Sandcastles & Seashells (Best Friends 'Verse - 2)
Title: Sandcastles & Seashells (Best Friends ‘Verse - 2)
Author: skylinehorizon
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 2800
Characters: Dean, Castiel and his family. They’re only kids, so Gen.
Warnings/Spoilers: A little swearing.
Summary: AU Kid!Fic. Five-year-old Dean goes to the beach with Cas and his family.
Notes: Kid!fic. A follow-on from Me & Cas, where Dean and Cas are both five and Cas is blind. Fluff.
Sandcastles & Seashells (Part 2 of the Best Friends 'Verse)
It’s finally the weekend and Dean has been really excited and looking forward to this day for forever. He wakes up and the light is shining through his curtains so he knows it’s not too early for him to get up, and he runs into his momma and daddy’s room. His momma is still asleep, but his daddy isn’t. Dean goes into Sammy’s nursery and sees Sammy is still sleeping in his little cot and it’s just him in here, so his daddy must be somewhere else. He runs downstairs and sees him sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper in his hands and the big mug on the table with the picture of a waterfall on.
His daddy looks up at him when he runs in. “Morning, buddy,” he says, and smiles at him when sits down at the table. “You sleep okay?”
“Yeah! When’s Cas picking me up?” Dean is really looking forward to seeing the ocean and digging in the sand and maybe even finding a cool shell for Sammy.
His daddy laughs and ruffles Dean's hair which is not cool and he leans back to try and get away. His daddy just laughs at him more and puts the newspaper down.
“In a few hours, kiddo. You excited about today?”
Dean was planning on pretending to be annoyed because of the hair ruffling (he’s not a fluffy dog) but he’s really excited about today and he’s seeing Cas and the thought makes it hard to be annoyed about anything.
“Yeah, we’re going to the beach! With Cas and his brothers and his sister and stuff. Did you find my bucket and spade?”
“Sure did.” Sammy’s cries cuts into the air and Dean knows that means his little brother is ready to wake up, too. Dean likes it when Sammy’s awake, they get to play together, but a lot of the time Sam needs taking care of because he’s still really little. Dean likes to help do that too, because he’s a big brother, and that’s his job.
“Come on,” his daddy says, and steps up from the table. “Let’s go get you boys ready.”
Dean is sitting in the car next to Cas, and his big sister, Anna, is sitting on his left. He’s got his plastic bucket and spade with the red handle on his lap and is holding them tightly with one hand. Cas has a big family, a lot bigger than Dean’s. There’s Gabriel and Michael, who he’s already met, but then there’s Lucifer and he has his friend with him called Lily. It’s load of names and they’re all older than him and Cas and although they’re Cas’ family, he scoots a little bit closer to him. It’s silly but he feels like he needs to protect him. They’re all very loud and big kids.
“Don’t be a dick, Luci,” Gabriel says, and Dean giggles because that’s a word you’re not supposed to say. Lucifer and Michael were arguing about something when Dean got in the car and Lily kept rolling her eyes but now it’s Lucifer and Gabriel shouting at each other and Dean’s still not quite sure what their argument is about. He’s been talking to Cas instead and that’s much funner.
“Language, Gabriel,” Cas’ daddy says. Lucifer looked like he was about to say something back but stopped when his daddy spoke and the look on his face makes Dean want to laugh. It’s the same look that Sammy gets when their momma doesn’t let him have another popsicle and he throws a tantrum.
Cas is wearing sunglasses that are blue and Dean forgot his but Anna said that he could borrow hers. Dean likes Anna a lot and thinks she’s probably the nicest out of all of Cas’ siblings. But no-one is as nice as Cas, except maybe Sammy, but all he does is drool a lot and make grabby hands and make sounds that aren’t even words yet so having a conversation with him doesn’t make much sense. Cas is fun because he likes to do everything with Dean and they always pair up in class and Dean likes sitting with him and talking about things like monsters. He also likes his eyes, because they’re really, really blue. Dean thinks blue is his favourite colour.
Cas’ daddy is driving but he can’t remember his name, so he’s just Cas’ daddy. He can’t remember his surname either, so maybe just Mr Cas’ Daddy because that sounds politer. Cas doesn’t have a mommy, which is really sad, but Cas doesn’t seem sad so Dean doesn’t think he needs to be either. Anyway, Dean doesn’t mind sharing his momma with him. Cas is his best friend so he’ll share anything with him.
They’ve been in the car for twenty minutes now and it feels like forever.
“Hey, Cas,” Dean says, and Cas turns to him with a smile. He looks really happy and that makes Dean happy, too.
“Yes, Dean?”
“How far away is the beach?” he asks. He doesn’t mind that it’s taking ages because he gets to sit and talk next to Cas, but he also really wants to play in the sand and make some sandcastles with him.
“I don’t know, Dean. Can you see the sea yet?”
Dean looks out the window but all he sees are trees whooshing past.
“Nu uh.”
“Shouldn’t be too long,” Anna says. “We’ve been in the car just over twenty minutes, so just less than that to go now.”
