Times They Fell in Love [Destiel drabbles]

Butterflies

Dean and Cas have always been best friends. Talking about the past brings up more than just memories.

They were sitting in the grass in Dean's back garden. The sun was shining from the clear sky. They'd ran off from Dean's birthday party. His whole family was inside, and Dean quickly became tired off them.

Ellen was getting drunk with Bobby, Jo kept ignoring them, Sam was being annoying, and Dean's parents were busy socializing with everyone else.

Cas was there, of course. He had known Dean ever since kindergarten, and he was as big a part of the family as everyone else. But now he was out here with Dean, just the two of them like usual.

"Seventeen, huh?" Castiel smiled.

"Guess," Dean replied. He smiled.

"I don't like it that you're older than me," Cas said jokingly.

"For God's sake, Cas, it's three days!" Dean actually sounded angry, but his eyes clearly proved otherwise.

"Think about it, though," Cas said, suddenly staring into the distance. "We've been friends for exactly fifteen years today."

Dean gazed at him. "We have?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I was jealous because the kindergarten made cake and sung for you, and I had to wait three more days before they would do that for me." He laughed.

"Felt like such a long time." Dean smiled, memories suddenly vivid as ever. "And you came over and asked if we could celebrate your birthday, too, and then we would celebrate both of us on your birthday as well."

Castiel bit his lip.

"Do you want to share this birthday with me too, Cas?" Dean laughed.

"That would be a pleasure," Castiel laughed back.

They just sat there in silence for a little while. Dean couldn't remember an awkward silence with Cas. It had never happened. Sure they had sat next to each other and said nothing, just like now, but it had never been anything but nice. The two of them, together. No words had to be spoken for their bond to remain. It was as if their brains were connected, even if they were thinking of entirely different things.

"I remember our seventh birthday, though," Dean smiled.

"When we invited the whole class to my house?" Cas asked.

"Yep." Dean was already laughing again. Anna and Gabriel, Castiel's older siblings, had been so cruel to them, chasing them around the whole house.

"You know, I never really forgave them," Dean joked.

"Me neither." Castiel though for a while. "Well I guess I kind of did, but they screwed that up last year."

Dean started picking grass off the ground and threw some at Cas.

"Hey!" he protested, and threw some back.

"I though it was fun. Sure everyone was drunk, but so was I." Dean shrugged and smiled, but he knew Castiel hadn't though of it that way.

"I remember the first day of middle school," Dean continued.

"Really?" Castiel answered. Dean looked at him and raised a brow. "All I remember is that terrible hair cut of yours," Castiel said, all serious.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!" Dean responded, but he knew it had been. That really was a terrible, terrible hair cut. Shame on Mary for letting that happen.

"I do remember the butterflies in my stomach when I saw you," Castiel smiled. Dean froze. What had he just said?

"You okay?" Cas asked.

Dean looked down. Butterflies. In Castiel's stomach. At the sight of Dean. Just like every single time Dean ever looked at Castiel. "Of course. " Dean snapped out of it.

"Anyway, those butterflies," Castiel laughed. "I wasn't even nervous until I saw you. We've went though all those big events together, you know? The nerves of a new school didn't really feel real until you were there."

Dean's heart skipped a beat. Or two. Cas didn't notice.

"Middle school was awful, though," Dean mumbled. In primary school everyone was so small. Middle school was when people started noticing things. Things like the way Cas and Dean would hold hands when they walked, the way nobody mattered but the two of them, the way Dean would tuck loose strands of Cas's hairs carefully behind his ears. Middle school was when people started commenting on it, usually including the words gays or faggots. They had stopped holding hands. Dean would never admit it, but he missed that. They used to think that was just normal behavior. They were best friends, after all.

"No worse than high school," Cas replied, clearly not getting what Dean was referring too.

"I guess not," Dean mumbled. He was still picking grass, but he just dropped it rather than throwing it.

"Seriously, are you okay?" Castiel looked at Dean, worry filling his eyes.

Dean was furiously picking at the ground, his forehead wrinkled, his whole body tense. "We let them do it, you know?" Dean said.

Cas didn't know. He was confused.

"The sons of bitched were bullying us. We could have taken them, we could have told someone, we could have made it real bad for them. Instead we just stopped doing the things they picked at us for. Instead they got just what they wanted." Dean bit his tongue. He had said too much, and he knew it.

"Dean," Cas mumbled. He looked down.

"I'm sorry," Dean responded "Just forget I ever said any of that, okay?"

Castiel had no plans forgetting. Why would he want to forget?

"You mean we should have kept doing things like this?" he asked as his hand reached out to Dean's.

Dean gave up on the grass massacre.

Castiel took Dean's hand in his and squeezed lightly.

"Yes," Dean swallowed. They sat in silence for a while, the warmth of the touch filling them.

The air was getting colder. They had been sitting outside for a while now, and the garden would soon me immersed in darkness.

Dean leaned on Cas's shoulder.

Cas's hand rubbed his back.

"Do you want to go inside?" Cas asked, feeling how Dean cold was.

"Not yet."

"There was another reason for the butterflies, you know?" Cas said.

Dean looked at him.

"Boys," Mary suddenly yelled from inside. "You better come get some more cake!"

Dean ignored her. They would come inside whenever they felt like it, and Mary knew it. "The same reason there were butterflies in my stomach?" Dean asked. He lifted his head and shifted so that he looked right into Cas's eyes, only a few inches of air separating them, the familiar scent of Cas smelling better than ever.

"Yes," Cas smiled before he closed the last few inches between them and carefully kissed Dean's lips.

They didn't hold it for long before they ran inside to get some warmth back into their bodies, but they held hands for the rest of the night.