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Tap, tap, tap.
He has to be quiet. He’s not allowed out at this time of the night, but this is important.
Tap, tap, tap.
“Cas!” he hisses as loud as he dares.
Finally, there’s movement at the window, and it slides open a fraction.
“Dean?” A tear-stained face appears in the window.
“Hey, open up.”
There’s an awful screech as he slides the window open wide enough for a twelve-year-old boy to fit through. They wait quietly to see if they have been detected. Dean counts to thirty before he lifts himself up and squeezes through the window, landing on the floor with a quiet thud.
He straightens out of his crouch and immediately launches himself at his best friend, hugging him tight to his chest.
“Wh-what are you d-d-doing here?” Cas asks around sobs as if it wasn’t obvious.
“‘m sorry ‘bout your dad,” Dean whispers quietly, as if he spoke too loudly, the words would hurt more.
“H-how did you know?”
“I heard from my house. It’s been getting bad, huh?”
Cas nods into his shoulder. Dean pulls out of the hug and guides Cas back to his bed. They climb in and arrange themselves in a familiar position, Cas with his back to the wall, Dean lying facing him. Cas flips the blanket up over their bodies.
“I’m not sure he’s coming back this time.”
“‘m sorry.” Dean knows what it was like to live with only one parent. Although not a day goes by that he doesn’t wish it was his mom and not his dad. “I got you something.” He pushes the blanket down, tugs up his shirt, and starts digging in his pant pocket. He pauses, second-guessing himself.
“What is it?”
“It’s kinda stupid, and probably a bit babyish.”
“I wanna see,” Cas encourages.
Even though Cas’ had been crying earlier tonight, his face is open, completely trusting in Dean. It makes him swallow hard. After a deep breath, he pulls out a small glass jar. Inside are floating lights.
“Are those fireflies?” Cas asks, his eyes alight for the first time tonight. He takes the glass from Dean and holds it up between them. The little insects are flying around inside the jar, clinking quietly against the sides and lid, casting a warm glow over their small oasis under the sheets.
“Yeah,” Dean says, a little tentative. It seemed a good idea at the time. But he’s still second-guessing himself. “It was a dumb idea.” He tries to reach up and grab the jar, but Cas jerks it out of his reach.
“Hey, no takebacks.”
The fireflies are buzzing around faster inside the jar - their lights flashing on and off. “You… you like it?”
“Yeah, I love it,” Cas says, studying them up closer now.
Dean smiles. “Oh, that’s… good. I just, ah, remember when Sammy was sad ‘n crying, when it was just me ‘n him, you know. We didn’t have a night light, so one night I caught some fireflies, and suddenly he stopped cryin’, and he actually looked happy.” He shrugs. It wasn’t a big deal.
Cas studies the little bugs with a huge smile on his face, just like Sammy had once done. “They are beautiful,” Cas says in awe, but Dean isn’t looking at the insects anymore. Little lights float across his best friend’s face in the dark of his room. His bright blue eyes dancing with joy.
“Beautiful,” Dean whispers.
Unexpectedly, Cas unscrews the jar lid, and in an instant, the insects fly out all over the room.
“What did you do that for?” It’d taken Dean ages to catch all them bugs.
Cas isn’t phased. He lies on his back, watching the dancing light show around his room. But, Dean can’t take his eyes off Cas. “Did you know that each species of firefly has their own pattern of flashing lights?” Cas asks.
Dean shook his head.
“They do it to attract a mate. Pretty cool, huh?”
“Yeah,” Dean agrees.
They lie in bed, side by side, watching the twinkling lights until their eyelids feel heavy and the grief and sadness from early that night seem a long way away.
Eventually, Dean has to leave. He will be in big trouble if his dad comes home and Sammy is alone.
Dean is about to climb out the window when Cas stops him with a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Dean. You are the best friend.” And with that, he kisses Dean on the cheek.
It is quick and light, but Dean feels the wet spot on his cheeks, before they get hot. He quickly turns to hide the unrestrainable smile from his face, escaping out the window, along with a couple of fireflies, into the cool of the dark night.
He turns back to face his friend, hoping that the shadows hid the emotions on his face. “Night, Cas.”
Pride blooms in his chest as he walks away, knowing that the image his friend’s tear-streaked face has been replaced with one of pure joy, framed by the glow of fireflies.
