Chapter Text
Castiel had been strolling around the store for over twenty minutes now. He had had no idea what to pick. He didn’t even know what he was doing here. Well, actually he did, but he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea.
The Halloween party would take place in seven hours and he didn’t have a costume, much less the guts to go there. With a sigh he pulled out his phone and called his big brother who picked up after a few rings.
Cas took a deep breath. “Gabriel, I need your help.”
“Hey Cassie, what’s up? Where are you? Couldn’t find you anywhere after school,” Gabriel chattered.
“I’m at the costume shop… I need something for tonight but I don’t know what to pick. I don’t even know what most of this stuff is supposed to be.”
“Wait, you’re planning to go out? On a Halloween party? Who are you and what did you do to my brother?!”
“It’s not funny, Gabriel…” Castiel grumbled. “Will you help me or not?”
Gabriel chuckled and Cas could hear him slamming a door. “Alright, I’ll be there in a few.” Then he hung up.
Heaving another sigh, Cas looked around the store again. There were full-body costumes of weird turtles, something that looked like soldiers all in white with strange face masks, pirate costumes and many more but he didn’t like any of them and felt ridiculous just thinking about walking around in them.
He pretended to look through the rows of costumes, impatiently waiting for Gabriel to show up. He’d never been on a party before and didn’t really like dressing up either but he was determined to go to that party. Partly because his friends Meg and Charlie had convinced him but mostly because he knew Dean Winchester would be there.
Since junior year Cas had had a crush on the pretty, popular guy in his grade and constantly watched him at school – not in a creepy way of course. Okay, maybe a little bit. When they’d been paired up as lab partners two weeks ago and Dean had talked to him for the very first time Castiel had blushed furiously and not been able to utter a single coherent sentence. But today he was determined to talk to him at the party. Or at least watch him again. Who was he kidding, he’d never muster up the courage to just go and talk to him.
A hand slapping on his shoulder brought Castiel back to reality. “Hey, bro.” Gabriel grinned at him. “So, tell me, which miracle had to happen to get you looking for a costume for a party?”
“None… Meg and Charlie just wanted me to come and didn’t stop bugging until I said yes,” he muttered. “I just have no idea what to dress up as. I don’t even know what half of this stuff is.”
“Okay, let’s have a look.” Grabbing Cas’s wrist Gabriel pulled him through the aisles.
“What about this?” He stopped and picked up a golden, glittery halo. “You could go as sexy angel. Just this, a pair of black wings and tight black jeans.” He grinned at his little brother who glared at him and crossed his arms.
“Very funny. Gabriel, I don’t want to look like a male hooker. I called because I wanted you to help me find a good costume.”
“Alright, alright.” Gabriel put the halo back on the shelf with a smirk and took a few more steps before stopping again. “Uh, cute little bumblebee?” He pointed at a fat bee costume that looked more like a yellow and black striped sumo ringer.
“You know what, never mind. I’ll find something myself,” Cas grumbled and headed into the opposite direction.
“Aw, c’mon Cassie, don’t be like this. We’ll find something,” Gabriel said cheerily and followed his brother, eyeing the dozens of costumes. He was still wondering why Cas would ever go to a party and a Halloween party of all things but figured he’d find out sooner or later.
“You could go as Edgar Allan Poe,” Gabriel suggested and nodded at a plastic raven. “Pirate? Dracula? Devil? Priest? Sexy priest?” He ignored Castiel’s scowl and continued making suggestions and showing him costumes. “Cop? Soldi… Wait, I know. This. This is perfect.”
Castiel rolled his eyes, expecting another completely stupid outfit, but when Gabriel presented him a dark blue air force uniform with a hat and a light blue dress shirt he tilted his head and eyed it. “You really think this is it?”
“Try it on. I guarantee you it’s perfect. The girls are gonna love you, women go for guys in uniform. And it accentuates your eyes.” Gabriel handed him the outfit with a smirk. “Maybe I should come too, see how it’s going with the ladies, help a little.”
“Oh no. No. You’re not coming. Forget it.” The thought of Gabriel showing up at the party, teasing him, trying to hook up with as many girls as possible and maybe even seeing him talking to – or probably rather just watching – Dean made him panic even more. Before Gabriel could say anything else Cas turned around and headed for the changing room.
He regretted having called his brother but as it turned out Gabriel’s costume idea wasn’t that bad. In fact Cas was quite surprised when he looked at himself in the mirror. The dark blue uniform fit well and he looked actually looked pretty good. It emphasised the colour of his eyes and his muscular body. Cas was glad he’d started working out a few months ago, he was pretty satisfied with the way he looked now and sure that he wouldn’t find a better costume.
