Family Don't End With Blood /Destiel//Sabriel//Michifer

Adam Does Exist

Unable to help himself, Dean watched as Castiel left Charlie's side and pulled up a chair beside Balthazar, who leant over and began intently discussing something with him. 

"How did it go?"  Balthazar asked, appearing casual, but lowering his voice so that only Cas could here.

"They just gave me new medication," Cas returned, disappointed and bored. 

"Don't worry Cassie, I'm sure it will get better soon."

He sighed and nodded, appreciating his brother's efforts to cheer him up, but not finding that they were working.  He looked lazily around the table and was almost certain he'd seen Dean quickly look away. 

Had he been watching them? 

Cas began to study the Winchester, who was making conversation with Charlie: he looked a little uncomfortable or out of sorts.  Cas wondered if it had something to do with the bruise beneath the other boy's eye; it looked sore, if not painful. 

Dean looked up to find Cas staring at him, for what must have been the third time today, and his discomfort increased when he realised where the Novak had been looking.  Instinctively, he moved his hand to his face to hide the bruise, hoping that would avert attention from it. 

Cas remained staring, tilting his head slightly to the side.

He looked quite cute when he did this, forcing Dean to hide a small smile.

"I'm going to the library," Kevin announced. "There's not enough room for me to do my work here.  Anyone else coming?"

"I will," Sam answered, getting up to join him, "I still have some notes to finish."

"I'll help."  Gabriel made to follow them out.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Since when were you so interested in education?"

"Since now," Gabriel snapped.

Charlie smirked. "Ship it."

The table slowly broke out into a new round of conversation, which Dean let himself observe, rather than get involved with, keeping his thoughts private; that was until he saw Adam, sat slightly to the side, not participating in the discussion at all.  From the expression on his face, Dean determined that this had not been of his own choosing.

"So, Adam," Dean called across, he'd made a special note to remember the boy's name after his earlier comment about being forgotten. 

Adam's eyes lit up at being addressed and turned his full attention to the Winchester. 

"You said you didn't have any siblings?"  It wasn't much of a conversation starter, but it was a relatively safe question.

"Nah, I'm an only child."

"Fair enough.  At least that means you get a bit of peace and quiet."  He smiled. 

Elsa, who had apparently been listening, shot Dean an amused look.

"Yeah," Adam agreed, "But I get enough of that already." 

Dean wondered if he had said the wrong thing. "So, uh," he continued,  fishing for another question in the hope of keeping the situation from turning awkward, "What sort of stuff do you do in your free time?"

Adam thought for a moment.  "Well, my Dad takes me to baseball games sometimes, it's sort of our thing, and I'm a photography student, so I quite enjoy visiting places and taking pictures."

"That's pretty cool.  What sort of photographer are you?"

"I take landscape, mainly."

"You have any that I could see?"

Adam smiled even wider, pulling a camera case from his bag.  "I usually carry it with me just in case.  Plus, I have photography today anyway."

Dean stood up and moved closer as the younger boy began showing him some recent photos from the camera, happily answering any and all questions that Dean fired at him with perfect detail. 

Cas smiled to himself. 

He had been watching the whole exchange and couldn't help but admire Dean who, though he clearly didn't know a whole lot about photography, was determined to involve Adam in conversation; the boy's quiet and laid back personality often meant that he was overlooked in the group, as most of the others had more dominant and noticeable personalities.  It wasn't that people left Adam out deliberately, it just sort of happened.  Which was a shame, because everyone really did like him. 

Cas listened as Dean asked a yet another question, to which Adam responded by pointing to something on the image they were observing and explaining why its position was significant.  The Winchester seemed to be developing a genuine interest in the subject.

"Who you watching?"  Balthazar asked. 

Cas ignored him.

"You got a little crush there, Cassie?"

Cas turned to face his older brother.  "I just met him."

"And?"

"I don't know anything about him."

"Maybe it's love at first sight," Balthazar teased

"No," Cas said simply, turning away, "I don't believe in such a thing." 

Cas loved bees. 

He loved burgers. 

And he loved coffee. 

He did not, however, love Dean Winchester. 

He could not love Dean Winchester.

A/N

Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter.

I'll try to update soon.

*Gives you all cookies for the wait.*

~ Kat