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July 12th, 1989 - Lawrence, Kansas
“Deannn.”
“Deannnn.”
Sam’s whining was endless, and Dean was trying his best to block out his six year old brother’s yelping. He had his eyes glued on the screen in front of him, frantically moving pac-man away from those good for nothing ghosts. The ten year old was hell bent on snatching a high score. Whatever his sibling wanted could wait.
“Deannnnn.”
Dean groaned, finding the constant complaining to be a hindrance. “Can’t you see I’m busy? Wait.” The ten year old huffed, not bothering to give the child any attention. He had spent weeks trying to raise his score but to no avail. However, he was getting somewhere this time, and Sam was NOT going to get between him and his win.
Deciding that bugging his sibling further was futile, the six year old huffed. About five minutes ago, Sam had gotten his hoodie zipper stuck and it wouldn’t budge. It was warm in the building, and the kindergartener just wanted to cool off.
Pouting and crossing his arms, Sam walked away from his older sibling and sat at the table directly behind him.
“Are you okay?” An unfamiliar voice directed at the child. The small boy whipped his head back, coming face to face with another kid behind him. Sitting at the booth directly against his was a stranger with bright blue eyes and dark black hair.
Sam blinked, his eyes falling down onto the bottom of his jacket. “Nngh. It’s stuck.” He grumbled, motioning to his zipper. The stranger stood up, walked over, and hovered by the six year old’s table.
“I can help.” The boy offered. Just an inch or two shorter than Dean, Sam aimlessly wondered if he was a classmate to his older sibling. His voice was soft, almost being hushed by the rhythmic beeping and children laughter around them. Willingly, Sam moved his arms out of the way so that the stranger could zip it right up.
The exact second the boy’s hand brushed against Sam’s zipper, Dean barged in. He had left his game unattended, not about to let his sibling get touched up by a stranger. In the background, ‘game over’ flashed but it had suddenly became the last of his priorities. The older Winchester put his hand on the outsider’s shoulder. “Woah, why the heck are you touching my kid brother?”
Both boys looked over. “He’s just helping me with my zipper, Dean.” Sam explained as the stranger did just that. In a matter of seconds, he was free to escape from the clutch of his toasty sweater. “See?”
“Why didn’t you just ask me?” Dean asked, suspicious of the stranger. His father had taught him to not talk to strangers a long time ago. The boy could only imagine how mad their dad would be if he knew this peculiar kid had his hands on Sam.
Sam squinted a tiny bit, his voice getting a little whiny. “I did! But you weren’t paying attention.” He crossed his arms, stubborn. Hazel eyes slid over to the new kid. “Thanks.. Uh, what’s your name?”
“Castiel.”
“Thanks Castiel.” Sam said, a tiny smile on his lips.
Dean was still skeptical about the stranger, but let it go. It wasn’t like he was going to run into the kid ever again. Just, in the future, he’d need to be more alert.
November 22nd, 1991 - Lawrence, Kansas
“Great.” Dean grumbled under his breath. For the past week he had been trying to get his hands on his favorite pacman machine. And guess what? For the past week the same nerd was constantly occupying it.
He was getting tired of seeing the back of this guy’s head every time he walked into the arcade. It was like the stranger was a pacman hog and he wasn’t having it. Instead of sitting down at a booth and waiting five or ten minutes for the boy to leave, he decided to stand directly behind him. Dean wanted to use the machine, and he was going to show it.
Crossing his arms, Dean stood directly behind the other kid. Surely, he could take a hint.
When two minutes passed, the Winchester was starting to have doubts. The raven haired individual was still going on and on, not even bothering to look away from the screen even once. Just as Dean was about to give up and walk back to the booth, the ‘game over’ screen flashed loud and proudly.
Dean couldn’t help but grin as the boy slowly got out of line, taking his tokens with him. They exchanged eye contact for half a second before continuing on. The Winchester recognized the face vaguely, but couldn’t exactly pin down how. Maybe he had just gotten so used to watching it from afar impatiently.
May 3rd, 1992 - Lawrence, Kansas
Cas.
It was the three letter word that haunted Dean Winchester in his slumber. He had acquainted himself with the boy who was always at the pac man machine, only to come to the dawning realization that he was Cas .
