Set in AU

Dean and Cas were laying in the backyard of Dean's house, staring up at the sky. Cas was using Dean's chest like a pillow, while Dean ran his fingers through Cas's hair. The two boys had been best friends forever, in their opinion, and they had been dating for the past three years. It just seemed easy and obvious to them that they'd be spending the rest of their lives together, with little complications.

Cas and Dean didn't have the easiest lives, but then again, nobody did. Castiel's family was like living in hell- his siblings hated him, his dad had run out years ago, and his mother was a general prick. It didn't help that his family shunned him every day for being gay, and said he was going to hell.

Dean thought he had it a little easier than Cas, but it still wasn't good. His mom was nice, and he got along with his little brother, but it was his dad that was the issue. Openly, the Winchester family supported Dean in being gay. But behind closed doors is when John would bring out the belt. Dean's mother had no idea that John secretly abused his son, and Dean preferred to keep the matter quiet. Sam knew, but only because he had accidentally walked in Dean's room, and seen his older brother attempting to patch up his wounds. Even Cas didn't know, and Dean knew he should tell his boyfriend, but he thought Cas had enough to worry about.

"Hey Dean?" Cas asked suddenly, his voice serious.

"Yeah?" Dean replied lazily, twirling Cas's hair in his fingers.

"You ever think about running away?" Dean paused.

"....Yes." He admitted.

"I've thought about it a lot." Cas explained. "And.... I think I'm gonna do it."

"What?"

"I wanna run away, Dean. I just... I can't take another moment in that house- I can't."

"But where would go? What would you do- what about school?" Dean questioned, slightly alarmed. If Cas left him alone.... No, he couldn't take that. Cas was the main reason Dean got up in the morning- he couldn't just leave!

"I don't know," Cas sighed. "I'd travel the country and figure out where to stay. I'm eighteen, I could get a job in a bookstore or something. And honestly, Dean, I don't even care about school anymore."

"That's ridiculous, Cas, you're the smartest kid in school. It'd be such a waste if you didn't go to some fancy college." Cas barked a sarcastic laugh.

"You think my family's gonna pay for ME to go to college?" He insisted. "I'm the most hated of eight siblings, Dean, and all my sisters want to go to college. My mother won't pay the application fee, let alone the tuition if I got in somewhere." Dean frowned, but he knew Cas was right.

"I don't want you to go." He admitted.

"Then come with me." Cas declared. "I know you hate things here too, Dean, and I don't want to leave you any more then you want me to leave. But I have to go, Dean- it's my only option. But you could come with me, you're old enough! We could road trip across the country together, and live out our lives somewhere our problems will never find us!" Cas turned to look at him, and Dean's green eyes went sad.

Because Dean couldn't leave. He was old enough, he had a car- hell, he even had the money stashed up- but he couldn't leave. If he did, John would turn his anger to Sam, and Dean couldn't let that happen. He couldn't run away and leave his family with a monster like John.

"I can't." He whispered, wanting to cry as he watched Cas's face crumple. "I want to- God, Cas, there's nothing else I'd rather do, but I can't leave."

"Why?" Cas looked so confused, so on the verge of heartbreak. Dean shook his head.

"I can't leave Sam alone."

"He won't be alone, Dean- he'll have your parents."

"No, Cas- you don't understand."

"Then help me too." Cas sat up, looking hurt. Dean sat up, his voice shaky.

"If I leave, then everything Dad does to me will happen to Sam." Cas froze.

"Dean, what are you talking about?" Wordlessly, Dean took off his shirt, not knowing an easier way then to just let Cas see. He shut his eyes, wincing slightly as he heard Cas gasp.

There were scars. Gnarly, long, thick scars all along Dean's back, like someone had taken a whip, or a leather belt to him. Some of the marks still had scabs as they tried to heal. 