Gabriel looks over at them instead of glaring at Lucifer and says, “The little kiddies are already getting bored.”
Dean is not little. “I’m not a little kid! I’m five!” It’s important that Gabriel knows this because he’s not like Sammy. He’s not as big as Gabriel, but he’s not little.
Gabriel is laughing at him now and so is Anna and Dean puts his arms over his chest and pouts.
“He’s adorable!” Lily says, and Dean doesn’t understand what he said that was funny and is making them laugh. “Where did you find him, Castiel?”
Cas smiles and says, “He found me.”
“We’re best friends,” Dean says, just to make sure they all know. Gabriel rolls his eyes but is smiling and Michael is smiling too.
“So sweet!” Lily says, and she’s still making a funny face, the kind that his auntie makes before putting a sloppy kiss on his cheek.
“They’re not sweet,” Gabriel says. Dean’s glad that Gabriel is finally understanding that he’s not little and not a girl, ‘cause it’s girls who are sweet. “They’re little pests.”
“Hardly,” Anna says, and she’s smiling at them both now and it’s a friendly smile and Dean likes it better than the laughing.
Dean feels a tug at his sleeve and then Cas is taking his hand, and everything feels much better.
“Don’t worry, Dean. They always tease.”
Dean nods, because he understands what Cas is talking about even if he doesn’t, not really, because Sam doesn’t tease, and then says, “Okay, Cas. I won’t worry.”
He continues to watch the trees fly past outside the window and looks for the blue of the sea.
Once they’re at the beach, Cas’ daddy parks the car and they walk a little way to a nice secluded area with hardly any people on at all. Dean takes Cas’ hand this time and gently pulls him towards the sea. He’s really excited and wants to see the waves and fish.
“Castiel, stop right there,” Cas’ daddy shouts, and Dean stops because he doesn’t want to make him mad. “Wait a second, you two!”
“Okay, daddy.” Cas calls out.
Cas’ daddy is setting up a beach umbrella and says, “Anna, put some of that sun lotion on Castiel and Dean, please.”
Anna is putting some on her arms and stands up to walk over to them. She kneels down in front of them so they’re the same height and squeezes some in her hand.
“Don’t want you sunburnt,” she says, and spreads some on Cas’ bare arms, and then puts some on Dean’s. Dean likes the smell but it feels all gooey and so he rubs it in so it disappears. He’s done this before whenever his momma takes him and Sammy to the park and it’s sunny.
“Do you want to put some on your legs, Dean?” she asks, and Dean holds out both his hands.
“Yeah, I can do it!”
Anna squeezes some of the lotion into his outstretched hands and Dean puts a big dollop of it on his left leg. It drips down onto his shoe.
“Oh,” Dean says, and rubs it into his shoe so it disappears like on his skin. Anna is laughing softly at him again and finishes rubbing the lotion onto Cas’ legs. She moves over to Dean’s legs and makes sure it’s all rubbed in.
“Dean, do you want to make a sandcastle?” Cas asks, and Dean nods a lot. Cas and him can make a really big one that the little crabs and pebbles and fish can live in, with a moat and everything.
“Yeah! I’ve got my bucket and spade. You can share it with me.”
Anna has finished wiping the sun lotion off of Dean’s shoe and is putting a dollop of it on his nose. Dean giggles and takes a step backwards so that she doesn’t put any more on.
Anna smiles at him. “Rub it on your face, Dean.” She turns to Cas, and puts another dollop in her hand. “Take off your sunnies, Castiel. I’m gonna put some on your face.”
Cas takes off his blue sunglasses that Dean really likes and Anna puts some of the sun lotion onto his face. Dean knows it’s important because it stops you from getting burnt, and that really hurts. It happened to him once when he dipped his finger in his daddy’s coffee when he was younger, but he knows the sun can burn him like that, too.
“Done,” Anna says, and rubs a tiny bit that Dean must have left on his cheek into his skin. Cas puts his sunglasses back on and Dean pouts. He wants sunglasses, too.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Dean?” Anna asks, frowning at him.
Cas turns towards him and puts an arm out. He finds Dean’s shoulder and rests his hand on it. “Are you upset, Dean?”
“No!” Dean says, because he’s not sad, he just wants sunglasses, too. “I want sunglasses like Cas.”
“Oh. Do you want mine?” Cas asks.
Anna laughs kindly and takes hers off the top of her head and hands them to Dean. “We can fix that. You keep yours, Cas, and Dean can have mine. You promise to look after them?”
“Yeah!” Dean says, and takes them off her and puts them over his eyes. They’re a little big and make everything change colour and look darker but he likes them. Now the sun isn’t so bright in his eyes. “Thanks.”
“Okay,” Anna says, and stands up. “If you want water or juice you come over here, okay?”
Dean nods lots. He knows it’s his job to make sure Cas doesn’t get thirsty and is happy.
“Okay,” Dean says, and Anna smiles at him before walking away.
