He frowned through his sleep and tried to push away whatever was poking him. The annoyance stopped for a few moments, until there was a flash that lit even the darkness behind his eyelids that was then followed by an almighty crash. The poking resumed with twice the intensity. Sam reluctantly opened his eyes and was met with two pairs of blue and green eyes staring fearfully at him.
Cas and Dean had their hands linked tightly, held between their chests where they were pulled close by one of Castiel's little wings wrapped protectively around Dean. His other wing was drawn in close to his back and the feathers seemed ruffled by the frightened twitching that occurred with every flash and bang.
"What's the matter, guys?" He rubbed his eyes in an effort to stay awake.
It took Sam a moment to realise, but a small voice managed to get a reply to him over the din of driving rain on a tin roof. "The others." Cas' voice was quiet and breathy as if frightened that if he made too much noise, he'd be found. Sam skipped over the fact that one of them had actually spoken for the first time and tried to reassure the young angel.
"The other what?"
"Angels. They're gonna take me away from Dean! Please don't let them take me away." Tears welled up in the large blue eyes and his little friend turned into his side and wrapped his arms around the angel's waist. Dean's forehead rested against Castiel's temple, and he squeezed him tight in the hug.
It seemed like Dean thought that if he held on tight enough, Cas wouldn't be stolen from him. And people thought Sam and Dean had a dangerously co-dependent relationship – if their child forms weren't capable of the deception and restraint of their older forms, Castiel and Dean didn't seem to be able to function without being attached at the hip.
"Cas, it's just a storm, buddy; no-one's coming after you." While this was completely true on Sam's behalf, it did remind the hunter that he hadn't put up any protective sigils or wards.
"Michael." The utter terror in Cas' voice struck a chord in Sam's chest. Sam felt his heart warm a little.
"Castiel, I promise you, Michael can't hurt you or Dean anymore. You're safe." The two boys just continued to whimper at the raging storm. "Okay, look, how about I mark up some wards so absolutely no-one can get in. How's that?" The angel and the boy traded glances. Dean nodded at Sam and pushed so Castiel climbed up to sit on the edge of Sam's bed, then climbed up after him to practically sit in his friend's lap.
The adult got out of bed, located the chalk paint in his rucksack and in the dark, managed to put up all the protective wards and sigils he knew that wouldn't also expel Castiel. Once he was done, he turned to the children so they could grade his work. "What do you think? Do you feel safer now?" They both agreed and managed to look relieved. "Great. Now we can all go back to sleep." He lifted the two boys around their waists and moved them from his bed back to their own. "Everyone's safe, so no need to worry." He pulled the blankets back up around their necks and ruffled the hair on their heads. He mumbled a goodnight and climbed back into his bed. He sighed contently as he got comfortable again.
The comfort was ruined, however, after another strike of lighting that sounded close enough to be concerning. Two little bodies scrambled over his to the side between him and the wall. He didn't say anything; he just rolled over to face them and pulled the both of them into his arms. Dean's back pressed against Sam's chest as he held Castiel as close as possible without the two of them merging into one being. Cas was shaking like a leaf, his wings made a gentle rustling noise with his trembles.
Sam opened one eye and studied the little boy. He allowed his fingers to card soothingly through the dark locks. "You'll be okay, Castiel – I won't let the other angels get you."
"I won't either." Dean promised too, "You're my fwiend. They can't has you." His voice was soft but determined. It was as close to a life pact as a four year old could make. Sam shushed them and readjusted their blankets to ensure they were warm enough then closed his eyes for sleep again – he didn't stop his fingers from moving through Cas' hair until the angel was asleep first.
Sam woke with a sharp breath as morning light speared through hole ridden curtains, the warmth of a little body pressed against his side. His older brother, now in the body of a four year old child, and his feathery winged, angel friend were curled around each other like lovers. Their legs were tangled together under the blanket and Dean had his head tucked under Castiel's chin. The angel's arms and right wing encircled the small, fragile body of his friend and Dean's hands were loosely curled into the button up shirt of Castiel's soft pyjama top. Even asleep, Castiel was guarding Dean with his life.
Sam was sure that if they were adults, this would be the most natural position for the two of them to be in. As children, it seemed to be an unconscious, automatic embrace – another reason to wonder how much of their behaviour as children was in part due to the unrepressed urges of their adult selves.
Sam let his fingers run through Cas' hair – an echo of the comfort given the previous night. A sudden overwhelming sense of guilt choked Sam; it rose up from the depths of his chest and sat heavily in his throat. All Castiel had ever done since the brothers had met him was suffer for them, with them and under them. He had come at their every beck and call, and done things for them that no friend should ever have to do. He had pulled Dean from Hell, fallen from Heaven, fought and killed his own brothers and sisters, saved Sam from the Cage and eternity with Lucifer and Michael and other countless, unmentionable things. And only once had he complained and it was only because the man was at the end of his tether – pushed to the brink of his sanity by grief, fear and pain.
