It's Sad to Eat Pie Alone

Nineteen

Christmas break was slowly creeping closer, but Cas was trying not to think about it. With Dean around, it wasn't that hard. One day, just a week before Christmas break, Cas walked into their room to see Dean on the phone.

"Okay, I have to go. Don't worry, I'll be there in a week. Bye Sammy," Dean said when he saw Cas. He hung up and tossed his phone onto his bed.

"You were talking to your brother," Cas said more than asked.

"Yeah," Dean said, distracted.

"Did something happen?" Cas asked.

"My dad lost his job. Again," Dean told him, sitting on his bed.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Cas said, sitting next to Dean and taking his hand.

"Cas..." Dean started. Cas stiffened. Dean only called him Cas when things were serious.

"Dean? Are you okay?" He asked.

"I might have to drop out." Seeing the shocked and devastated look on Cas' face, Dean rushed on. "I mean, I have to get Sammy into college. My dad keeps losing job after job, and I don't think we have the money for both of us to go to college." Dean looked devastated, and Cas imagined he looked the same.

"If you drop out, I'm going too," Cas said. "I'll stay with you, I'll get a job and..." Dean was shaking his head.

"Cas, you love college. You can't drop out because of me, I'd never forgive myself," he said.

"Well there's got to be something I can do," Cas said. Dean leaned into him, resting his head on Cas' chest.

"Tell me about your family. Tell me the good memories," he said. Cas wrapped one hand around Dean's chest and ran the other through Dean's hair.

"Well, my oldest two brothers, Luc and Michael, are constantly arguing. Luc's the rebel of the family. Or he was, until I came along. But they love each other, and Luc was always very kind to me. He used to take me out on picnics and he taught me all sorts of things. There's Gabriel, he's the trickster of the family. One year I had to share a room with him, and hardly a day went by that I wasn't covered in something, be it glitter, feathers, or sharpie drawings of rather vulgar things. But occasionally he would let me help him prank someone else, so it was worth it. I never really saw much of my sister Anna, but she was friendly. My brother Balthazar was... How should I put this... A lovable jerk. He never really gave me a moment's notice, but he wasn't all bad. My brother Raphael always enjoyed looking down on me, but deep down I know he cares. My sister Hester is a bit of a stickler for tradition, but I love her. We used to be part of a team. I was the leader of the "older siblings suck" group with several of my other siblings. Marv used to be nice to me, but recently he's gotten so obsessed with writing books that I hardly ever see him. My favorite sibling was always Hannah. We were best friends. We were only two years apart, so we really bonded over being the babies of the family. Once when I was eleven, we tried to take a family road trip, but it was so chaotic that our dad turned around before we even left the city. Luc got kicked out of the house a few years ago, and he trashed the entire house to get back at Naomi. My family's not all that bad, Dean. We've had some good times." Dean was smiling.

"Wow. I like this side of your family," he said. Cas smiled.

"I do too. But now it's your turn. Tell me about Sam," Cas said, rubbing Dean's arm.

"Sammy's brilliant. He's really smart, and he's funny, and he can really sass a bitch. We've always been close. Our mother died in a fire when he was just six months old, and I've watched out for him ever since. Not always so well, though. Once he jumped off the shed because he thought he could fly and broke his arm. He really turned into a diva while he had that cast on. You'd have thought he was the queen of England. And once he found a turtle in a pond at the park and brought it home. He named it Lancelot after Lancelot de Mole, inventor of the tank, and my dad and I tried to get him to take it back for days, but he was so determined to keep it that eventually we gave up. Lancelot stayed around for a while, but then he made a break for freedom and dad accidentally ran over him with the lawnmower. Sammy was devastated. I ended up holding a funeral for the poor turtle, he still has a memorial in our backyard. Sam's still nervous around lawnmowers. I can't say I blame him, he was only eight, and that was some serious carnage. And I remember his first girlfriend, Amy. She was obsessed with neurology. Sammy asked my advice on how to ask her out. That was one of the best days of my life..." Dean trailed off with a smile.

"See Dean? Life isn't all bad," Cas said, smiling. He liked the stories.

"You would love Sam. Please come home with me for Christmas. Please?" Dean begged.

"Okay, Dean, I'll go home with you," Cas replied. Dean shifted around until he was facing Cas and kissed him. Cas closed his eyes, filled with warmth. Christmas with Dean. Christmas with Dean. This year was turning out so much better than he had thought it would.