Castiel and Dean are in bed, snoozing away. Cas has his arm around Dean's torso, as they dream into the night. It's pitch black, you can barely see a thing; must be well past midnight now. But Dean is stirred by a cough a few feet away from the bed. At first he thought he was dreaming.
"your home is a wreck," came the vaguely familiar voice from within the darkness. "You could have atleast cleaned the bathroom."
"it was his turn," came Dean's automatic response, as he nudged towards Cas, trying to sit himself up.
It was true, he had been nagging Cas to clean the bathroom for a couple days now. But life gets in the way, and quite frankly time flies by too quickly lately; there never seems to be enough hours in the day.
"well, if I knew we were going to be having guests at…" Cas opens one eye to stretch across Dean and glance at the alarm clock, "THREE am, I'm sure I would have cleaned it sooner."
Dean rests an arm on Castiel's back, as the pair of them grunt with irritation. Dean pinches his eyes, as he forces them open. Finally awakening a little, he soon realises why he thought he recognised that voice.
"hang on… Sam?" Dean queries.
Seeing as he is already stretched over that way, Cas reaches out and switches on Dean's bedside lamp. He immediately sees that it is indeed Sam, and Cas sighs, as he bows his head in relief – and a little annoyance.
"what are you doing here, Sam?" Cas sounds angry at Sam, simply from the mention of his name.
And it seems more than just being woken up. Its a serious, hot, red anger, that's been boiling up for a while. And worst of all? Dean doesn't stop him.
"Oh wait, should I apologise for the position you have found us in?" Castiel sarcastically rambles on, as he sits himself up a little, still leaning on his husband. "I mean this is our bedroom, and our house, but I know how much our relationship offends you."
"I never said that, Cas!" Sam tries to defend himself - apparently not for the first time.
"Hey!" Dean buts in, pulling himself up out of bed. This causes a little huff from Cas, as he is forced to reposition himself. "Don't start on him, Sam, none of this is his fault!"
Sam laughs out loud, mocking the pair of them. Cas rolls over onto his back, clenches his fists at his face and grunts in frustration. It's the same argument being played over and over again, and he is getting real sick of it.
"are you kidding me?" Sam continues, his own anger evident, as his voice gets louder with every word. "This is all his fault, Dean! That damn angel of yours is the reason you and I are living on opposite sides of the country!"
Dean doesn't respond, instead he stands still, staring Sam right in the eyes, silently daring him to say that again. But instead Cas drags himself out of bed, and looks right at Sam, who purposely tries to avert the angel's gaze.
Cas laughs to himself a little, and purposely kisses Dean in front of his brother. It's the only thing that steers Dean's gaze away from his brother, as he wraps his arm around Castiel's waist. The pair are sure to savour every nano second of their kiss.
"oh please, do you really have to do that?" Sam protests, as he turns his head around.
Pulling himself away, with a hand still resting on his husbands chest, Cas shakes his head. He takes a deep breath, half smiling at Dean. None of this is his fault, after all. But still, the angel storms out the room and down the corridor, being sure not to give Sam any eye contact.
"get out," Dean finally states, still watching the doorway, where his eyes had followed Cas out of the room. He is calm but stern. He is serious.
"no, Dean," Sam pleads, remembering there is a reason he broke into his brother's house. "listen to me!"
"I said get out!" Dean's anger gets the better of him, as he screams in Sam's face. Their noses are almost touching, as Dean is sure to lock eyes with his brother once again.
Sam attempts to stay standing still in protest, but Dean physically pushes his brother out of the room and towards the staircase. He stands at the top of the steps, arms folded in defence, as he watches Sam descend. But halfway down, Sam stops in his tracks, as he hears something in the background.
"wh-," Sam tries to get his words together, not wanting his thoughts to be confirmed. But he knows that sound anywhere. That was a child. A baby in fact, crying for its Daddy. "is that…?"
"That's your niece, Jemima," Dean confirms, sternly, his top lip quivering a little. "The niece you lost the right to have anything to do with, the day you refused to attend her parents' wedding."
"Dean, I never," Sam tries to defend himself again, as the reality of what he is being told begins to sink in.
But Dean isn't listening. He has heard enough of Sam's excuses, and he has certainly heard enough of his disgust towards Cas.
"Get out of our house," Dean tells him, one last time.
Sam sighs, shakes his head a little, and begrudgingly heads down the rest of the stairs. He needs to get Dean to listen to him, even more so now he knows about Jemima. She just makes everything so much more urgent.
He cant help but feel sad about the fact that he has never seen his niece. And he will most probably never be allowed to see her. And all because of some big misunderstanding that has been going on way too long.
