There Will Always Be Summer (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

There Will Always Be Summer by Amanda Brown
(Posted originally on A03)

Castiel Novak was sitting against the wall of the preschool building, small hands gripping a red crayon as he stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth as he tried to think of what to draw next. There were papers scattered all around him--his most recent drawings--and the four year old boy was completely out of ideas.

"Cas." A loud voice made him glance up, eyes wide. Nobody ever talked to him at recess, and nobody had ever given him a nickname--well, not a nice one anyways. The voice was none other than Dean Winchester, who was already shaping up to be the most popular boy in school. "Come play tag with us." Dean gestured over his shoulder at a group of boys across the playground.

"I don't know…" Castiel said hesitantly, his gaze not wavering from the boys who so often teased him.

"C'mon, Cas. It'll be fun!" Dean gave him a pointed look and jogged back over to the other kids. Castiel sincerely doubted there would be anything fun about it. There was a pretty good chance he would be mocked mercilessly by the other kids, but Cas very badly wanted friends. With that in mind, Cas carefully placed the crayon back in its box--in rainbow order, of course--and gathered up his papers, placing them in a neat stack and setting the crayon box on top of them before following Dean.

"Cas is going to play tag with us!" Cas heard Dean announce in an excited voice. He perked up at that, his small strides becoming more sure as he grew closer.

"The wimp?" Cas' steps faltered and he cast his eyes at the ground. He knew nothing wasn't going to change.

"He's not a wimp. He's just not big and stupid like you are," Dean shot back and Cas looked back up, shocked. Nobody had ever defended him before. The boy who had called him a wimp clenched his fists and Cas was sure the giant boy was going to hit Dean and then Dean would never talk to him again, but all the boy said was, "We'll see about that, Winchester." Dean rolled his eyes and beckoned Castiel over.

"I'll be 'it' first!" Dean said, closing his eyes as he started counting. The rest of the kids scattered, so Castiel figured he ought to do the same. "one-three-two-four-five--" Cas ran then, not bothering to tell Dean that he was counting out of order. People didn't like being corrected, Cas had found out, and he wasn't going to lose a potential friend over something as stupid as the placement of the number three. Cas managed to evade Dean--though he suspected Dean wasn't trying to tag him, since mere moments after Dean had tagged somebody else, Cas found himself being tackled to the ground. His chin cracked against the ground and tears sprang to his eyes, though he refused to cry.

"Sorry, wimp," the kid who tackled him sneered.

"Get out of the way, idiot," Dean elbowed the boy aside and pulled Castiel to his feet. "Are you okay, Cas?"

"Why do you call me Cas?" It was a silly thing to ask when his chin and jaw hurt so much, but Castiel felt like he needed to know. Dean arched an eyebrow, a mix of both concern and amusement evident in his expression.

"Because it's easier to say than "Castiel"." Castiel just looked at him and Dean's face fell. "Do you not like it?"

"No!" Castiel shouted, flushing when he realized the whole playground full of kids heard him. "No, I do. Just wondering."

"Okay." Dean smiled and brushed some grass off the shoulders of Castiel's tan sweater. "Can I watch you draw?"

"Sure," Cas said and the two abandoned the game of tag to go sit against the wall of the preschool while Castiel drew pictures and Dean commented.

------

14 years later

"It's weird to think we'll be going to college next week" Dean said, twirling his pocket knife in one hand. Cas watched the movement before looking up at his friend.

"Yep."

"It's going to be weird not going to school with you, dude."

"You'll be fine, Dean." Cas rolled his eyes, but inside, he was sick. Dean was his only real friend, though Cas was on good terms with Dean's younger brother, Sam. He was going to a whole new place, with no Dean to guide him and Cas was terrified.

"I know and so will you," Dean said softly, his gaze burning against Castiel's face. Cas doubted it, but he didn't want Dean to worry.

"I know. Bigger pond and all that."

"Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?" Cas' brow furrowed, concerned at the unreadable expression on Dean's face.

"I've got something to ask you. I've been wondering for awhile." Cas kept his expression carefully neutral.

"Yes?" Dean bit his lip and glanced at the ground for a moment. Cas waited patiently for Dean's question--knowing him it could be any number of things, so it was best not to get worked up.

"Why don't you date?"Dean blurted out. Cas let out a startled laugh.

"Because I'm not popular and girls think I'm socially awkward." There, that sounded plausible.

"We both know that's not true. Plus what about that Daphne chick?"

"There was nothing there."

"So you said before." Dean looked hesitant again.

"My answer has not changed," Cas said gently, letting the two of them fall into an awkward silence. Cas picked at the brick of the aged preschool wall. The sun was going down, casting everything into shadows as lightening bugs flickered across the playground where it all started. Cas bit back a noise of frustration. Things were coming to a close between them, an ending. How many friendships really lasted when two people were miles and states apart? There was really nothing to lose. Cas casually shifted closer to Dean and laid a hand--pale in contrast to Dean's summer tan--on Dean's.

"We'll both be okay," Cas whispered and then leaned in, gauging Dean's reaction. His friend, his crush of many years, wasn't pulling away in disgust, so Cas closed the inches between their mouths, pressing his lips against Dean's as he rubbed slow circles into the back of Dean's hand with his thumb. Dean kissed back, his free hand coming up to Castiel's neck. When the two broke apart, breathing heavy, Dean grinned and shuffled closer to Cas.

"Great timing, Cas."

"What do you mean, Dean?" Cas almost sighed.

"We're leaving each other in a week and now you decide to--for lack of a better word--tell me this?"

"Oh."

"It sucks, dude."

"There will be breaks. And summer," Cas murmured, inclining his head for another kiss.

MY BABIES <333333333333