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“Hurry daddy! Hurry, or else we’re going to be late!” Castiel Winchester whined from his spot at the kitchen counter stool. His father was currently kneeling in front of him, trying to lace up Castiel’s converses. However, tying shows can be rather tricky with a five-year-old who was continuously swinging their feet back and forth with anticipation.
Dean chuckled and swatted at his son’s leg. “Calm down little man. We are going to be on time. But we might be late if you can’t learn to sit still.” Dean grinned when he tickled the sides of Castiel’s ankles. Causing the five-year-old to squeal with laughter and squirm away from Dean. Dean was finally able to finish tying Cas’s shoes as the little boy sat as still as a statue in his seat.
“Thanks Cas. See, it wasn’t so bad to sit there for a while, was it?” Cas nodded while sticking his tongue out at his father. He glanced down at his brand new shoes (courtesy of Ellen and Jo) that were now properly laced up and ready to go. It wasn’t that Cas couldn’t tie his shoes, because he could! Kind of. The laces still looked jumbled and very messy because Cas hadn’t perfected tying his own shoes. Today though, he wanted to look his absolute best so he asked his father to tie his shoes, since Dean always made the best and most neat knots. Except for Uncle Sam. He was even neater than Dean.
“You ready to go then?” Dean asked, putting the little boy down from the stool. Castiel squealed again and clapped his hands. He jumped up and down in his spot on the floor. Meanwhile Dean was setting the final touches to Castiel’s lunchbox, as the two waited for Sam to arrive.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! I want to go school already! Is Uncle Sammy coming with us too?” Castiel cried, before cocking his head to ask the question. Dean smiled down, fluffy Cas’s already naturally messy hair. There was no getting rid of Cas’s natural bed head, even if they had brushed his hair at least ten times this morning.
“Yes Uncle Sam will be there to say goodbye, don’t worry kiddo.” Dean assured his son with a warm smile. Castiel beamed, continuously bouncing in his shoes along the kitchen floor. Dean handed Castiel his lunchbox just to get the kid to stop jumping all over the kitchen. Castiel was quick to snatch his lunchbox away so that he could zip over to where his tan trench coat was. Kansas was relatively known for having decent weather, but Castiel was not about to go anywhere without his old trench coat. After a few moments of struggling, Cas managed to put his coat on without his father’s help, while Dean watched in amusement.
“Who’s ready for their first day of school?” Sam’s voice echoed from the living room. Castiel grinned a pearly white grin and raced over to greet his favorite (and really only) uncle. Dean chuckled to himself as he followed the five-year-old just in time to see his little brother swing Castiel over his shoulder. Little might be the wrong word to use.
More like gigantic.
At seventeen-years-old, Sam had long passed the six foot mark and towered over Dean, who was a decent 6 foot 1. His brother was tall and lanky, just a thin mess of bones and limbs. He was in his last year of high school at the moment, but he was counting down the days until his eighteenth birthday. Only then would he be allowed to visit Dean and Cas whenever he wanted. No more schedules or rules set by his parents.
“I am! I am!” Cas replied happily once he could finally catch his breath again. Sam settled the little boy on his hip and tweaked Cas’s nose. Castiel giggled into his hands. “Uncle!”
“Sorry buddy.” Sam chuckled and set the squirming boy on the ground. Castiel impatiently ran to retrieve his backpack and forgotten lunch box so that they could leave right away. He couldn’t be late for his first day of kindergarten. No way.
“Wait! I forgot something!” Castiel halted sharply; his eyes widened to the size of saucers and his lips formed a tiny ‘o’. In the next second he was bolting up the stairs as if someone had burned his hands. Dean sighed when he heard Castiel’s little feet pounding against the floor before he disappeared from sight.
“Hurry up Cas, or we’re going to be late!” He called up.
Sam moved next to his brother and smiled. “So, he’s really going to wear that tie?” Dean shook his head with a burst of laughter.
“He really is man. It’s crazy.” A few weeks ago Dean had been cleaning his closet out to get rid of things, when he came across an old blue tie of his from high school. It was in relatively good condition and Dean had forgotten that he even owned a single tie. Castiel helped Dean to clean that day (well as much as a five-year-old could), and when Dean said he was going to throw the tie away, Castiel had snatched it away so fast that Dean actually flinched. Castiel then proclaimed that the tie was his forever and he was going to wear it on his first day of school, so he could look just like his father.