The word was written all over the highscore page. After many years of practice, Dean was able to get his name ‘Dea’ on the board only to come in a week later to see it was replaced by ‘Cas’.
There was a thousand reasons why he could hate the boy. He was a machine hog, he was always winning… and the freaking child could fit his whole name into the three-character requirement. All of it just made Dean twist and turn at night. Just the mere sight of Cas reminded him of his failures. All of the coins he had fed into the pacman game were in vain.
“You’re ‘Dea’, right?” Cas asked one day as he was moving out of the way so the other child could get to the arcade.
“It’s Dean.” He corrected, a pinch of bitterness present in his tone of voice.
Cas smiled a tiny bit. “It’s Castiel, and it’s been a pleasurable experience playing against you.” The Winchester blinked a tiny bit, wondering what kind of kid spoke like that.
“Yeah.” Dean replied, not really finding it all that pleasurable. Maybe he was just a sore loser... nah .
“Farewell.”
August 13th, 1992 - Lawrence, Kansas
It was almost as though Castiel had dropped off the edge of the earth. Dean was both happy and surprisingly concerned. He was glad about how the pacman machine was always free, but his competition had moved on. On a few occasions, the young teen had spotted Cas in other places in the arcade.
From what he could tell, Cas hadn’t touched the arcade game in months. It was such of a foreign concept. Dean had adjusted to always seeing the boy occupying pacman, but he had moved onto something else.
Dean was terribly curious about why Cas had seemingly lost all interest in pacman, his prior obsession. That’s why he walked up to the teenager on one chilly august afternoon. The wind was hitting the window pane almost as loudly as the machines were beeping.
“Hey Cas.” Dean said, walking over to the booth Cas was sitting at. He was alone, eating a slice of pizza. The blue-eyed boy looked up when he heard the addressed greeting.
“Hello.” Castiel returned, surprise written all over his face. He must have been puzzled why someone who had previously despised him so strongly was trying to strike up a conversation with him.
Not bothering to sit down, Dean placed a hand on the booth top. “I haven’t seen you around the pacman machine recently. Any reason for that?” He wondered aimlessly, trying to sound nonchalant about the topic.
Cas shrugged in response. “I don’t know. I guess I got bored of it. Just one day, I decided to try out another game and it was refreshing.”
“Oh.” Dean replied, finding that reasonable. It felt weird knowing how the boy had just magically dropped out of the world of competitive .. pacmaning?
July 14th, 1994 - Lawrence, Kansas
A lot had happened in two years. Dean followed Castiel’s footsteps, eventually losing all interest in the game. They had grown to become friends, chatting on more than one occasion. Now that they had dropped out of the roles of being rivals, Dean found no reason to act hostile to Cas.
The Winchester had found more interest in the sixteen year old girl working the snack bar than the actual games. She was tall, brunette, and every man’s dreams. Dean was enticed by the lady and spent most of his time lurking around the tables, trying to gather the courage to ask her out.
He had even listed Cas as his wingman. His friend seemed generally uninterested in the worker, but was willing to listen to Dean ramble on and on about how every thing about her was perfect.
Her name was Sarah, and Dean just loved the way her name rolled off his tongue.
“- And she liked me so much she winked at me with both eyes.” Dean insisted, sitting at the table closest to the snack bar. Cas was across from him, listening with a frown on his face.
“That’s just blinking, Dean.” Castiel Novak corrected, shaking his head a tiny bit. It was ridiculous how starstruck his friend was over a girl who showed no interest in him. He was too blinded by his crush to realize that. “Why don’t you just go out with Mary-Jane? She’s always pinning after you.”
That was another thing that changed. Cas had started going to school with Dean, and they became good friends. Their life expanded outside of the arcade that they met at. Mary-Jane was a girl from the grade below them who had a visible crush on the fifteen year old.
“She’s not Sarah though…”
March 23rd, 1996 - Lawrence, Kansas
The small nook behind the dance dance revolution game was ideal for making out. Dean was notorious for bringing girls in just to get low with them. Castiel frowned upon it, but it didn’t stop Dean. In the peak of his high school years, he had managed to become quite the lady killer.
A lot of his dates were skeptical to find that he was bringing them to the arcade, but the Winchester redeemed himself. The nook was ideal. There was also the thrill of making out so close to the public that got his adrenaline pumping.
