Best Friend's Brother

Chapter 4

Castiel woke up to a bang. Quickly, he rushed out of bed to investigate the sound. When he entered the kitchen, he saw Dean leaning against the counter with a frying pan lying near his feet. Castiel watched as Dean took a deep breath. His shoulders rose and fell again before he picked the frying pan off the floor. Dean was still wearing his clothes as he began to make breakfast.

"Do you need a hand with that?" Castiel asked.

Shocked, Dean whirled around to face him. His facial expression softened when his emerald eyes landed on Castiel. "No, it's ok. I can handle it. I've kinda noticed that you don't really eat breakfast, so I'll let you get ready for the day", he said before turning back to the food. Castiel sighed and walked further into the kitchen; closer to Dean.

"It's not that I don't eat", he began. "It's just... my family never really got along, so we never had any family meals together. We couldn't be in the same room with each other for five minutes without being at each others' throats. I apologise if I offended you when I didn't join you for breakfast. That was not my intention. Old habits, I guess".

Dean shook his head. "It's fine. I wasn't offended. It was unusual, maybe, because Sam and I would always eat together. But, like you said, old habits". Dean was quiet as he began to make the batter for pancakes. "Considering I've never seen you eat, and I think that's unhealthy, would you like to join me for breakfast? I may not be good company, but it's better than eating alone".

Castiel smiled. "I'd love to join you. Now, how can I help?"

Dean's lips edged into a smile as he told Cas what to do. Together, they made chocolate chip pancakes and set up the table. It was 8am when they sat down at the kitchen table to eat breakfast. "So, tell me more about your family", Dean said, trying to start a conversation.

Nervous, Castiel looked down at his food. "Um... it's very complex. My father left a couple years ago, so I was left to the care of my brothers. My brothers are very... competitive. They fight a lot. The more I think about it, that's all they ever seemed to do. Michael is the eldest, so he was kinda left in charge when my father left. Raphael and Luci didn't like that much, but what could they do about it. I'm the youngest of my brothers, which is horrible. I never really got along with them, except for Gabriel. He understood me, cared for me. He was there when I went through some bad times".

He paused. "Gabriel was actually the only one who accepted me and still loved me when I came out to everyone. I'm telling you now, Michael was not happy when I told him. In fact, he actually hit me. If it wasn't for Gabriel, I think he would have done more than just throw me across the room. A couple months after I came out, Gabriel left. And then my life became a living hell. I hated every minute I was there. Everyone was always arguing, I was always getting abused - verbally and physically. After a while, I left too. I had to find my father, but I haven't found him anywhere. It's like he's vanished into thin air. I kinda lost faith in him coming back".

Dean took a mouthful of his drink before saying, "I know the feeling. I'm an expert on dead-beat dads".

Castiel looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Sighing, Dean began to explain.

"It's just Sam and I, now. My dad's dead to me. When our mum died, I had to take care of Sammy. Dad was there, but he wasn't there. He was an alcoholic. He began to drink until he passed out. He'd drink so much and then he'd become... Anyway, John is nothing but a man who claimed to be my father. I was more of a father to Sam than he will ever be. I never really had a childhood. I was too busy caring for Sam. I would have loved to leave as soon as possible, but I couldn't leave Sam. And then he left for college, and I couldn't bring myself to leave John in the state that he was. He needed help, but it got too overwhelming, so I left. And here I am".