“’Kay! I’m ready now. Let’s go daddy. Let’s go Sam.” Cas smiled as he hopped down from the bottom step. Dean and Sam glanced down to see what Cas had forgotten and both sighed softly.
It also looks like Castiel had decided he would be taking his angel bear to school today. For it was tucked neatly underneath both of Cas’s arm, giving Castiel an even more innocent appearance. Dean had never been against Cas bringing the bear to school; he knew how much his son loved that bear. It was the other kids that Dean was more worried about. Would they make fun of Cas? Would they tease him for it?
“Alright Cas, then let’s head out so you won’t be late.” Sam grinned and gently pushed the young boy out the door. Castiel squealed before snatching Sam’s hand and reaching for Dean’s, so that he could drag them both to their car. The good old 1967 Chevy Impala.
“Yes, yes! We go now! We must go!” Castiel demanded impatiently whilst his father locked the door of their town house. Castiel continued to squeal and drag his uncle over to the car. It was quite a sight to see, especially when realizing the height difference between Cas (who was about average height for a five-year-old) and Sam who was as big as a full grown, Canadian moose. “But wait. When do you have to get to school Uncle Sammy?” Castiel frowned momentarily. That had been one of the reasons for his excitement; he and Sam would both be in school this year and Castiel could finally compare his day with Sam.
“No worries. My school starts much later than yours. But you get out earlier than me, so maybe you and dad can take a ride to pick me up so that you can tell me all about your first day?” Sam said and opened the back door to the Impala so that Cas could climb into his booster seat. Castiel scrambled up into his seat, proudly buckling himself in and hugged his bear tightly.
“Okay. I’ll tell you all about it, and daddy of course! My classroom is called the Bee’s room! Bees Uncle Sammy! Did you know that bees…” Castiel babbled on about random facts he had found on bees from his last birthday gift from Ash, which was a book all about Honey Bees and their homes. Dean smiled from where he was, as he took seat in the driver’s seat.
X.X.X.X
“Wow. There’s a lot of…people.” Castiel breathed as he stared across the large kindergarten room. Indeed that was a great deal of people. From the kids who would be in his class to their parents, siblings or family, there were people crawling all over the place. Many of the kids were already playing with toys with one another, or crying and clinging to their parent’s legs or screaming. Castiel suddenly felt nervous.
His free hand clutched at the jean fabric on Dean’s leg while his other hand pulled his angel teddy bear closer to his chest. Sam glanced down at his nephew and noticed that he was beginning to hide, and chuckled. Dean blinked, looking over to see what was so amusing to his little brother. At Sam’s pointed look downward, Dean suppressed a chuckled of his own and opted for a look of adoration. His right hand reached down to pat Castiel’s soft head.
“Hey buddy, don’t you want to meet you’re classmates?” Dean asked softly. Castiel stared up at Dean with his big, wide blue eyes that Dean loved so much. Cas’s hand grabbed bunches more of Dean’s pant leg.
“Um, do I really have to associate with these other beings?” And there was awkward Cas, who seemed to be much too intelligent for his age sometimes. There were moments (mostly in social environments) where Cas would begin to speak as if he were not from this planet. And other times he would purposefully mispronounce words and giggle while batting his eyelashes to get whatever he wanted from people. The kid was…strange. But also cute.
Dean rolled his eyes and squeezed Castiel’s hand. “Yes you do have to “associate with these beings” tiger. It’s school. You’re going to be surrounded by these people all day, well the kids at least.” Dean said. He nudged Castiel with the back of his leg, only resulting in Castiel clutching Dean’s leg tightly with both hands and his teddy bear.
“Maybe it’s not such a good idea anymore.” Cas mumbled into the jeans.
“Cas, don’t you want to make friends? And learn cool stuff like Uncle Sam?” There was a timid nod against Dean’s leg. Dean smiled softly. “Then you have to let me go buddy.” For a moment, Dean was actually a bit relieved that Castiel didn’t let go of his leg.
In all honesty, Dean wasn’t so sure if Cas should go to school just yet. He didn’t have to right? Was kindergarten even mandatory? Could he just skip this year and come back next year? Dean was a bit unsure if he was ready to let Cas go just yet. This was the first step of letting him go; of letting his son go. Soon enough Cas wasn’t going to ever need him again. He’d be off to college halfway across the continent, living with his friends and having the time of his life without Dean. And Dean wasn’t ready just yet to let go.