"Haven't you always wondered why I always wore a shirt when we went swimming?" Dean asked. Cas didn't reply, reaching out gingerly, and cautiously touching one of the scars. Dean shuddered, but he didn't pull away as Cas traced the scar, a horrified expression on his face.

"How long has he..." Cas trailed off, his breath catching at the very thought.

"A couple years." Dean admitted. "At first, it was because I was gay, but then it just became an outlet for the rest of his rage."

"Why hasn't your mother stopped him?"

"She doesn't know. He never hits me when she's there."

"Dean, you have to tell her." Dean let out a breathless, nervous laugh.

"Tell her what- that her beloved husband beats her child with a belt? She'd confront him, he'd get mad, and then she'd get hurt too."

"Then you tell her to leave. You have friends, Dean. Tell your mom what's going on, and convince her to leave and take Sam and you with her." Dean thought for minute. Cas was onto something.

"You still gonna run away?" He asked, putting his shirt back on. 

"I have to." Cas insisted. "But I can't leave you like this." He looked at Dean, pleadingly. "Come with me- please, Dean. I love you."

"I love you too." Dean declared. "But-"

"I know." Cas stared at him, almost like he was memorizing his face. "I'll be at the bus station tonight, if you change your mind."

"Cas..."

"If you're not there," Cas grabbed Dean's hand. "That doesn't mean it over between us."

"Of course not." Dean agreed. He loved Cas- he wasn't going to let some silly distance keep them apart. Cas smiled at him.

"I'll still call," he insisted. "And text- I'll send you letter, and postcards, and-"

"And you'll tell me where you are, won't you?" Dean asked.

"Of course." Dean glanced down at their entwined hands, thinking. 

"Cas... If, one day, I show up where you are.... Would you still let me run away with you?" Cas smiled softly.

"Yes," He insisted. "You're always welcome to run away with me, Dean." Dean tried his best to smile back.

"But not tonight," He proclaimed.

"Not tonight." Cas whispered, squeezing his hand. 

*****

Cas had to go home shortly after, and once he had left, Dean sat in the hallway of his house, staring at the front door until his mom and brother walked in.

"Hey Dean!" Sam announced before darting past him and up the stairs into his room.

"Hi Dean," Mary smiled at her son, but she paused at his serious face.

"I have to talk to you." He declared, entirely serious.

Dean told her everything- everything about what John had done, and what he was still doing, to his son.

"Oh my god," Mary breathed, in utter shock.

"Mom, we need to leave." Dean told her. "Because, I'm not staying here anymore, and I don't want him taking anything out on you or Sammy." Mary stared blankly, in disbelief. "....Ellen says we can stay with her as long as we need to." Mary nodded slowly.

"Okay," She whispered, agreeing that leaving was most likely for the best. "Go, um, go tell your brother to pack a bag." Dean nodded and he headed upstairs.

"Hey Sammy," he offered, walking into his brother's room.

"Wat's up?" Sam asked, doing his homework.

"I need you to pack a bag." Sam paused, turning to loom at his brother. "We're gonna go stay with Ellen for a while."

"You told Mom," He concluded. "We're leaving, aren't we." Dean nodded, and Sam wordlessly got up, stuffed his school books away, and pulled a suitcase out of the closet. He opened it on his bed, and calmly started putting stuff inside.

"You've thought about this before," Dean assumed, noting how Sam barely even needed to look at what he was taking, he just knew. 

"I knew this would happen one day, so I made a mental list of everything I'd need to take." Sam replied. Dean smiled at his brother then headed to his own room.

He stuffed all his clothes in a duffel bag, wrapping up a couple framed pictures of him and Cas, and him and Sammy and shoving those in the bag as well. Dean scanned his room for anything else he might need, and then reached under his bed, grabbing an old shoebox. Like most kids, Dean had put all of his most important items in the box, which was basically just a couple of rocks, and an envelope full of cash that he'd been saving up for years. Dean stuffed the envelope in his bag, and then picked up the only other thing in the shoebox- a small, square, velvety box.

