AN: Whoa, so it's been ages since I've posted anything, but I promise I have a whole bunch of stuff from all sorts of fandoms lined up - I've just been really lazy. So yeah, the disclaimer... The boys don't belong to me (though I wish they did), I'm just borrowing their meatsuits and using them as puppets. Blah, blah. On with the story.
Five minutes ago, there had been two fully grown men. Now, there were two small children nearly drowning in a puddle of clothing on the floor. The witch was dead at Sam's feet, blood slowly soaking through her clothes. He reached down and tore the knife from her chest then wiped the blood off the blade on the corner of his jacket. The whole time, he was staring at the tiny forms of his older brother and his brother's best friend.
He knew the spell; the witch had been using it to turn adults into children to then cook and eat. The effects lasted two nights and there wasn't really anything he could do to reverse the damage before then. This meant that he was going to have to white-knuckle it and deal with the fact his adult companions were now, temporarily, children.
He slowly inched towards them, unsure if they even remembered him or not. "Uh, hey, little guys." He crouched down to their level to get a better look. Dean looked like Sam remembered from pictures of their childhood. If he had to make a guess, his older brother wouldn't be any more than four or five years of age. His short brown hair was a little lighter than usual, freckles dotted across his nose and cheeks and his huge green eyes stared at Sam with a mixture of shyness and uncertainty.
But, surprisingly, next to Dean was a miniature version of Castiel. Sam was pretty sure angels didn't actually have childhoods, so this must've been Jimmy Novak as a kid. Cas' dark hair was longer than usual, some strands reached down to his cheeks, but, in typical Castiel fashion, his hair still managed to stick up every which way. A small frown dared Sam to take another step towards the boy who was now hiding behind the miniature angel, the blue eyes flashing with the need to protect. But there was also discomfort on the boy's face, and a large lump trapped under the white, button up shirt that hung off him like a dress.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, buddy, I'm just trying to help out. Alright? I'm not going to hurt you." He shuffled around to Cas' left a little, the child watching his every move, and his hands reached for the shirt. With little effort, he managed to tear the cotton. Sam fell back with surprise when two black, fluffy wings popped out. Dean gave a little squeak and sidled closer to Cas. "Wings? Jesus." Castiel's extra appendages twitched and all the feathers puffed out. He watched as his little brother, with eyes wide as saucers, carefully smoothed out all the feathers again. Castiel seemed a little uncomfortable with Dean touching his wings, but didn't push him away or say anything.
Remembering the dead body on the floor, Sam realised it would probably be a good idea to get the boys out of the dank, foul smelling, blood stained apartment. The sight of half harvested bodies of various ages hanging off meat hooks attached to the ceiling couldn't be a good sight for anyone their current age. "Alright, guys, do you know who I am? Do you remember anything?" Two sets of blue and green eyes stared blankly at him. "I'll take that as a no. Well, I'm Sammy, okay? And I'm not going to hurt you. So, we have to get out of here; I'm going to take you back to the mo—... to my house, where it's safe." Castiel's arms were wrapped protectively around Dean who was trying his best to bury into his friend. Sam stared Cas in the eyes, feeling like he had to ask permission. "Is that okay?" The baby angel's deep blue eyes just flicked warily across Sam's face, taking in the adult's features – Sam took that as permission.
Carefully, he scooped the two young boys and all their extra clothing into his arms and headed for the door.
The car thundered along the road; the dull sound of tire roar and the rumbling engine strangely comforting – to both the children and the panicking adult. Something in Dean relaxed at the feel of the familiar vibrations slowly lulling him to sleep. He leant against his friend's shoulder, careful of the wing trapped between him and the seat. The other boy let his arm rest behind Dean's neck, watching him as he slowly succumbed to slumber.
Dean. He only knew a handful of things. For starters, the boy beside him was called Dean. And his name was Castiel. He knew that his job was to look out for Dean and be his friend. The back of his neck prickled and Castiel tilted his head up to catch the hazel eyes watching him in the rear vision mirror. Cas' eyes narrowed and he angled his body to fit against Dean's – as close to a non-verbal warning to 'back-off' as was possible from a four year old. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't feel he could trust this man, Sammy.
