A couple tears rolled down his cheeks and he choked up, starting to break down. His knees grew weak as he gripped the fabric of Nick's shirt, using every ounce of self control he had to try and force himself to not just collapse into sobs. As hard as he was trying, he could tell that he couldn't keep it up for much longer.
Nick held him tighter as he cried, running his hands up and down his back slowly like his mother used to do to calm him down. “Just let it all out,” Nick whispered. “I’m not going to judge you.” His anger melted away when Cas had begun to cry.
Cas let himself crumble and began to sob quietly. His knees collapsed so that Nick was now the only thing holding him up, in addition to his own weak grip on the other. He didn't care that he was a seventeen year old boy who shouldn't be crying over this, he didn't care that Nick was probably lying and actually did think less of him… He was hurt, scared, and broken. His appearance to Nick scarcely mattered right now.
Nick bit his lip, wishing he could do more to help, but he knew that Cas was waging his own battles that Nick couldn’t do anything about. He just held Cas, letting him cry. Nick knew the only thing he was capable of doing right now was offer support the other boy.
Cas just cried for a few minutes before he seemed to sort of pull himself together. He couldn't make eye contact with Nick and seemed to be ashamed of himself. "I… I'm s-sorry…" He managed to choke out in a wavering, watery voice.
“You don’t need to apologize,” Nick replied. “There’s nothing wrong with crying.” He looked down at Cas, hoping that had helped. Nick felt very strongly that what he said was true.
Cas glanced up at Nick from where he was, his gold flecked eyes still full of fear and guilt. His hair had gotten itself more disheveled again, but the gel still had it keep some form. Despite the circumstances Cas still honestly looked adorable.
Nick’s breath caught for a moment. Even after crying for several minutes, Cas still looked cute. He shook the thought out of his head. What kind of jerk would make a move on Cas now, after he’d just been sobbing? And he definitely didn’t even like Cas in that way, right?
“You have nothing to be ashamed about,” he asserted. “I don’t think any less of you for crying.”
Cas nodded, rubbing at his eyes. His cheeks were still a bit flushed, but he otherwise looked okay. He just seemed tired and weak. He could already feel bruises forming on his fragile body, and just thinking about it scared him.
“Can I do anything to help you feel better?” Nick offered, hating the expression on Cas’s face because it meant that Cas was hurting, and that in turn hurt Nick.
"I… I dunno…" Cas replied honestly, looking up at Nick again. "I'm not sure if I feel safe to go back there yet…"
“Then don’t,” Nick responded. “I’ll stay with you until you feel safe.” And my dad won’t find out, he added mentally. If he someone does, Jane will convince him against doing anything crazy, I hope.
Cas nodded and hesitated before bringing Nick over to a bench. "We might be here a while, honestly…"
“That’s okay,” Nick responded. “I’ll stay for ad long as you need. I just want you to feel better.”
"Th-Thanks…" Cas tentatively lay his head on Nick's shoulder, still needing his closeness. He wanted to be closer, but he didn't think he should try yet for fear of making Nick more uncomfortable than he surely already was.
Nick tentatively slung an arm around Cas’s shoulder, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable and hoping that he had done the right thing. He wanted to be closer to Cas, hut didn’t think it was a good time. He had to be a good friend first and foremost.
Thank god… Cas sighed softly and allowed himself to relax a bit. He closed his eyes and shifted so he was very close to Nick.
Nick smiled a bit at Cas’s closeness to him, but didn’t move otherwise. He stayed still, relaxing slightly. He let the other boy rest on him.
After several minutes, Cas's breathing evened out and he seemed quite relaxed. Upon closer inspection, he'd dozed off.
Nick chuckled softly when he noticed Cas had fallen asleep. He knew that he should probably wake him up so he could get back, but he didn’t want to leave the smaller boy’s side. Besides, Cas looked handsome when he slept. Nick sighed inwardly at himself. Don’t be weird.
Cas whined and moved closer to Nick in his sleep until he was practically sitting in his lap. He settled down again with a soft yawn.
Nick blushed at the development but noticed his eyes were getting heavy as well. Soon enough he fell asleep too.
Cas was still asleep when Nick awoke in the morning, having fully moved onto his lap now. He had his arms wrapped around Nick's neck and his head resting on his shoulder.
Oh, shit. Had they slept through the night outside on a bench? Nick’s dad was going to wring his neck. Even worse, what would Cas’s dad do if he found out? “Cas, wake up!” he hissed, gently trying to shake him awake.
Cas whined as he stirred and rubbed his eyes after a few seconds. He fell backwards onto the ground with a face red enough to rival his hair when he realized what position they were in. "Shit! Ow… I am so sorry."