“Well maybe you don’t…” Dean trailed off, the words stuck on his tongue, after catching the dark look that Sam sent his way. Bitchface #22, a classic look of disappointment and frustration. Dean swallowed and willed his beating hear to slow.
But before Dean could nudge Cas away from his leg, a young man with golden, neck length hair bounded in front of them. He was much shorter than both Dean and Sam (who were admittedly a bit ridiculously tall) and had hazel eyes. He wore a bright smile with the stick of a sucker poking from the corners of his mouth.
“Hey there kiddo, what’s your name? My name is Mr. Novak but you can just call me Gabriel. Mr. Novak sounds like a grumpy old vermin, doesn’t it?” The man beamed as he crouched down to Castiel’s height. Dean frowned but watched with surprise when Castiel peaked out from behind Dean’s leg. His heart nearly melted at Cas’s timid giggle. The man grinned even wider, finding this a success.
“Castiel.” Cas whispered.
“Castiel? That’s a mighty fine name you got there, kiddo. Named after an angel, just like me!” The man chattered excitedly. Castiel removed his entire face away from Dean’s leg with a look of astonishment on.
“You are?” Cas asked.
Gabriel nodded and twisted the sucker around in his mouth. “Mhmm. He was an archangel named Gabriel, and a fierce warrior.” Castiel grinned widely and pushed away from Dean’s leg, cuddling his teddy bear close. “I like your bear Castiel. He suites you just fine.
“Thanks.” Castiel smiled shyly, head down. Gabriel chuckled and patted his back.
“How about you put your backpack and lunch box in the closet over there and I can tell you the story about the archangels with some of the other kids, alright kiddo?” Castiel jumped with excitement and nodded vigorously.
“’Kay! Bye bye daddy! I’ll be back, I’m gonna put my stuff away.” Castiel looked up at his father with a large smile. Dean nodded with a smile of his own and Castiel was off, running towards the closet.
Still chuckling, the man shook his head and stood up in front of Dean and Sam.
“Sorry about that, you must be confused. I’m Gabriel, the teacher assistant here with Mr. Shurley. He’s the actual teacher here and I’m just the teacher assistant. I’m training to become a kindergarten teacher.” Gabriel introduced, shaking each of the men’s hands.
“I’m Dean Winchester, Castiel’s dad and this is my baby brother Sammy.” Dean introduced with a winning smile, while Sam protested loudly.
“It’s Sam.” He growled, much to Dean and Gabriel’s amusement. Gabriel grinned at the two, licking at his sucker.
“It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintances. It’s always nice to actually see the kids parent dropping them off, with the occasionally baby uncle too.” Gabriel smirked towards Sam who groaned into the sleeves of his jacket. Dean barked a laugh at the man.
“How old are you?” He asked.
“Isn’t it rude to ask someone their age?” responded Gabriel.
“Are you a lady?”
“Well I definitely think I have the figure for one. But you have the eyelashes and Sammy here has the hair.”
Twin protests of “Hey!” ended the conversation quickly, leaving Gabriel to laugh.
“Well I’m only 20. Still in college.” Gabriel said. Sam grinned.
“Hey, you’re only a year younger than Dean.” Dean grimaced at the news, expecting the usual response he received from many others. Dean couldn’t even tell you how many schools turned Cas down once they learned of Dean’s age.
“I knew you were good looking and now I understand that you don’t just look younger, you are younger.” Gabriel whistled. He wasn’t hostile or disgusted at all. In fact he was acting as if Dean were just another, normal parent. “And how about you young fellow. Are you legal yet?” Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows at the teen, causing Sam to turn tomato red. Dean doubled over in laughter at his expression whilst Sam blushed deeper.
The sound of the bell filled despair in Dean’s heart.
“Daddy! It’s time for you to go.” Castiel said as he hopped over to his father and uncle. His blue eyes were bright with excitement, but Dean could detect the fear hidden in them. He knelt before his son.
“Alrighty then bud, you have fun alright? Stay safe and stay smart. I know you’ll do awesome in school. You’re in the room of bees after all. You’re already the smartest kid here!” Castiel smiled widely at Dean’s praise before throwing his skinny arms around Dean’s neck.
