Castiel looked around and marveled at all of the different kind of people at the pride parade. He, with the help of his friends Sam and Dean, was trying to shake off the shackles of his oppressive, Catholic upbringing.
When he’d discovered he was gay when he was sixteen, he’d run right over to his best friend Sam’s house. He’d been inconsolable, rambling on and on about how he was going to hell. How he could never be truly happy with life. How he couldn’t be himself, he could only hide who he truly was. Sam held him in his giant arms, rocking him back and forth and cooing to him, trying to get him to calm down and catch his breath.
Then, Sam had shared the biggest secret of his life. He and his brother were in love, had been for years. They were waiting until Sam was 18 to leave town and reinvent themselves as a couple instead of brothers. Did Cas think they were going to hell?
“No, I could never. You two are good people and you’ve found love in each other which is a rare and beautiful thing. Your love hurts no one.” He’d said and Sam looked at him with a quirked smile on his lips.
“So, why would you think any different about yourself?” Sam asked and pressed a kiss into Cas’ soft hair. The door to Sam’s bedroom opened at that moment and Dean walked in, took in the room at a glance and came over to lend his own support to Cas.
“I don’t need to be jealous, do I Sammy?” He breathed once his arms were around the two younger boys on the bed and, with a sweet, joyful laugh, Sam lifted his face for a soft kiss.
Cas was consumed with jealousy but also so grateful for these two friends.
They’d taught him how to hide from his family and still be true to himself. They’d taught him how to decide what he liked and what he wanted in a partner. And, on one or two occasions, they’d taught him about physical love; memories that he would treasure and jerk off to for years to come.
A few years passed and Sam and Cas turned 18 and finally graduated high school. The three boys wasted no time in packing up their meagre belongings and heading west, out of Kansas and towards the freedom of the west coast.
Day one in the car, saw Sam sitting shotgun and scrolling through their path on his phone. “We will be passing through Arizona just in time for Pride. Can we go, Dee?” Sam asked, excited, “Phoenix isn’t that far off Route 66 and it could be our coming out? Our first time in public as a couple? And Cas can learn some things too! He can see what it’s like. C’mon, please Dee?” Sam begged all the way through Oklahoma until Dean finally agreed, with a smile on his face.
“Yeah, sure, let’s scare Cas for life and take him to the Phoenix Pride celebration.”
So they continued on Route 66 until Flagstaff when they turned south to Phoenix where Cas felt his eyes opened for, what felt like, the first time.
There were rainbow flags everywhere. Every orientation. Men, women, transmen, transwomen, intergender, agender, genderfluid, there were all kinds of people and it was amazing and beautiful. And, what’s more, Cas could feel God’s love on all these people. He could feel joy that could only come from being yourself. He felt everything.
The first day they were there, they all wandered around, wide eyed, and took in as much as they could. Figured out where they could stay safely and where the best places to eat were and then headed back to their hotel to rest and sleep in beds for the first time in a few days. Well, Cas slept but he was certain that Sam and Dean were doing something else.
Day two they were all a little more free. They bought flags and paid to have their faces painted. They talked to more people. They felt more comfortable. Cas started to think that, maybe, he wouldn’t head all the way to California with Sam and Dean but stay in Phoenix. That night, they danced in the crowd as the parade passed by and Cas felt his heart fill with love and envy when Sam and Dean kissed in the multi-colored confetti falling all around them.
Day three was when Cas found his future. He’d spent the last two days alternating watching Sam and Dean live their love out loud and watching all of the big, hairy, burly Daddies wandering around. He wanted all of it. He wanted the love that Sam and Dean had but he also wanted a big, hairy, burly Daddy. And then, on day three, when he was naked but for a rainbow thong and some cute body paint, applied with giggles and kisses from Sam while Dean watched, he was marching along with a group of similarly dressed twinks when he saw him, high up on the balcony of an apartment building.
Cas was derailed and nearly instantly in love. He left the crowd and found a way into the building. He wandered up the four floors he estimated that the man was up and picked a random door to knock on. The first few doors that opened were the wrong people, though he got more than a few offers to come inside and visit a while. The fourth door actually knew who Cas was looking for.
“Oh, that’s Benny. One more floor up, apartment 505. He’s gonna love you.” The woman said with a smile and a wink. “And if you ever need someone to watch, for whatever reason, come back down and get me!” She yelled as Cas took off towards the elevator.
He knocked on the door of apartment 505 and waited with baited breath as he heard someone rattling around inside. The door finally opened and Benny was even more perfect up close than he’d been from a distance. Before he could say a word, Cas piped up.
“Hi, I saw your sign. I’m a recovering Catholic and I’m here to suck your cock for Jesus.”