A/N: So I haven't written or published in what feels like forever. This little thing just kind of popped up out of the blue so I decided to flesh it out! I wrote half of it earlier and finished it later so I feel like the voice might change like halfway through, super sorry about that but whatevs. Also, it was written on a whim so it's short and sweet and not a whole lot of detail or plot development.
Please Read & Review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Cas and Dean.
"You want us to move where?" Castiel Winchester asked skeptically.
"New York. I know, I know," Dean voice was gentle.
Cas looked around the bright Kansas farmhouse. He glanced out the huge double windows to see the reaching Kansas plains, tall grasses, and wide open skies. And Dean wanted him to trade this for grimy skyscrapers and trash - filled concrete gutters.
"But look Cas, there's not a lot of opportunities for me here are limited. I'm a photographer, I want to be able to sell prints and make people love my art. You see that don't you?"
"You have a job though, one you love," Dean's husband countered half-heartedly.
"I don't want to work for a small town newspaper for the rest of my life. I want to be successful, I want to do more than provide for you and Jonah and Leah. I want to go beyond that."
Castiel bit the inside of his cheek, "you want to raise our one year old and our newborn in New York City?" Cas reminded his husband of their adopted son and daughter, the younger of which they had just brought home a short ten weeks ago.
That made Dean falter.
"I can do this, Cas. We can do this," he looked into Castiel's eyes earnestly.
With a nod, Cas replied, "I trust you."
Dean rewarded Castiel with a smile and a peck on the forehead.
Together the couple wandered to the room shared by their children. The two slept soundly in their cribs. Leah their newborn, swaddled in a yellow fleece blanket, began to fuss. Castiel picked up the fussing infant and held her near his chest. She smelled like lavender and her hair was fine and soft. Dean and Castiel had been married for three years now. One year ago they had been chosen by an adoption agency to adopt their son and just a couple of months ago they had adopted Leah.
Dean gazed at his loving husband holding their precious baby. He stepped up to Cas and wrapped his arms around his family.
"New York is going to be great," Dean promised.
One month later, with a "sold" sign on the front lawn, most of their belongings sold, and everything left strategically packing into their SUV, Dean and Cas, along with their children, left the stretching Kansas prairie.
They alternated driving the 18 hour trip and spent the time listening to classic rock at a low enough volume as to not agitate the babies.
"Tell me what our apartment is like," Cas said. Dean had gone to New York ahead of Castiel to find a place to live and start networking to get photography jobs.
"It's…small. Kind of industrial looking. There's a small kitchen attached to the living room which will also be our bedroom. Off that there is a bedroom for Jonah and Leah and then a bathroom. It's small, Cas. Not what we're used to in our farmhouse."
"I know. It will be fine," Castiel gave a confident smile, but inside he wasn't so sure.
"It's, umm, clean," Castiel found a positive about the cramped apartment. Luckily, they had sold all of their furniture before leaving Kansas to avoid lugging it across the country, because none of it would have fit in the place.
Dean laughed at Castiel's statement, "Yes, but it's home now."
Cas wrapped an arm around Dean's waist, "it's home."
For the next few months, Dean was gone more often than not. He was out looking for work and buyers. Castiel and Dean had decided that Cas would stay home and care for Jonah and Leah. Dean was sure he could provide and Castiel would rather be at home with his kids anyways.
Most nights, Castiel made dinner for him and the kids and put them in bed before Dean ever came back. It was hard, being apart from Dean for most of the day but he was proud of his husband and his determination. He had found a few freelance jobs but in the few months they had resided in New York, Dean hadn't found his break yet. They still didn't own furniture.
It was an especially difficult Tuesday night. Jonah was fussing because Castiel couldn't give him attention because he was busy trying to rock Leah to sleep. She sat bundled in his arms but cried out. This made Jonah cry even more.
"What are we doing here?" Cas spat out angrily, "If we had just stayed in Kansas Dean would be here to help and I wouldn't be doing this alone."
Castiel, still fuming, noted that his daughter was now asleep. Guilt washed over him. He knew Dean was trying to provide for them and take care of them but it was hard when he was the only one there to care for the babies. The cuteness while they slept made it easier.
Castiel tucked Leah into the small floor bouncer to sleep. They were still missing a crib and a bed for Jonah. While Leah snoozed, Castiel positioned himself on the floor next to her, propped against the wall, bouncing her up and down and puling Jonah onto his lap. With the attention, Cas' son ceased crying and tucked himself into his daddy's arms.
It was nice, holding his son like this while his daughter slept peacefully. Quiet moments were rare for Cas. Not long after, both Jonah and Castiel were asleep, sitting on the floor next to Leah.
Dean returned to the apartment, a few hours later, to find his family soundly asleep. He smiled at the scene. Carefully creeping into the bedroom, Dean knelt down next to his husband.
"Cas," he whispered, jostling his leg, "Cas, wake up."
Cas yawned and rubbed his eyes, "what time is it? Oh no, I never made dinner and it's already nine. Oh my-"
"It's ok," Dean interrupted. He lifted a plastic sack decorated in Chinese characters. "I got takeout. And I have some good news for you. I met with a magazine today and they were impressed with my photos of the Midwestern landscape. They're doing a feature on the different regions of America and want to use my photos," Dean's face glowed.
"Oh Dean, that's, you're amazing. What magazine is it?"
"National Geographic."
Cas jaw dropped.
"They paid the advance today. Ten thousand dollars."
Cas' face dropped to his hands and tears flowed from his eyes, "We're going to be ok. We're going to make it here."
"We're going to make it," Dean nodded, kissing his husband on the cheek.
Dean switched on the radio sitting in the floor and popped open container of lo mein and chicken. The couple talked and ate, both beaming with happiness.
"I'm glad for you," Castiel told his husband once they had finished eating. He shifted nearer to Dean, tangling their legs together.
Dean answered with a hand in Cas' hair and a passionate kiss.
The family fell asleep there, on the floor, that night. Wrapped in each other's arms, tangled up in the lamplight. Knowing that with each other, they were going to be okay.
