His parents are home for a few days before they head off again. They're taking over the Moscow route for the next couple of months and his mother has promised him a snow globe of St. Basil's Cathedral for the mantelpiece. He hasn't really cared about collecting globes since he was a kid, but she's not the type to break with tradition, so a new one arrives each time they're assigned a new destination.

The camping trip has been playing on Castiel's mind. Alexy's story was ridiculous, but he can't explain it away. It can't be dismissed as lies either; Alexy is not that type of person. And what's more, he can't make sense of the lights and noises that came from outside his tent.

It's painfully obvious that Castiel's been distracted by it. It's his only thought. He drifts out of conversations, eyes fixed on nothing and staring far off into nothingness. Even his family notice.

Jean-Louis isn't the sort of man to push and prod, and he'd much rather leave it alone until Castiel comes to him about his problems, but Castiel doesn't talk about feelings. So he waits until he and Castiel are occupied in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for dinner, when he broaches the subject.

"You've seemed a quiet lately, is everything alright?" He asks, not looking up from the chopping board. Sometimes it's easier to talk when there's no eye contact, conversation seems more casual, less serious when someone's not staring you down for an answer.

Castiel merely shrugs and continues deseeding the chilies in front of him. "I'm fine," he says, sounding very nonchalant.

"Okay," Jean-Louis pauses, carefully choosing his words, "as long as you know that you can talk to me anytime. Even when I'm away."

"Yeah Dad, I know." Castiel snorts but looks up to meet his father's eyes anyway.

They return to a comfortable silence, only the chopping of the knives and the distant hum of the radio breaking the quiet. There's no awkwardness, they don't need words right now.

They're plating up when Castiel finally brings up the only thing he's thought about for the last week. He wants to get it out in the open before his mother joins them to eat. "Weird question," he begins, trying to make it seem as though he hasn't been stressing out over this, "Do you believe in aliens? You hear about pilots seeing things in the sky and I was wondering what you thought."

Jean-Louis' face grows grim and he almost drops the spatula as his hands tremble by his sides. "I don't know what to believe. There are no answers for the things I saw."

"What did you see?" Castiel almost shouts it, his words are quick and spoken sharply. He simply must know.

"Lights, shapes, it was all a blur of white through the windshield." Jean-Louis shakes his head, he sounds confused when he speaks of it, even now.

Castiel tries not to push the subject, it's clearly a sensitive issue, but it's left him with more questions than answers.

Jean-Louis takes two plates from the kitchen countertop and walks towards the dinner table. "Say nothing to your mother."

They're silent through dinner. It's true that Valerie is the more talkative of the three, but today it goes beyond what's normal for them. Castiel eats quickly, the atmosphere is unpleasant and the sooner he can free of it the better.

When they're done he doesn't stay to help with the dishes, he retreats to his bedroom and immediately reaches for his phone.

To: Alexy
From: Castiel
Sorry about the other night. I believe you.

It takes Castiel a long time to craft the perfect message, it takes even longer to admit that he does truly believe Alexy. He's been doubting himself since that night in the tent, and his exchange with his father only confirms it; aliens are real.

To: Castiel
From: Alexy.
No problem! What changed your mind?

To: Alexy
From: Castiel
Can you get to the park tonight?

Alexy finds Castiel sitting on the park bench with Demon lying calmly between his feet. Alexy takes a seat next to Castiel, pausing to pet the dog, and the conversation takes hold slowly.

It takes Castiel some time to find his words, he's not good at apologies and he doesn't make a habit of making them regularly, but Alexy deserves one. Sorry for laughing, for doubting, for the whole thing.
When Alexy asks why he's changed his mind, it's a different story. Gone are the awkward, stunted apologies, now Castiel pours out everything. He speaks quickly, he needs it all out in the open at last. He tells him of the lights, the noises, his father. If this makes three people with stories of UFO's there must be some truth to it, right?

"Woooow," Alexy says, leaning back against the bench and throwing his head up towards the sky, "That must have been terrifying."

Castiel doesn't reply, he has no intention of showing fear here. Instead, he lets Alexy carry on speaking.

"Like, I already believed in aliens," Alexy continues, looking down at the embroidered U.F.O patch on his book bag, "And even then it was still scary to see what I did."

Castiel nods in agreement. This experience has uprooted him. It is isolating and all-consuming, its forced it's way inside his mind and he can't say a word about it to anyone. "Are you still scared?" he asks. He as to know, do the bad feelings ever go away?

"I was for a long time," Alexy smiles gently, admitting something he's hidden from so many for so long, "But I figured if so many people have seen aliens over the years, and they still haven't invaded or whatever, they're not going to hurt us." Alexy 's laughing at himself now. "I think they're just visiting."

Castiel snorts, he doesn't acknowledge it out loud, but Alexy does have a point and it's a reassuring one. Humans have visited space, we've done it to them, why wouldn't they do it to us?

Alexy glances at his phone to check the time and his smile falls. "Look, I've got to head home, but you can come with if you want. I've got a telescope, we can invade the aliens' privacy for a change."

As great as it sounds, Castiel should probably be getting home. His parents aren't in town often and he should probably use this time to spend it with them, be social. "I can't tonight, next time?"

"Next time."