But, more importantly, back to the matter at hand - how will he get Dean to listen to him?
Dean heads back across the landing to find his husband cradling the baby, softly signing, as he rocks her back to sleep in his arms. Such a beautiful sight. No matter what was going on around them, just watching his little family will always make Dean smile.
After briefly admiring them from afar, Dean slowly walks over to his husband, and puts an arm around him, as Cas naturally nestles his head into his husband's shoulder.
"I love you, Cas," Dean confirms, finding himself almost trying to apologise for Sam's behaviour.
"I know you do," Cas states, as he escapes Dean's embrace, and places Jemima down in her cot, gingerly.
Cas pauses a little and smiles, watching over his daughter, before he turns to face Dean again. But Dean knows Sam's words have got to his husband, and quite rightly so.
"Cas," Dean begins, but Cas leaves the room before he has a chance to say any more.
Dean frowns to himself, annoyed that his brother is still getting between them. Cas must know that Dean doesn't agree with any of what Sam says. He has got to know how much their marriage means to him.
Cas walks past Dean, with his head hanging down, trying not to look at him. He knows Dean will be feeling upset right now, and he hates seeing Dean so torn. It's his own brother that has come between them time and time again. Dean has always blamed himself for that. But its not Dean's fault - none of this happened before Cas came along.
Reaching their bedroom, Cas sits himself on the edge of their bed, naturally followed by Dean. He perches himself beside the angel, but the silence still remains. And Cas still cant look Dean in the eye.
"It's okay, I understand," Dean confirms, as he takes Castiel's hand in his, lovingly. "You can leave – they all do…"
"What? No! Dean, not me, not ever," Cas reassures him. "That's not what I was going to say," he laughs a little, as he places a hand on Dean's cheek.
"But-"
"I love you, you idiot," Cas interrupts. "I'm not going anywhere," he smiles, as he runs his hand around Dean's neck, stroking his cheek a little with his thumb. He pulls his husband in for a kiss, as he naturally leans into Castiel's touch a little. A soft, loving kiss, as he continues to caress Dean's neck.
"It's just that," Cas continues. He takes his hand from around Dean's neck, trails it down his body, and rests both his hands on Dean's lap. "I don't want to keep coming between you and your brother."
"what brother?" Dean scoffs, as he takes a hold of Castiel's hands in reassurance. "He lost that title years ago, when he started all this."
"That's my point, Dean," Cas insists, as he readjusts himself to sit cross-legged on the bed, facing right at Dean. "This has all been going on too long. You're the Winchester's; you're family."
"I haven't been a Winchester in a long time," Dean corrects him. "I am Dean Novak – and I don't want to be anything else.
"Dean-"
"no, Cas," Dean's frustration is beginning to show again, as he gets up from the bed, "we have been here before."
He is not mad at Castiel, he is mad at the situation. He is sick of Sam getting in between them all the time. He just wants them to be able to live a happy life, as a family. Just the three of them.
"There's no need for the way he talks to you," Dean continues. "If my own brother doesn't like the fact that I'm gay, then he is no brother of mine."
"You've been through so much together," Cas continues to argue, "don't throw all that away just because of me."
"Now, stop it," Dean playfully begins to assert himself. "It's not just a personal thing against you, Cas, its everything, okay? Stop all this crap about blaming yourself – that's my move"
"Dean-" Cas tries to stop Dean taking the mickey out of himself. He hates it when he does that. He never realises how important he is, how valid his thoughts and feelings are.
"just get back into bed will you?" Dean orders Cas, still trying to put a playful spin on their discussion.
Castiel can't help but smile. He knows Sam is never going to change the way things are now. But mostly, he knows how much that must get to Dean, a lot more than he lets on, even to Cas.
And yet, its in these little pockets of joy, where Dean is playfully taking control, trying to make Cas smile, that the angel is reminded why their relationship is worth fighting for.
He cant help but watch Dean stroll around to his side of the bed, watching him smile to himself, before shooting a big grin over to Cas and climbing under the covers. Cas joins Dean, nestling himself under the covers. Dean wraps an arm around him, as he pulls the angel in closer.
"I love you," Dean declares, as he kisses his husband on the forehead.
"I love you more," Castiel grins, as he snuggles himself into Dean's body a little more.
But with everything going on right now, and the very real feeling of an old threat looming, Sam wasn't backing down so easy.
He knew he wasn't welcome here at the Novak household, but he wasn't here for a beer and a catch up. He was here because lives depended on it. Sam needed to convince his brother to work with him again – and fast.