Sam took the hint and let his eyes return to the road. It was only a couple of minutes later when Sam checked on them again that Cas had fallen asleep too, his head resting on Dean's. Sam couldn't restrain the small smile.
Using the opportunity of the two boys being asleep, Sam very quickly ducked into the closest supermarket he could find on the way back to the motel. He grabbed a bunch of assorted things to eat and two pairs of day clothes and some pyjamas for the boys. He very well couldn't let them run around for two days in their adult shirts.
When he arrived back at the car with his arms laden with plastic bags, the boys were still safely asleep and didn't wake even when he shut the boot of the car a little louder than he'd have liked.
The afternoon sun shone orange through the motel curtains and Sam dumped his bags on the rickety table. He returned a few moments later with two sleepy boys in his arms. "Seems like the first night'll be easy; you boys look trashed." They didn't say anything; Dean just watched the strange, adult man's mouth move with drowsy, half lidded green eyes.
He placed them on the edge of a bed and Castiel instantly curled into Dean, holding the little boy close in their safe cocoon of oversized clothing. Dean accepted the embrace and seemed to relax a little and melt into the hug. No-one in their right mind couldn't think it was cute. Before the moment ended, Sam pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a photo for future blackmailing opportunities.
Sam got down on his knees so he was face to face with the children and used what he assumed was a calm, soothing voice – he didn't have very much experience with children. "Are you boys hungry? I have stuff to eat." Castiel looked up at Dean and they seemed to communicate silently. Cas then looked up at Sam and nodded. "Okay." The adult stood and started rifling through the plastic bags. He looked back at the two still wrapped around each other on the bed. "Is that all I'm going to get? Can either of you speak?" Whether or not they could, the children remained stubbornly quiet. "Whatever." Sam sighed. He placed three pre-packaged boxes of microwavable macaroni cheese in the microwave and set the timer. He leant against the bench in the kitchenette and watched his charges as the meals heated up.
Castiel seemed entirely entranced by the light and spinning plastic packages in the metal box – his wide blue eyes stared, unblinking. Sam had to supress a chuckle; it seemed Cas was still as strange as usual. The machine beeped, signalling it was done, and he popped open the door. The steaming hot pasta dishes were placed on the table beside small cartons of chocolate milk.
Sam sat at the table and started eating. Cas and Dean remained stoically on the bed. "This stuff isn't half bad for being made nearly entirely from plastic." He said conversationally. The two still remained. Sam sighed again and dropped his plastic fork on the table, turning his body to look at the shy and frightened children. "C'mon, boys, come and eat something; I'm not going to bite you, I promise." Hesitantly, Castiel started to climb down from the bed, but a panicked noise rose from Dean and the smaller boy tugged on the angel's arm desperately.
Cas made little hushing noises and gently coaxed his friend from the bed. Dean clung to Cas' arm, his wide, terrified eyes never leaving Sam's huge form. Something in the adult felt like it broke at the sight of his own brother so frightened of him, and Castiel obviously trusted him as far as he could throw him. He wondered if maybe somewhere deep down, they did remember everything and the way they were acting now was like a subconscious response to those memories. Does that mean that his brother as an adult was fearful of him? Did Cas really distrust him that much? Were the both of them, as adults, just hiding these doubts from him for his own sake?
Sam shook the thoughts from his head, he wasn't Doctor fucking Phil and he didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
The two climbed up on their chairs with a bit of effort and warily tucked into their meals, eyes still flicking up to look at him every so often. The whole time they ate, sat at the table, their hands were linked. It was like from the moment they became children they hadn't stopped touching. Eating was a little difficult for Cas, as he had to use his left hand because his right hand was currently owned by Dean. Why was Cas eating anyway? He was an angel; Sam thought they didn't have to eat. Or sleep.
Sam was tired too. All this thinking and worrying was doing his head in. Once everyone was done, he stood from the table and put the empty plates and milk cartons in the bin. "Alright, kids; bath, pyjamas, bed. We all could do with the rest, I think." Sam's eyes were drawn to Cas' dark wings curling around his brother once they managed to climb off the chairs and back into their embrace again. Bath time… this was going to be fun.
