shoulders occasionally brushing.
Dean stopped at the Novak's door, digging the toe of his boot into the ground for a moment. Something was fighting in him, but he didn't know what, or which side he wanted to win.
“Goodnight, Dean," Cas said shyly, almost as if he was getting dropped off from a date.
At that thought, everything clicked into place, and Dean realized abruptly that right in front of him was Castiel, his oldest and best friend. And the boy he was in love with.
Well that settled the internal battle. Before he had a chance to chicken out, Dean leaned in and pressed a surprisingly chaste kiss to Cas's cheek.
He pulled back, intending to say goodnight and hurry away, but Cas dragged him back and guided their mouths together.
And just like that, Dean knew he was done for. With the girls he'd kissed, there'd been something, but here with Cas? There was everything.
Their lips moved together slowly, languidly, as they completely lost track of time. It was only when the porch light blazed on that they parted, and even then they only moved a breath away.
Gabriel stood in the doorway, screen door separating them. Dean took a step in between Cas and his brother, unconsciously shielding Cas from any potential trouble. Gabe just grinned. “It's about damn time."