“I’m gonna miss you daddy.” Castiel whispered into Dean’s ear. Dean swallowed thickly and took a deep breath.
“Me too angel. Me too.” The two were silent, simply wishing to hold onto one another for a moment longer. Eventually it was Dean that broke away first and stared into Cas’s eyes, which were shinning with unshed tears. “Hey now angel,” Dean referred to Cas’s nickname. “Don’t’ cry. You’re a big boy now, and you’ll be fine. You’ll have lots of fun with Mr. Shurley and Gabriel here will watch over you, okay?” At this Gabriel waved and the little boy nodded, wiping his eyes.
“’Kay.” Castiel said. Dean smiled and brushed a lock of hair off of Castiel’s forehead. The blue eyed boy smiled a bit wider.
“There you go. And I’ll be waiting for you right when that bell rings and you can run into my arms and tell me all about your day.” Dean promised whilst Castiel laughed.
“Okay daddy. Sounds like a plan.” He replied. Goodbyes were shared with a tearful Sam before Cas was whisked away with Gabriel. Dean stared at his son’s retreating back with a heavy heart. He’s really leaving. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. But when Castiel turned around one last time and smiled and waved at Dean and Sam, Dean felt his heartache lessen a bit.
He’ll be just fine.
X.X.X.X
“Why do you have a bear with you? Aren’t teddy bears for babies?”
“Why’d you bring it to school?”
“Wow, I can’t believe he really brought a teddy bear to school! He can’t even let it go for a second!”
“Ha, what a baby!”
Cas sniffled in frustration as he sat on the swings by himself. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? For most of the morning some kids (luckily not most) had been teasing Cas about his bear or his tie. Cas had tried to make friends with these kids – really he had tried! – but some were just too mean and stupid to befriend. So that was how Cas found himself all alone on the swings with just his teddy bear. He pushed limply on the swings, twisting the backwards tie around his neck. He sniffled again and rubbed his nose with a sleeve of his batman shirt. I wish daddy was here.
Suddenly two pairs of white, Velcro shoes filled Castiel’s vision, which had been fixed on the ground.
“Do you need a push?”
“Huh?” Castiel looked up in confusion to see two little boys standing in front of him. They were in his class; actually they had sat at his table. Castiel blinked owlishly at the boys. They were identical even down to their outfits. Their hair was a dirty blond, almost brunet color. One had a hat on his head, while the other had bangs along his forehead. They were both grinning shyly at Castiel.
“He said, do you need a push? To swing? I know how hard it can be to get started when you go swinging, so sometimes you need a help. Samandriel always helps me when I need it, and I noticed we noticed you didn’t have anyone to help you.” The boy with bangs, on the left, answered happily. Castiel blinked again and swallowed. The boy in the hat, on the right, smiled much softer at Cas.
“Sorry, Alfie can be a bit forward.”
“Um, not its okay. You’re not going to make fun of my bear, or my tie? Everyone else is.” Castiel sighed bitterly. The two identical boys gasped and rushed over towards Castiel. Each threw an arm around Castiel, who jumped in confusion.
“No! No! That would be mean. Why on Earth would we do that?” The two boys cried together, causing Cas to giggle.
“Those kids are just bullies, don’t listen to them. I think you’re bear is really cute actually.” The one called ‘Alfie’ said. Castiel blushed and smiled gently.
“Yeah. Plus your tie is cool! My mommy gives me all her old hats and she let me wear one today! It’s from the pizza pallor she works at.” The other one called ‘Samandriel’ chattered happily. Castiel noticed the hat and nodded in awe.
“Oh! My name is Alfie!”
“And I’m Samandriel!”
“And we’re twins!” The two boys said together before taking a mock bow. Castiel laughed joyously at the two and held his bear tighter. All of his insecurities and sad thoughts were diminishing from his mind. Alfie and Samandriel shared a smile.
“So, how about that push?” And finally Castiel grinned.
X.X.X.X
At the end of the day, Castiel was bouncing with all the exciting news to tell his father. From the news of his two new best friends, to story time with Gabriel and how cool he was. Mr. Shurley was such a nice teacher and very understanding. Castiel loved his class.
When the bell rang and Castiel ran outside his classroom door, he paused to look around. And there he spotted his daddy waiting right in front of him, just like he said he would.
And into his arms Castiel ran.