“You’re going to traumatize some poor kid.” Castiel warned one evening, taking a drink of his milkshake.
“I doubt that.” Dean replied, waving away that concept. “You’re just jealous that I’ve got someone to bring to the nook.” He teased lightly, causing his best friend to roll his eyes.
“Hardly.” Cas replied, discarding that thought. “I’m just imagining the horror of some little kid wanting to dance and wondering what those strange noises are… and well, they go and see and bam. You’re kicked out of the arcade, and some poor kid is traumatized.”
“It’s not like we’re having sex.” Dean grumbled, thinking Cas was being far more dramatic that necessary. “We’re just making out.”
January 2nd, 1997 - Lawrence, Kansas
Castiel came out on New Year's Day, 1997. He made the resolution to not hide who he was anymore. A few people had ridiculed him, but Dean was quick to hunt the bullies down. He was proud of his best friend for coming out, and he was fully behind him.
“Congrats.” Dean said, holding out a glass full of pop to his pal.
“Thank you, Dean.” Cas smiled widely and took the offered drink. “I’m glad you’re not disgusted.”
“Why would I be? You’re still Cas.” The Winchester justified before chuckling. “I guess that’s why you never had any interest in making out with any girls here.”
Castiel smiled and shook his head. “That, and the fact that mixing saliva with an acquaintance kinda appals me.” He wrinkled his nose at the thought.
Dean wrapped his arm around Castiel’s shoulder. “Look, I’m going to be eighteen in a few weeks and when I become an adult, we’re going out to have some fun on the town. Sound good?”
“It doesn’t look like I can say anything other than ‘sure’.” Cas teased, eyes not leaving Dean even once.
November 3rd, 1997 - Lawrence, Kansas
Dean first started to question his sexuality a few months ago during summer. Cas looked really good in his swimsuit. They were having a pool party, and Dean couldn’t help but notice how toned his friend’s abdomens were. He quickly shook those thoughts from his brain.
But they came back.
He had started to realize that Cas had a really nice smile, or how those blue eyes did things to him. Things he couldn’t explain.
It wasn’t until November 3rd of 1997 that he confirmed those feelings. Castiel walked into the arcade, their usual meeting space, hair messier than usual. “Sorry that I’m late.” The boy apologized, a soft blush occupying his cheeks. “Dillon stopped me on my way here… and asked me out.”
For a reason that Dean could not explain, he felt his insides clench a little bit. He was jealous just thinking about someone wanting to date his best friend. “And… what did you say?”
“I told him I had to think about it.” Castiel admitted, rubbing his neck a tiny bit. “I’m kinda crushing on someone else… but I don’t think it’ll go anywhere, though… so I might take him up. Maybe it’ll get my mind off of him .”
The Winchester nodded, knowing that feeling all too well. “We’re in the same boat, man.”
Castiel tilted his head a tiny bit. “Who do you like?”
“Uh…” Dean rubbed his neck and looked away, flushed. He wasn’t about to jeopardize their friendship over a dumb little crush he had somehow managed to conjure up. “It’s a guy… I think I’m bisexual, Cas…”
It was hard to read Castiel’s face, it was full of bewilderment, joy, and curiosity all at the same time. “Well, congrats on realizing your sexuality. I’m happy for you… do I know the guy?”
“Yes.” Dean reassured, eyes flickering away.
There was a pause, and in an almost inaudible voice, Cas spoke up. “Is that guy me?”
The room was full of silence even though kids all around them were chatting. Time temporarily stopped, and with each passing second, Castiel was dying a little on the inside. “Yes.” Dean confirmed, very softly before raising his voice. “Yes. It is.”
October 2nd, 2017 - Lawrence, Kansas
“Daddy, what’s this game?” A bright eyed little girl asked, dragging along her two fathers through the arcade. She had stumbled upon an old pacman machine in the corner of the building.
Dean and Castiel both exchanged eye contact for a half a second, both wearing the same smile on their faces. Cas picked up his adopted child so that she could reach the controls. “How about your daddies show you how to play? Would you like that?”
The girl was quick to nod. “Yeah!”
Content, the Winchester looked around and just smiled at the arcade. This was his second home, and so many wonderful things happened in here. He hoped that his daughter would get the same experiences he had a kid.