Steam rose from the bathtub and two pairs of eyes stared at it like it was an abomination. "You can't go in in your clothes." Sam says, pulling Castiel's adult shirt over his head. The little boy seemed to have no shame; he was more interested in the hot water and fluffy white bubbles pooled in the porcelain tub than the fact he was stark bollock naked. Dean struggled a bit when Sam tried to help him take his shirt off. After giving up and just deciding to let him bathe in the massive shirt, he realised Dean was just trying to take it off himself. The kid got as far as getting both his arms out, but when he was trying to pull it over his head he got a little lost until his angel friend gave him a hand.
That was when Sam saw something that made his heart clench. The scar made by Cas gripping Dean tight and raising him from Perdition still marred the perfect skin of the little boy. The scar hadn't even altered in size. The brand wrapped right around Dean's shoulder to the front of his chest and the fingers rested over his shoulder blades. Sam quickly looked away and didn't make a noise or any fuss. As far as Dean knew, it was completely normal.
The boy in question seemed sheepish to be standing around unclothed, so Sam lifted his brother by his armpits and carefully placed him in the warm water. Dean gave a little sigh and relaxed against the wall of the tub, soaking in the revitalising heat. Once Dean was in, Sam lifted the angel too – Cas' little wings fluttered gently while he was in the air, like trying to replicate flying. The boy gave a shriek and pulled his legs up when his feet touched the bubbles on the water – he wasn't quite sure what they were or if they were safe. To Cas, it looked like the bubbles were eating Dean. Sam laughed and realised he may have put a little too much soap in the water. "It's alright, little guy; bubbles are fun." He lowered the angel again and let the little body slip into the water.
Nearly instantly Cas started giggling and playing with the bubbles. Dean, who'd had his eyes closed to relax, cracked one open to watch his friend. The dark haired boy scooped up a handful of bubbles and brought them up to his face, peering intently and trying to discern what the white substance was. Dean, lazily, lifted his own handful of bubbles and attached it to his face to make a beard. Then came possibly the best sound Sam had heard all day; Castiel burst out into uncontrollable laughter and his brother quickly followed with giggles of his own.
Sam raised a pile of bubbles in front of his mouth and blew gently, creating a snow like effect. Castiel made awed 'ahh' noises and held his arms in the air to try and catch the slowly falling bubbles. Sam grinned and caught Castiel's eyes. The little boy smiled at him in return and, for the first time in the last few hours, didn't look like he completely hated Sam. Relief washed over the adult like a wave – there's probably nothing worse than the idea of very young children hating you, especially when they're your friends and family.
Then Cas figured out how to make all the bubbles fly up into the air – along with large quantities of water. The angel laughed again and flapped his wings. Dean's squealing laughter made the mess caused by soapy bubbles and torrents of water entirely okay.
"Okay, time to wash before there's no water left in the tub." Sam grabbed the facecloth that was on the floor beside him and squirted some of the motel's complementary liquid bath soap onto the cloth. He leant over the edge of the tub (right into the path of the splash fight the two children were engaging in) and started to gently clean Dean's back, chest, arms and face. He was careful of the scar, unsure if it hurt him or not. Once he was done, Sam attempted to wash Cas. The little boy squirmed, trying to play with the last of the bubbles still left in the bath. He washed Cas' chest, neck and face, but had a little trouble trying to clean the kid's back – the wings in the way made it quite difficult. Eventually, he gave up and tore open the sachets of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner with his teeth.
"Close your eyes, Dean." The boy obeyed after a couple of seconds of hesitation. The silvery substance started to soap in his hair immediately and Castiel watched closely as Dean seemed to enjoy the feeling of Sam's fingers rubbing the soap in his hair. "I'm going to wash out the shampoo with water, so keep your eyes closed and head tilted back, okay?" There were no problems from Dean as he washed out the shampoo.
Castiel pushed up close to Sam, waiting eagerly, it seemed, for the adult to repeat the same process he had with Dean. Sam couldn't help but laugh fondly. "You've never done anything like this before, have you, buddy?" Castiel's blue eyes simply stared happily at him, either through ignoring him or just not understanding what was being said.
Sam tore open the other sachet and dumped the contents into the longish, dark locks. He began to spread the soap across Cas' scalp with his fingers and smiled again at the content purr that slipped past the boy's lips. He took a little longer with Cas as it seemed the angel was thoroughly enjoying the massage and Dean was content to just soak in the water that was slowly starting to cool. Sam tilted Cas' head back, filled the pitcher he'd used on Dean with water from the bath and began washing all the soap out of his hair.
