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They say that Dean and Cas have been best friends since they were still in their mothers’ wombs. The boys were inseparable, always having each other’s backs.
It began when the Winchesters moved across the street from the Shurleys. John and Mary were having a baby and needed a bigger space, and Chuck & Becky were already nearing their due date for their second child. Seeing another mother-in-the-making, Becky offered to help them unpack. Of course, what that really meant was that their husbands would be the ones actually working while they talked at the Shurleys’ place.
Mary was calm, caring, and mildly goofy, while Becky was eccentric, passionate, and full-out crazy but somehow the betas got along. When Mary met the Shurleys’ first-born, Gabriel, she thought he seemed just as crazy as his mother even at his young age. The guys got along too, even when John was being an asshole and Chuck seemed overly anxious. They became close pretty quickly, bonding over their growing families, home ownership, and other commonalities.
°~°
2 weeks after the families met, on September 9th, the Shurleys’ second child was born. Castiel was a beautiful thing, with a patch of dark brown hair and shimmering blue eyes that never changed color. He was quiet from the moment he popped out, but his eyes were lively and curious. The boy always looked at everything and everyone like he was studying them, so one couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking in that cute, baby head. Later, they discovered that he was actually a pretty grumpy kid (but compared to Gabriel, he was a godsend), and Chuck and Becky had some trials and tribulations with their new addition.
Castiel’s arrival only made John and Mary all the more anxious to meet their own child.
4 months later, on January 24, Dean made his excitable entrance into the world, having arrived 3 weeks early and born in the Impala’s backseat. Dean was much louder then Castiel, and extremely excitable, which proved to be a little challenging for his parents. For example, Dean, barely able to sit upright, kept trying to roll around the house as a way of transportation, and John or Mary had to always make sure he wouldn't hurt himself. Of course, Becky and Chuck were very helpful, giving the new parents advice and occasionally babysitting Dean. It was a great relief for the couple to have the extra support.
It was also adorable to see the boys grow and interact with each other. They were always happy to see each other, and their parents were surprised at how quickly they became inseparable.
They first realized their unique bond when Dean was about 5 months old (and Castiel was 9 months). The two were having a play date when it was time for the Winchesters to leave.
"Come, Dean," Mary said picking up Dean. Making her way to Becky's front door, Dean announced, "Ca!" and struggled against Mary. She just thought it was mere babbling so she continued. "Come on, baby boy we gotta go."
"Ca!" Dean repeated, struggling even more.
"Sweety, no."
That's when Dean began to cry, still wriggling in his mother's grip. Dean rarely cried, and when he did, it was usually for good reason. When Dean got agitated, he tended to glare, not cry. Mary bounced him, trying to calm him down. That’s when Becky walked up to them with Castiel on her hip.
"What wrong?" Becky asked, concern in her eyes.
"He just started to cry and I can't calm him down." Mary’s confused because Dean's not hungry, or tired, or teething. So why was he fussing? Even Gabriel came over to see what all the noise was about.
Then Castiel reached out to touch Dean and he opened his eyes. When he noticed the other child had touched him, Dean abruptly stopped his hysterics, and hiccups escaped his little mouth as it trembled. Castiel patted Dean's head which calmed him further, to the point where Dean started to happily coo and smile. He said it again, "Ca!" and then it hit both of the women.
Dean's first word was Castiel's name.
They gaped at each other.
"Oh my God, that's adorable!" Becky exploded and Mary laughed.
"Man, I wish we got that on camera!” Becky exclaimed.
"We can still try."
They did, and later that night they showed the video to their beta husbands, who shook their heads in wonder.
°~°
As Dean and Cas continued to grow, so did their friendship. Most of the time, they were literally never apart. Even though it occasionally annoyed their parents, they were just so darn cute together, so who could deny them?
Well, it turns out the answer was kindergarten.
The kids had looked forward to learning and having fun, and it had never occurred to them that they wouldn't constantly be together. Unfortunately for them, Cas and Dean weren't placed in the same class and both were devastated. Both threw a tantrum 20 minutes before school and then sulked for the rest of the day--in their respective classes, of course.