And what had they given him in return? Sam could easily say he'd given the angel diddly squat. Dean… well, that was another story. Dean gave the angel himself; in all his PTSD glory and what was left of his scarred, twisted soul. But he also gave the angel companionship, someone to talk to and probably unconditional, uncomplicated love. The kind of love you had for a best friend who you'd do absolutely anything for and who knew you inside and out. Sam probably knew better than anyone, though, that there was more there. Dean wanted to give the angel more of himself but didn't know if either of them would be able to handle it.
Sam sighed again. He realised that if there was a way to keep the both of them as children, with their limited memory and uncomplicated relationship that lacked its barbs and burrs that had grown throughout years of constant battle and fighting – a completely pointless, petty thing that only adults held onto – he would. Children would be best friends one day, fight bitterly and hate each other the next, only to be absolute best friends again the day after. It isn't like that as an adult. People find small, stupid things to get upset about; they let it stew and fester and then one day, suddenly explode in a catastrophic and completely self destructive mess of petty bullshit. A child might get upset if someone takes his toy, but they know how to forgive and forget. And that was definitely something Cas and Dean needed to do.
Sam ran the back of his finger down Cas' cheek then carefully leant over and kissed the back of Dean's head. The lighter haired boy dug deeper into Castiel's warmth – the angel was only too glad to accommodate him and cradle him closer. The adult carefully crept out of the bed and pulled the warm covers tighter around the children.
He yawned and stretched, feeling the satisfying pops of his spine readjusting. If he only had one chance at giving his brother and the angel a better – or in Cas' case, his first – childhood, he'd do his damn best.
The tap rattled a little as water rushed through old pipes, but worked perfectly fine. He filled the plastic pancake mix bottle to the dotted line indicated on the side and shook the bottle to mix the water and powder. With his free hand, he fished out the well-worn, ancient looking frying pan from a cupboard under the sink and set about melting some butter on the hotplate once it heated up.
He tried to be as quiet as possible, but it seemed the pleasant smell of melted butter had roused the two little boys from their peaceful slumber. He looked at them and gave them his warmest smile. "Good morning, boys. Are you hungry? I'm cooking some pancakes." The two just blinked sleepily at him. Dean yawned widely as one fist rubbed a sleep hazy, green eye. Castiel had an atrocious case of bed hair on both his head and his feathers, and his wing was still mostly around Dean. "We're back to not talking, huh? Though, I suppose you just woke, so we'll give it a bit for you two to liven up." Sam turned back to the pan, giving a triumphant hiss of 'Yes!' when he managed to successfully flip a half cooked pancake.
Breakfast turned out to be a raging success. The dark haired boy had immensely enjoyed the sweet breakfast treat – going so far as to get maple syrup in places it should not be. "Do you need another bath?" Sam sighed, looking at the sticky mess the child had made of himself. Dean seemed to be pretty proud he'd managed to contain the stickiness to only his face and hands. Sam stood from the table and dropped the plates into the sink then walked around to the other side and hefted the angel up to hold him away from his body so as to not get his fresh clothes dirty already. Cas' wings started fluttering gently again, like a natural reaction to try and fly while in the air. "C'mon, little buddy; we'll get you two cleaned up then changed for the day." Sam carried Castiel towards the bathroom with Dean following closely at his heels.
It had just gone nine am when he finished wiping the sticky boys clean and changed them into their day clothes. He just had to get through today, then his brother and friend would return to their true selves. Sam sat back on his haunches and took in his handiwork; Dean was dressed in a pair of small brown boots, a pair of blue jeans, a brown/green t-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt and a dark brown, faux leather jacket with a cotton hood. Castiel was dressed in a pair of white skate shoes, some black jeans, a light blue t-shirt over a long-sleeved black shirt and a grey, cotton zip up hoodie. Sam had cut slits in his clothes to slip the angel's wings through. Luckily, thanks to the layers, it was hard to see the angel's wings were actually growing out of his body and could be passed off as a kid with an angel obsession that was wearing fake wings under his clothes.
"Good boys; you look great. Are you both warm?" A couple of shy nods made him smile. Sam gently patted the children on their heads, earning hesitant smiles in return. "Alright, let's go see what –" Sam was cut off by the shrill ringing of his mobile phone. He frowned as he searched through his jacket pocket to pull it out. "Hello?"
"Sam?"
"Bobby?"
"Why isn't Dean answering his phone? I've called it about twenty times." Sam cringed at Bobby's peeved tone.
"Uh… yeah. Dean's a bit… indisposed at the moment." Dean was definitely far more interested in Castiel and memorising the way every hair sat on his friend's head to worry about whatever Bobby was calling for. Not to mention the fact that he was four years old and totally incapable of actually completing any task Bobby set him.
"Indisposed? What the hell do you mean he's indisposed? Tell him to get off his lazy butt and dispose himself!" Yeah, the older hunter certainly didn't sound like he'd take this next bit of news well.
"That's, uh… that's not going to work."
"And why on God's green Earth not?"
"Um. He – he's four years old."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Bobby's low, even tone reached him. "Boy, are you drunk?"
"No. You know that witch hunt we were on this week? Well… she turned him into a little kid. And Cas, too."
"And you didn't think to call and tell me?!" Sam had to hold the phone away from his ear a little. Bobby was pissed. Not good.