Dean imagined that, even if Cas hadn't decided to run away, their story would always have ended up like this. Running away.

****

That night, Dean snuck out of Ellen's house, leaving Sam and his mom sleeping in the guest room Ellen had given them, after insisting that they could stay as long as they needed to.

As easy as it would be to just run away right then and there, Dean couldn't do it. His mother was a wreck, still in shock that the man she loved so dearly would dare to hurt his own child. Seeing Mary so upset was bound to make Sam feel uncomfortable, and Dean knew he needed to be there, and be the strong one for both of them.

But that didn't stop him from saying goodbye from the person he loved most.

"You came," Cas smiled, as he spotted him. Dean shook his head. 

"Not like that," He insisted. "I have to stay here, Cas, just until I'm sure my Mom and Sam will be okay." Cas nodded, understanding. "But I couldn't just let you leave without a proper goodbye, now could I?"

Cas grinned, and Dean pulled him in for a hug before kissing him passionately.

"Where are you off to?" He asked after they had pulled away.

"St. Louis," Cas offered. "It was the next bus leaving, so I figured I'd go."

"Well, then I'll see you in Missouri." Dean declared. "I'll be there before you know it."

"I know." Cas hugged him again, not wanting to let go.

Dean stayed until Cas's bus arrived, and waved at his boyfriend, watching him go while trying hard not to cry.

Cas's brother Gabriel turned up three days later at Ellen's, begging Dean to tell him if he knew where Cas had gone. Dean was surprised, but he let Gabriel know that Cas was okay.

It somehow didn't surprise Dean, though, to learn that Gabriel was the only person in Cas's family who was afraid that something bad had happened to him. The rest of the family just didn't care.

The day that Mary Winchester filed for divorce, Dean decided he could leave. Cas was still in St. Louis, he knew, seeing as the two had been texting nonstop since he left.

Sam watched as his brother packed up his duffel bag yet again.

"You're leaving," He announced, knowing it wasn't a question. Dean sighed.

"Yeah, I gotta." He insisted. "You'll take care of Mom for me, right?"

"Sure." Dean ruffled his little brother's hair. "You'll call, right?"

"Of course," Dean smiled. "I'm not ditching you guys- I'm going on an adventure."

"You're a nerd."

"No, you're the nerd! You do homework!" Sam rolled his eyes, but he hugged his brother.

"You'll let me come to the wedding, right?" He asked. Dean's eyes widened. 

"How did you-"

"Please, Dean. We live in the same room- I've obviously searched all your stuff by now. It wasn't that hard to find the ring." Dean shook his head.

"I'm gonna miss you." He proclaimed, forcing his brother into a hug.

"Yeah yeah, I'll miss you too." Sam admitted, hugging his brother back.

Dean wasn't a fan of buses, so he took his own car, and drove to St. Louis. He hadn't told Cas he was coming, wanting to surprise him.

Where are you right now? He sent a text to Cas.

Looking at the arch. It's actually pretty cool. Cas replied. 

Dean grinned, and made his way to the Arch, stopping underneath it and looking around. 

Look around, he texted Cas, having spotted him already. He watched as Cas read the text, frowned, and looked around until his eyes landed on Dean. 

The look on Cas's face made everything worth it. Cas let out a scream and ran at him, practically tackling Dean to the ground as he launched at him.

"Hey Cas," Dean grinned. Cas's response was to grab him by the collar and kiss him so hard. Dean though his lips would fall off. 

"You're HERE!"  Cas exploded, hugging him tightly, and grinning like a maniac.

"And I've got something for you." Dean insisted.

"I don't even care- You being here is all I could ever want."

"I dunno, I think you'll like this..." Cas stepped back, still grinning. 

"Alright, what is it?" he questioned, curiosity getting the best of him. 

Imagine his surprise when Dean dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring.

"Wanna run away with me?" He asked, holding out the ring.

" Hell yes," Cas whispered.

This time he really did tackle Dean to the ground.