A Sweet 16 gift for my wonderful friend, Daria. We've known each other since second(?) grade, but I wish I knew her longer. She's super sweet and absolutely adorable amazingly awesome and the best friend anyone could ever ask for. Happy birthday, dollface. Love ya! 3

Castiel sat on the park bench, listening as the steady babble of human chatter mixed in with the gentle rustling of leaves being blown about in the wind. The mid-morning sun shone down warmly, and the crisp, cool air held that distinct scent that could only be described as autumn. Breathing deeply, Castiel let himself be filled with the serenity of the scene. That is, however, until Gabriel snuck up behind him.

"Hey, little brother!" he called loudly, golden eyes shining wildly as Castiel jumped at the unexpected interruption.

Turning to glare at Gabe over his shoulder, Castiel's intense blue eyes quickly scanned the surrounding stretch of land, a small frown tugging at the corner of his lips when he did not find who he was looking for. Gabriel appeared not to have noticed, walking around the bench and plopping down next to Cas, pulling a lollipop out of his jacket pocket and tearing away the plastic before sucking the brightly colored mass of sugar into his mouth.

"Is there a reason you are here?" Castiel asked, slightly annoyed. Today was the day, he had promised himself; the day he was finally going to talk to him. But, of course, Gabriel just had to show up and ruin his plans. There was no way he was going to talk to him with Gabriel near-by.

"Not really," Gabe said, slouching back on the bench and pulling up his foot to rest on his opposite knee. "Why? Do I need one?"

Castiel chose to remain quiet, letting the question go.

"What about you?" Gabe pushed. "Any reason you're here?"

Again, he remained silent.

Gabriel tilted his head to the side as he regarded his brother. He seemed to be working hard to keep his face free of any emotion and was continuously rubbing his palms on the black fabric of his pants, just above his knees. He looked nervous, Gabe thought, and he soon found himself wondering why. Every few seconds, Castiel's eyes would dart around the park, as if searching for something, but never looking as though he had found it.

When Cas' eyes wandered for the umpteenth time, Gabriel broke the silence that had settled over them. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?" Castiel asked for clarification almost defensively, as though he had been doing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Looking around," Gabe said, vaguely gesturing at his brother's eyes. "It's almost like you're looking for something," he continued, taking his foot off of his knee and leaning in closer before adding, "Or someone," with a taunting smirk.

Castiel blinked and fidgeted at his brother's sudden proximity, some of his restlessness slipping onto his face as he realized he had been caught. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, looking anywhere but Gabe's eyes.

Gabriel threw his head back, radiant smile erupting on his face. "Ha! I knew it!"he exclaimed triumphantly, obviously accepting Castiel's denial as confirmation. "So, who is he? Have you talked to him yet?"

"Gabriel, I told you, I don't know what you're talking about," he lied again.

"Oh come on, Cas. It's obvious tha-"

He cut himself off in surprise when, seemingly out of nowhere, a large, chestnut brown dog came bounding across the park, an old and abused tennis ball held firmly in its mouth. Its warm, hazel eyes shone with excitement and its tail whipped back and forth as it jumped about in front of the bench, giving a few playful nudges to the bench's occupants.

"SAM!" a loud voice bellowed, causing the dog's head to pivot towards the direction the voice came from, wagging tail picking up speed. Castiel turned to look as well and felt his breath hitch when he laid eyes on the rapidly approaching figure; it was him.

He jogged over to them, the tips of his short, ash blond hair trembling in the breeze. The large leather jacket he usually wore was now tucked under one arm, showing off the unbuttoned plaid shirt he wore over a plain gray tee, rolled up at the sleeves to showcase perfectly tanned arms. "Sorry about him," he said, slightly out of breath after presumably having had to chase his dog across the park. He draped an arm over its side, pulling it away from the strangers on the bench and closer to him while patting it affectionately.

It was a few moments before Castiel realized that he was staring. "It's fine," he said absently, but couldn't quite manage to pull his eyes away.