When he was done, little fingers threaded into the nearly black strands and revelled in the overly soft feeling of freshly conditioned hair. "Okay then, time to get out." He hoisted Dean out first, as Castiel was still enthralled with the idea of water, and took to towelling the child dry.
Once all the rogue droplets were wiped away, he helped Dean into grass green, long bottom and button up top pyjamas. The fabric had little lions doing various things all over them. The flannel was soft and Dean's hands immediately scrunched into the shirt. Dean looked up when a towel dropped on his head. He then started giggling and hummed out loud; his voice was distorted humorously as the adult vigorously rubbed the towel on Dean's head to dry his hair somewhat. Sam then lifted his brother again and perched him on the toilet where it was (mostly) dry.
It was then Castiel's turn to get out. Cas whined when he was pulled from the water but began shivering in the cold almost instantly. A fresh, dry towel then rubbed down his body and he was quickly helped into a pair of blue pyjamas the same as Dean's with little birds on them. He'd already cut slits in the back to poke Cas' wings through. Sam never thought he'd be the kind of guy to match pyjamas to eye colour and personality type, but he figured this was probably the only time ever in his life that he'd get to do it, so he ran with it anyway. And he had to admit, it was freaking cute.
Cas looked like a bit of a drowned rat with his hair now wet and sticking in his eyes and over his face, plus his downy wings were dripping water everywhere. Sam reached behind him and opened the bathroom cabinet. Luckily, there was a hairdryer folded up on one of the shelves. He plugged it in and held it out. "C'mere, Dean. Do you want to help your friend get dry?" Sam flicked on the switch and the hairdryer began its loud whirring. Cas immediately jumped away from the contraption, his blue eyes fearful. "No, no, it's okay, Castiel. Look!" He turned the thing on himself and used it to blow his hair back. "See? It won't hurt you." He turned it on Dean and the boy shrieked out some laughter. He then turned it on Castiel and after the initial shock of being blasted by hot air, like typical adult Castiel, the boy was enthralled and completely enraptured by the air warming him.
Sam handed the hairdryer to Dean with the instructions to use it carefully on Cas' wings. Sam took the opportunity to towel Cas' hair dry and the angel mimicked Dean by humming and allowing his voice to shudder comically under Sam's movements. By working together, they got Castiel dry. The boy's wings were fluffier than usual and Dean's hands planted themselves in Castiel's feathers. They were soft like a baby bird's feathers and the angel had a pleasant smile on his face as Dean gently stroked his wings.
"Alright, you two; let's go out and watch some TV or something before bed." Neither of the children complained as Sam lifted them in his arms.
Upon returning to the main room, the last of the afternoon light was starting to fade and Sam could see that dark clouds had rolled over during their time in the bathroom. He just pushed the thought aside and pulled the curtains closed before heading over to the couch with the two children still hanging around his neck.
Soft, warm and smelling of soap and bubbles, everyone was happy and content as the two children cuddled each other, cradled into Sam's chest and sat on the adult's lap. It was only ten or so minutes later that the two started to drift, finally succumbing to the drowsiness that had been plaguing them all afternoon.
With a quiet grunt, Sam rocked to his feet and headed over to one of the two beds in the room. Leaning down he gently let the children fall onto the bed. He was surprised when Dean's hand that wasn't fisted in Castiel's soft pyjamas reached out and grabbed Sam by the shirt. "What's the matter?" The hand just tried to tug him closer and Sam got the hint. He remembered what Dean used to do for him each night before bed when they were kids; it was what their mum apparently used to do for his older brother too. He leant down and dropped a quick kiss on the boy's forehead. "Night, Dean. Angels are…" Sam's eyes were drawn to Castiel, "watching over you. Literally." Dean's hand still didn't let go though, and Sam did it again for Cas. Only then did the little boy release his grasp and the hand went right back to his best friend, threading into the soft, black feathers of the wing that Castiel had wrapped around them both.
This was another Kodak moment. Sam snapped the picture, but only for posterity's sake; there were no seedy, ulterior motives this time. He walked across the room and turned off the TV, deciding to head in for a really early night, too.