“You gonna come outta there, princess?” His brother’s voice sounded impatient. “C’mon, show me.”
After another look in the mirror Cas stepped out of the changing room.
“Not bad, really,” Gabriel said and nodded approvingly.
***
“Damn, Clarence, looking good.” Meg grinned at him when she opened the door and looked him up and down. “Come on in, we still need a little time.” She stepped aside and closed the door before leading the way up the stairs and to her room where Charlie was still struggling with her hair.
“Meg, a little help? Those stupid bobby pins just have a mind of their own.” She huffed in frustration and held out her hand for Meg to take the bobby pins then smiled at Castiel. “Hi Cas. Nice outfit. Suits you.”
“Thank you.” Watching his friends Cas tried to figure out who Charlie was dressing up as but eventually gave up. Meg hadn’t even changed yet, just put on some black eyeshadow and blood red lipstick. “Um, Charlie, who are you?”
Charlie rolled her eyes and got up to look at herself in the mirror. “Princess Leia from Star Wars. You really still don’t know shit about pop culture, do you? Sure, the hair colour isn’t correct yet but that’s next.” She reached for a spray can and sprayed brown dye on her hair.
“Since you’re finally done now I’m gonna change,“ Meg said, grabbed a black corsage and disappeared in the bathroom.
“Sooo, tonight…” Charlie started and grinned at Castiel. “You gonna talk to him?”
Burying his hands in the pockets of his costume Cas shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably not. I wouldn’t even know what I should say.”
“Oh come on, you’ve had a crush on him for over three years now! You only started talking to him because he’s your lab partner. This way nothing’s ever gonna happen. And you’re seriously looking gorgeous today.”
Cas smiled uncertainly. “For all I know he isn’t even into guys,” he mumbled.
“Only one way to find out,” Meg chimed in as she walked back into the room and turned her back to them so Charlie could lace the corsage. “Charlie’s right, you need to talk to him tonight. You look hot in that uniform.” She winked at him.
“I don’t know, maybe…”
“Done,” Charlie announced and helped Meg into a pair of rumpled black wings. “Are we ready to go?”
“No, wait. I need my horns.”
“Your what? What’re you even dressing up as?” Cas asked with a puzzled expression, looking his two friends up and down.
“I’m the devil,” Meg said with a smirk and put on some red devil horns. “Now we’re ready to go. Let’s get into the pimpmobile.”
“It’s not a pimpmobile,” Castiel grumbled and followed the chuckling girls downstairs.
“Well it definitely looks like one.”
***
Cursing under his breath Cas supported himself against the wall. Meg and Charlie were nowhere in sight and he felt dizzy since they had convinced him to have a shot with them – and then another and one more. He barely drank and had immediately felt the alcohol’s effect. And now his friends had just left him all alone in the middle of the party with a “There’s someone we have to talk to”. Perfect.
He staggered towards the front door, hoping the cold air would help clear his mind. It took him forever to get through the crowds of loud, drunk teenagers and outside on the porch. At least the porch swing was empty so he took a seat and looked up into the clear night sky.
The fresh air didn’t really help much, he still felt tipsy and soon he was getting cold. Deciding to go back inside and look for his friends he got up. He just wanted to go home, he didn’t like being amongst so many people and he hated the loud music and the drunken idiots constantly bumping into him.
Castiel walked up the stairs to look for Meg and Charlie on the first floor. He’d just reached the landing when somebody ran into him and nearly sent him toppling down the stairs. Strong hands caught him in the last moment and hauled him forward, causing him to stumble into the guy.
“Damn, ‘m sorry, didn’t mean to knock you down,” the guy slurred and held on to Cas. “You okay?”
Cas was still wobbly on his legs as he looked up and his eyes met familiar green ones behind a black face mask. Crap. Nodding slowly he managed to choke out a “Yes…”
Dean Winchester had just nearly knocked him down a flight of stairs and now he was clinging to him. He could feel his heart pound in his chest and feverishly tried to think of something to say or do.
Finally Dean realised his was still gripping Castiel’s uniform and let go of him. “Sorry. And, uh, hi.” A lopsided grin appeared on his face. “Didn’t expect to see ya here.”
“Um, yeah, I’m here with some friends.” Cas looked around awkwardly, hoping he’d see Charlie or Meg somewhere.