The man cocked his head at him, noticing that the response seemed a little unfocused, but gave him a charming smile none the less, stunning green eyes sparkling brilliantly. Cas' heart started pounding wildly, so loud he though for sure that the man in front of him would notice. He didn't seem to, however, bending over to snatch the tennis ball from his dog's mouth.

"Come on, Sammy," he said, straightening up. "Let's go for a run!" He gave one last smile and a friendly nod to both Cas and Gabe before taking off again, the dog right at his heels.

Cas was staring after his retreating figure, thoughts of how great his ass looked in those jeans drifting across his mind, when Gabriel spoke up, eyes darting back and forth between the stranger and his brother, mischievous grin in place. "It's totally him, isn't it?"

Castiel's eyes snapped back to his brother, knowing what was coming and not wanting to hear it. "Gabriel," he warned, but it held no effect.

"He's pretty cute; I can see why you like him. And his dog isn't that bad, either. The three of you could probably make a cute, little family."

"Gabriel," Cas repeated firmly, but his brother rambled on.

"So, do you know his name? Or was that the first time he's even talked to you? I must say, not a very memorable first impression. You've gotta be bolder, little bro! You're never gonna get in his pants if you don-"

"Gabriel!" This time, Cas managed to make Gabe at least pause, holding up his hands in defense.

"Chill, Cas," he said. "I'm just trying to help."

"Unbelievable," Castiel muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes as he got to his feet and set off for the park exit. "Give me a call when you finally grow a pair and talk to him," Gabriel shouted after him. "We can set up a double date!" Cas just shook his head to himself and kept walking.

A puff of wind blew through the park, catching Castiel's trench coat and sending it billowing out majestically behind him as he walked. He could hear children laughing all around him, and snippets of random adults' conversations, but wasn't paying any them any mind. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice shout "Damn it, Sam, not again!" seconds before being knocked over by an equally familiar dog that Cas thought he should have been paying more attention.

"Hey, sorry about that. He doesn't usually run off like that," the man said, crouching down and helping Castiel back to his feet. The dog was hovering at the man's side, tail still wagging.

"Do not worry about it. It is nothing."

Once Cas was back on his feet, the man got a good look at his face, and a small smile tugged at his lips. "You're the guy from the bench, right?"

Castiel nodded and smiled back. It hadn't even been ten minutes and the dog had found him again.

"Well, then I guess I should be saying 'sorry, again,'" the man quipped, pulling a makeshift leash out of his pocket and attaching it to his dog's collar. Even as he did so, the dog was worming his way closer and closer to Castiel, ending up close enough to stick out his tongue and lick his hand in a friendly fashion. The man chuckled at this and said, "Looks like he likes you."

Tentatively, Cas reached out and stroked the dog's head, its fur soft and smooth under his fingertips. "Sam, you said his name was?" The man nodded. "What type of dog is he?" Cas wasn't very familiar with dog breeds, but thought that it would be considered polite to show an interest.

"Irish Setter," the man answered. "Three years old."

"He's beautiful," Cas complimented, and the man's entire being swelled with pride.

"Thanks, you're not too bad yourself." A cheeky smile lit up his face, and Cas found himself trying his hardest not to blush. "I'm Dean, by the way," the man introduced himself, extending a hand for Cas to shake.

"Castiel," he said in return, gripping Dean's warm, calloused hand in his own.

"Odd name," he remarked, to which Cas just shrugged. He was used to hearing similar reactions and could fully admit that his name wasn't in the least bit common. That didn't mean, however, that he didn't like it. "My parents were very religious," he explained, and Dean nodded knowingly.

"I totally understand," he said, gripping the leash tighter when Sam gave it an impatient tug. "You should have seen the way my dad was with the supernatural." He didn't elaborate, and the look on his face told Cas that it would be better not to ask.

Sam gave another sharp tug on the leash and whined a bit, causing Dean to laugh, reaching down to fondle Sam's ear. "Okay, okay," he conceded, "we'll get walking." He turned back to Castiel with yet another charming smile. "Care to join us?"

Castiel returned it with a brilliant smile of his own. "It would be my pleasure."