Dean grabs Cas’ hand and leads him a little further along the beach until he finds a patch of sand that is just right. Michael, Lucifer and Lily are playing with a beach ball and Anna and Gabriel are digging a big hole. Dean watches them and thinks they all look really happy here at the beach.
“Hey, Cas?” Dean asks, still holding his hand. “Are you happy?”
Without hesitation, Cas says, “Yes, Dean. I’m with my best friend! And we’re gonna make sandcastles, right?”
Dean grins, and is glad that Cas is really happy, too. “Right!”
They’re sitting on the ground and looking for shells when Michael walks over to them. “Hey, you two,” he says. “Do you want to come in the sea?”
Dean looks at Cas to see if he wants to, because he’s only going to do it if Cas wants to, too.
“Will we stay in the shallow bit?” Cas asks.
Michael smiles at him. “Sure, Castiel. We’ll stay in the shallow bit. And Dean’s going to be there, too, right?”
If Cas is going to play in the waves, then he’s going to play, too. “Yeah!”
“Okay, then,” Cas says, and stands up.
They walk towards the edge of the sea, where Lucifer and Lily are splashing each other and Anna and Gabriel are searching through the water with a pink fishing net. Cas’ daddy is sitting a tiny bit off from the water and is reading a book.
Cas takes a little step forward into the water like he’s unsure about it and Dean stands closer beside him. The waves lap at their feet and Dean laughs. It feels strange like the water is licking his feet like a giant puppy.
“Dean?” Cas asks, still looking unsure.
Dean doesn’t like the look and thinks he looks a lot better when there’s a smile on his face instead. “Yep?”
“Can I hold your hand?” he asks, quiet and shy. He sounds like the blonde girl called Jo who ran to Dean in class and asked to borrow his green crayon. When he said yes she ran away again and sat next to Chuck, who was chewing the head off his toy dinosaur.
Dean thinks holding Cas’ hand is a good idea because friends do that, and Cas wants to, so Dean will. “Sure, Cas.”
He grabs his best friend’s hand and holds on tight and then Cas smiles and takes another tiny step further into the water. Dean is looking around in the waves but he can’t see any fishies.
“Where are the fishies?” he asks, and bends down a little bit just in case they’re tiny and he’s missing them.
“There aren’t fish in a place this shallow,” Lucifer says, and Dean pouts because he really wanted to see some.
Anna giggles at him. “We’ve been trying to catch some but all we’ve got is seaweed.”
Dean frowns. “I wanted to see a goldfishy.”
Michael laughs at him and Dean looks over at Cas but he looks happy and not sad, so maybe Dean can stop feeling sad, too.
“Sorry, kid,” Michael says. “You’re not going to see a fish. Why don’t you and Castiel find some seashells instead?”
Cas thinks that would be a fun idea, and Dean wants something to give to Sam anyway, and so they go back to the edge of the water and feel through the sand for any good ones. Dean sees some seaweed wash up near his feet and he picks it up.
“Ew! Feel the seaweed, Cas.” He walks over towards Cas and holds it out, and Cas holds it and giggles.
“It’s slimy.”
“It’s all slippery. My momma told me that some people eat this.”
Cas frowns at him and then holds it up to his nose and smells it. “I don’t think I want to eat it, Dean.”
Dean laughs as Cas drops it onto the sand. “That’s okay, Cas. I don’t want to eat it, either.”
But Dean is hungry, and twenty minutes later he eats loads of biscuits and some sandwiches and Cas’ daddy promises them that if they see an ice cream truck on the way back to the car then they can have one.
Dean remembers the time at the zoo and wonders whether it would be best to get an ice lolly instead.
After lunch, Dean and Cas sit down and make a tower of sand. Dean chooses some really pretty shells and lets Cas choose where to stick them on their tower.
“You chose all the best places, Cas. Now it’s perfect to stop the crab invasion.”
Cas smiles at him and scoots a little closer, sand clinging to his legs.
“You know, Dean, I just wanted to say. I’m really happy you’re my best friend. You’re the best best friend, ever. I’ve never had a friend make sandcastles with me before.”
Dean looks at him and sees he looks happy because he’s smiling all big and goofy and Dean realises that yeah, Cas is his best best friend, too, and he wouldn’t want to make sandcastles with anyone else. Dean scoots even closer towards him and puts his arms around him for a hug, because that’s what his momma does to him and Sam when she tells them that she loves them.
Cas stiffens a little at the embrace but then relaxes into it. Dean pulls his arms away. “You’re the best best friend, too, Cas." Dean pauses and then eyes Cas carefully. "You’re not gonna go get another one, are you? Another best friend?”
Cas shakes his head from side to side and Dean feels relieved.
“Good. Not ever ever? Do you promise?”
“I promise, Dean.”
Dean smiles, happy, and Dean continues to pass Cas shells to stick onto their sand tower. They make a good team.
End.
A/N: So I've started this 'verse off, and plan to follow the relationship of Dean & Cas through the years. If you'd like to read some more around this age, of five or six, then feel free to say. If not, I'll probably just start going through the years as they age and their relationship develops. Thanks for reading!
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