Sky Blue

A New Friend

The next day, the sky was cloudless, even though the puddles were still drying up by mid-morning. When Dean woke up, he ran straight to the window to see if the other boy was on the swing set.
He was. He was swinging higher this time, wearing a black sweater. He was barefoot, his dark hair blowing back in the wind. Dean wanted to study the boy, his facial expression, the way he moved, the way his hair fell back in his face messily. But he also wanted to know him. He wanted to be the first one he told everything to. He wanted this boy to be able trust him with everything.
And the funniest thing the fact that he couldn't explain why. He didn't know why this boy was so intriguing to him. He looked normal, from a distance at least. He wanted to talk to him and become good friends with him.
But that was a scary concept. Dean had moved homes at least five times in the past three years. He felt like if he formed a friendship, it would eventually be cut off by his father.
Still, he had to talk to this boy.
He threw on some fresh clothes and pulled on his tennis shoes and marched over next door. By the time he had rung the doorbell, he realized he didn't know what he was going to do or say. He didn't even know the boy's name. Before he had time to think, the door swung open and a boy with a mess of blond bed-head was standing in front of him. He looked like he could have been about eleven.
Dean took a breath.
"Hi," he said, smiling. "I'm Dean, I just moved in next door yesterday." The boy cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm Gabriel, and you're probably looking for my kid brother." Dean nodded shortly. Gabriel turned into the house and tilted his head back.
"CAS!" he shouted.
"WHAT?" a voice came back. Gabriel turned back to Dean.
"He's out back on his stupid swing set. Go through the gate around the side." He gestures to the right side of the house. Dean nodded again in THANKS and Gabriel slammed the door behind him as he turned away. He heard a shout muffled inside the house,
"SOME KID NEXT DOOR CAME BY!" Well now he had to go back. This was no longer his own decision. Gabriel and the certain measure of politeness he had somewhere told him he had to now. He wandered down the side yard, whistling tunelessly. The gate sat, tangled in vines and roots. He pushed it open, rattling the rusting wire it was made of. He strolled casually to the swing set, where the boy, Cas, according to Gabriel, was swinging dejectedly.
The grass rustled as Dean walked up to the set.
"Hi, I'm Dean Winchester. I just moved here," Dean said. Cas jumped at the sound of his voice. "I just wanted to meet some new people before I start school here." That was partially truthful. He really only wanted to meet Cas.
"Okay," said Cas, nodding his head at the other swing. "Sit." Dean sat and kicked his feet to start.
"So what's your name?" He asked. And of course he already knew it, but he wanted to hear it from his mouth.
"Didn't my brother shout it?"
"Yeah, but isn't Cas short for something?" Cas looked at his shoes.
"Castiel," he mumbled.
"Castiel." Dean rolled the name over in his mouth. He liked the way it felt to say it.
"I know. It's dumb." Dean almost fell off the swing.
"No, it's not dumb!" he cried. Castiel turned away.
"Sorry," he said softly.
"No it's okay. I was just trying to say I really like that name." Cas sniffed. Had he been crying?
"Really?"
"It's really unique, I like it." Cas turned his face back to Dean. It was blotchy and red, his eyes slightly puffy.
"Sorry, I just really hate being yelled at," he said. They stared at each other. Dean looked into his eyes, and for the first time, really noticed them. They were bright blue, and they were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen, despite being puffy and red rimmed. He was left to wonder whether they were just holes drilled in his head and the color was just the clear blue sky backgrounding his head.
He looked back at Cas' face and realized that it appeared that he was studying Dean's eyes. Dean wondered what he was thinking. They gazed at one another for what could have been hours or just seconds, when there was a crash in the house. The two jumped.
"GABRIEL!" a massive bellow erupted from upstairs.
"WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?" Dean recognized Gabriel's voice.
"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT LYING TO YOUR FATHER?" The sound of footsteps pounding up stairs could be heard. It was a while before they could hear anything else. Dean turned to Cas to ask him something, but quickly forgot the question when he saw that he was crying again, rocking back and forth on the swing.
"I'm sorry," Cas sobbed. "They always fight like this. I can't stand it." Dean got up from the swing and rushed to Cas. He ran his fingers through his hair soothingly. He took Cas' hands in his own.
"You'll be okay," he said firmly. "Do you want to come over to my house? My little brother loves people." Cas nodded.
"Sure," he said, his voice thin and watery. He stood up shakily. Dean still held one of his hands, but he didn't seem to mind.
Dean kicked off his muddy shoes when the stepped through the creaky, peeling front door, Cas following his lead. They padded up the stairs to Dean's bedroom. Cas flopped onto his back on the bed, Dean doing so right next to him. After a few seconds, he sat up quickly.
"Cas," he said excitedly, "You have to meet Sam!" Cas looked at him quizzically. "He's my brother, you'll love him!" He jumped to his feet and ran to Sam's bedroom, rushing into the room to find Sam sitting on the big chair, playing with a small puzzle.
"Dee!" Sam squealed happily.
"Hey Sammy," said Dean fondly. "I've got someone I want you to meet!" Sam smiled and dropped from the chair to his feet, running to Dean. He grasped at his pant cuff lovingly. Dean picked him up, grunting, and carried him back to his own room. "Cas, this is Sam," he said sitting on the bed and setting his brother between him and Cas. "Sam, this is our new neighbor, Castiel." Sam giggled.
"Hi," he laughed. Cas smiled.
"Hi," he said, his voice still unsteady. "I-I'm Cas." Sam smiled, showing all his teeth. He bent foreword and hugged Cas.
Cas jerked back, but then realized it wasn't a violent act, and he smiled a little bigger than before.
"This is our new friend, Cas," said Dean.