“Huh. Y’know what, why don’t you come with me? I’ll get you a drink. As apology.”
Cas was sure Dean had already drunk a lot but his lab partner was still able to somewhat talk normally as he pulled him down the stairs and started babble stuff Cas didn’t understand. He followed Dean to the kitchen and took the proffered cup.
“What’s that?” he called over the music and eyed the brown liquid.
“No idea.” Dean grinned at him, glanced around before he quickly pocketed a bottle of something Cas couldn’t make out and grabbed Castiel’s sleeve to pull him back into the hallway. After a moment of hesitation Dean dragged Cas down the hallway, through a door and into the backyard. He nearly stumbled and gripped Cas’s shoulder to support himself with a chuckle.
“C’mon, this way,” he slurred conspiratorially and staggered over the grass towards a dark corner in the back of the garden. Cas followed him, glad that the music was nothing more than a dull thumping noise now and he could breathe fresh air again.
It was a dark night with a small first quarter moon and Cas could barely see Dean who had sat down on a bench and set the bottle on the ground. Dean tapped on the space next to him and Cas sat down nervously, his cup still in hand.
“So, what brings you here? Never seen you at a party before,” Dean stated and chugged whatever was in his cup.
Castiel shrugged and stared back towards the house. “Don’t really know.” He couldn’t exactly tell Dean he was the reason why he came in the first place. “So, you’re, uh… Batman?” he asked, not sure if that really was the right superhero.
“Yup, I’m Batman.” With a grin Dean opened the bottle and poured some liquid in his cup then looked at Cas’s. “C’mon, drink it. It’s just whiskey.”
Carefully Cas nipped at it and suppressed a cough as the whiskey burned in his throat.
“You gotta drink it in one go.” Dean took a long drink from his own cup then eyed Cas openly. “So, air force…”
“Yeah, my brother said it looked good and girls like guys in uniform,” Castiel said before he could stop himself. He quickly chugged his whiskey praying Dean didn’t see him blush.
Dean laughed when Cas started coughing again. “Guess your brother’s right ‘bout that, guys in uniform are hot.”
Cas stared at him, not knowing what to think about Dean’s statement.
“Here.” Dean refilled Cas’s cup and then his own and Castiel quickly drank half of it so he didn’t have to say anything.
The whiskey burned down his throat and left a warm feeling in his stomach. Cas knew he was getting really drunk now and should stop but he didn’t want to, not with Dean sitting less than a foot next to him. He lay his head back and stared up at the stars.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the stars and drinking whiskey. Suddenly Dean turned his head to look at Cas, his gaze slightly unfocused.
“Wanna play truth or dare?” he asked with a smirk.
Without really thinking about it Cas nodded. The alcohol had made him less shy and right then he would’ve done pretty much anything Dean suggested.
“Alright, you start.”
“Um, truth…?” Cas said uncertainly. It probably was the lesser evil.
Dean emptied his cup and set the bottle on the grass clumsily. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Castiel chuckled at the thought and shook his head, regretting it in the next moment as the world began spinning. “No. Tru… Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” Dean pulled the mask off his head.
Thinking about it for a few seconds, Cas eventually asked, “How old were you when you had your first kiss?”
“16,” Dean answered immediately.
“Really?”
“Yeah, why? What’s so surprising about that?”
“Uh, nothing, I just… dunno, just thought, y’know…” He shrugged helplessly. Seeing Dean flirt with girls pretty much every day since junior year Cas had assumed he’d have more experience. Not that he knew about Dean’s experience, but… he really shouldn’t go there. “So, uh, dare,” he said to change the topic.
“Okay…” A devilish grin appeared on Dean’s face. “I dare you to kiss me.”
Castiel stared at him in disbelief. He must have misheard Dean’s words. Or it was a joke. A cruel joke. Dean knew how he felt about him. And he’d decided to make fun of him. He’d probably bumped into him on purpose and his friends were watching them right now, laughing about him. He looked around but couldn’t see anyone in the dark.
Suddenly he felt Dean’s fingers on his chin and Dean turned his head so Cas had to look up at him. Cas was frozen in place, unable to do anything but stare into Dean’s eyes. His heart was racing and he just wanted to leave, go home and never go back to school and have to face Dean but when Dean’s lips softly brushed over his everything else, the whole world around them seemed to vanish. There was nothing but Dean’s lips on his own, Dean’s breath ghosting over his face, Dean’s fingers on his skin and Dean’s body slowly moving closer.