Moving On (Destiel)

19: Forbidden memories

A/N: School started again. RIP me

"Dean. I have a question for you. It's a very important question."

Dean tensed and eyed Cas interested, his attention caught.

"Can you tell me about fairytales?"

Dean was speechless for a moment, but then he snorted out. "Okay, good joke," he said, "I didn't expect that, gotta admit. Now, what's the real deal."

"I just asked you," Cas said, confused. "If you could tell me about fairytales. I don't know why you would think this might have been a joke."

"It... But it was, right?", Dean said slowly, his smile fading. "It was a joke?"

"Do I look like I am joking around?", Cas said, his face as emotionless as ever.

Dean swallowed, looked down, trying to smile over the awkwardness, and scratched his head again. Cas was beginning to think this might be a habit of his when he was nervous. 

Even though Dean Winchester didn't seem like someone to get nervous easily. But, it had been the second time already he did that today. Was Cas making him uncomfortable?

"O- okay. So. Fairytales. What about them?", Dean asked uncertainly.

"You tell me."

Dean sighed in exasperation. "What the hell am I supposed to tell ya, Cas? A fairytale is a fairytale, witchy and rainbow and good to regale."

Cas looked at him in awe. He could've never rhymed somthing without preparation time.  "This was poetic."

"Nah, I suck at literature and stuff," Dean argued. "Anyway. What the heck you planning to do with fairytales? They are told to children because they usually hold some kind of warning, like "don't trust strangers and don't go in their house" or "don't go into the woods alone" for Hansel and Gretchen, as an example."

Cas bit his inner lip. "It's just... Charlie made fun out of me the previous day because I wasn't... as informed about them as her, and I'd try to avoid being laughed at in future."

"What exactly didn't you know?", Dean narrowed his eyes.

"That's what YOU are supposed to tell me," Cas said and had to admit, he sounded confusing – he couldn't blame Dean for having no idea what he was getting at. "Look, uh. It would help if you just told me some fairytales. Charlie let on they weren't all about fairies, and if I hear some of them, I might get an idea what the consistence of a classic fairytale actually is." 

He sounded stupid. God, he sounded so stupid. What even was this? Was he five?

Dean must think the same thing since he raised his eyebrows in a "Really now? Okay, I will just not question it for the sake of my own sanity" mood. 

"You thought fairytales were all about... you know what? I'll just leave it. Has nobody ever told you fairytales?"

"I thought I made clear... my parents weren't that kind of parents. They divorced early and after that... Like I said, my father got lost in work and rarely shows up every few weeks, and my mom is living somewhere else," Cas said vaguely, "and do you really think Gabe's the brother who'd read fairytales out loud for me?" He laughed quietly. It didn't sound bitter – but it didn't sound happy either.

I was, Dean thought, for Sammy, I was that kind of brother. "Nah, not really. But you have other older brothers too? I mean, they moved out, but they haven't always been."

"That's true," Cas deliberated, "But, well. Michael isn't the best with little children, he just made sure I'd get to school and everything was functioning. He was responsible. And Luci... He has always been a dork. He maybe would have read bedtime stories for me if he had been patient enough."