By the end of the day, the boys were both miserable. So, after school, they took comfort in their basement pillow fort and tried to brainstorm how to fix The Separation Problem.
"We can run away together," Dean suggested after a few minutes.
"No, we have to learn stuff and you have to take care of Sammy," Cas said, shooting down the option. Sam was Dean’s little brother, and Dean took his big-brother responsibilities seriously.
"Right. We can take him- Ow!" Dean was interrupted by Cas stabbing his shoulder with his very dangerous finger. "Fine, we won't run away. So what we do?" Dean pouted.
Cas started to hum and then it hit him. "We could make new friends!" he shouted, excited with his incredible idea.
Dean, however, was not thrilled. Actually, he was rather confused. "What?"
"We could make new friends, so we're not sad at school," Cas exclaimed, still excited.
"But... we're friends," Dean whispered. One day of school and Cas already wanted to replace him. Dean felt his eyes and nose start to burn. He doesn't want to cry, but now that he thought about Cas never talking to him again, he couldn't help it.
Cas immediately comforted Dean. “No, don’t cry. You’re still my best friend, and I still love you. But you won't see me all the time now and I don't want you to be sad. No matter what, we will always be best friends, okay?” Dean nodded and he wiped his tears away.
“Okay.” Castiel smiled.
“But,” Dean started.
“But what?”
“But, you have to do something that tells me that you really love me.”
“Like what?” Dean shrugged. They both tried to think of ways for Cas to show his affection, but neither boy could come up with an idea.
Cas discovered the answer after dinner.
Dean had stayed to eat with the Shurleys that night, and later the two joined Gabriel to watch a movie. At some point during the evening, they all wanted ice cream. Castiel was tasked with getting a parent's help and found both of them in the kitchen kissing each other softly. At first, Castiel was disgusted, like any other 5-year-old boy, but then he realized something.
“Mommy? Daddy?” He called, startling the couple away from each other. They quickly composed themselves and gave their son their attention.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Becky inquired. Castiel had that pensive expression that only happened when he got extremely focused.
"Why do you kiss?"
Neither expected that and so it took a minute for one of them to answer. Eventually, Chuck replied, "Well, we kiss because we love each other.”
Cas nodded slowly, "So, we only kiss the people we love?"
"...Yes."
"Okay!" Cas exclaimed, and ran toward the living room, but not before hugging his parent's legs and blowing them kisses.
When Cas entered the room, he jumped on top of Dean and shook him violently.
"What did mom say?" Gabriel asked, but Cas ignored him.
"I know how to show you! Come on," he said as he pulled Dean off the couch before he could even get a word out. They left Gabriel bewildered and irritated.
Castiel pulled Dean into their pillow fort and he started to shake the younger boy again. "I know how to show you how you're my bestest friend!," Castiel whisper-yelled enthusiastically.
"How?" Dean asked both confused and cautious. Cas was usually quiet, calm and even sometimes mean, but that's only when Dean does or says something bad or mean too. Cas continued,
"I'm gonna kiss you!"
Dean leaned back, surprised and a little disgusted, not at the thought of kissing Cas, but (because he was also five) at the thought kissing anyone at all. Dean said as much, "But kissing is icky."
Cas deflated. "But Mommy and Daddy said that kissing means you love someone," Cas tried to explain. If he wasn't able to kiss Dean he doesn't know what he'd do. They’d had no other ideas!
Luckily Cas doesn't have to dwell on that further because Dean started to question his own reasoning, "Really?"
Cas nodded earnestly. Dean never thought about it that way. It seemed legit though. Why would his mom and dad, and princesses and princes, and a bunch of other people do it? Surely, it's to show each other love. So, he started to nod his head slowly, "Okay."
"Okay?" Cas questioned.
"Uh huh."
They stared at each other awkwardly for few seconds before Cas rushed in for the kiss. It was light and innocent, and they both couldn't help the butterflies that erupted in their tummies. They pulled away with heat in their cheeks, feeling confused.
Then Dean grinned widely at his dark haired companion and got a smile in return, just as bright.
And then he tackled Cas in a hug, both of them giggling.