"No! Well, the spell only lasts two nights. I figured I could look after them – I'm not completely useless."
There was more silence before a world despairing sigh crackled down the line. "Then who's going to deal with the demon incursion on the next town over? All the hunters I know in the immediate area are already on jobs. This needs to be dealt with; lives are at stake."
Sam's hazel eyes flicked from the mouldy bathroom tiles to Castiel leaning against Dean and playing with the other boy's little hands. "I can't take two children into the middle of a demon fight, Bobby; they can't protect themselves. I don't even know if Cas actually has any angel mojo at the moment – he's been sleeping and eating like a normal person. And Dean is... well, he's not like the Dean we know. I'd actually go as far as to say he's shy."
"Sam, I need someone on this. You're the best and closest – it's just the next town over." Bobby was right; it was his job and this needed to be sorted.
"I can't leave them alone."
"Well then, I guess you're lucky that Uncle Gabe's in town." Sam jumped and immediately stood to face the door, his body instinctively between the intruder and the kids. He quickly relaxed (sort of) when he realised it was only Gabriel.
"Oh, no." He sighed. Sam pressed the phone to his ear again, "Bobby, I'll call you right back. Just give me a moment." He ended the call and flipped the phone shut. Gabriel leant casually against the bathroom door jamb, a lollipop in his mouth and a confident smirk on his face. Sam had to move out of the way when a thigh height body nearly collided with him.
"Gabriel!" Castiel ran past, arms wide as he crash tackled the archangel's legs. Gabriel's hands immediately came down to rest on Cas' head and back. It seemed that Castiel still remembered his fellow angels.
"Hey, little bro," Gabriel crouched down so he was almost eye level with his brother, "literally. You're tiny."
"Gabriel," Sam demanded the archangel's attention, a deep frown on his face, "what are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know… I was just in the neighbourhood and I thought I'd drop by." Sam didn't move and remained silent. Gabriel sighed and relented. He stood to relieve the strain on his neck from looking up at Sam's giant form. Though, even fully standing, Gabriel still had to tilt his head. The powerful, adult angel sighed and dropped his eyes to the little boy nuzzling against his body. His large hands attempted to smooth down the dark, wild locks of his younger brother to no avail. "It's not every day you feel the Grace of an angel as strong and bright as Castiel's get reduced to the size of a pea. To put this into scale and some form of perspective for you, imagine if your sun suddenly became the size of an ant." Gabriel's honey coloured eyes blazed with an unexpected intensity when Sam saw them again, "So, I'm sorry if I was a little concerned and felt like I should check in. I'm not a complete asshat and I do actually care about my little brother – he's all I've got."
"Sorry. I'm sorry, Gabriel; I'm a bit stressed and feeling… overprotective at the moment." The archangel just nodded and took Sam's apology for what it was. "In case you're wondering, Cas will be fine by tomorrow morning." Dean had inched over to his current guardian and had clamped himself around the back of Sam's leg, peering curiously and maybe a little jealously at Gabriel and Castiel. Sam's hand instinctively rested in a comforting manner on the top of his little (big) brother's head. "A witch placed a temporary curse on them and they'll be fully adult again by sun up tomorrow morning."
Gabriel reached down and put his hands under Cas' armpits, lifting the boy to sit on his waist. "What's with the wings, little bro? Though, I suppose, you always were a bit of an exhibitionist." At the confused quirk of Sam's eyebrows, Gabriel gave a quick nod of his head and explained, "An angel showing their wings to someone is a very private, intimate thing. It's not quite the equivalent of running around with no pants, but more like showcasing your weakest parts. It's sort of like an acquiescence thing – if an angel shows you their wings, it is an act of complete trust and submission." He pauses for a moment, "Then again, if they're in a fight with another angel it's a bit like a pissing contest to see who has the bigger pair. Of wings! Not testicles. Though the second set helps as well."
Sam shook his head, trying to get the last few images out of his head. Not with all the brain bleach in the world. "I don't think I needed that last bit. Thanks."
Gabriel just shrugged his shoulders. "Though, I suppose because he's got the mentality of a child, it seems appropriate for him to be submissive to you; he sees you as the authority – angels are programmed to follow orders. However, Castiel has always been a bit faulty." Sam chuckled and picked up Dean when the boy refused to dislodge himself from Sam's leg. Gabriel looked away from his little brother and eyed Sam curiously. "Has he let you touch his wings?"
The corner of Sam's lips turned down a little as he though back over the last few hours. "Not really. It was sort of inevitable while he was bathing and getting changed, but otherwise no. He lets Dean do whatever he wants to them, though." It was Gabriel's turn to laugh a little and the archangel nodded as he adjusted his weight on his feet. Castiel squirmed out of Gabriel's arms and slid to the floor. He tugged on Dean's foot and Sam let Dean to the ground too.
Cas took Dean's hand, leading him towards the other angel, whispering, "Look, Dean; it's my big brother! Isn't he cool?" Dean nodded and pressed in close to Cas' side.
"That doesn't surprise me. Not with their 'Profound Bond' and all that." Sam figured he wasn't getting something here and skimmed past it as he remembered Bobby's call.
"So, you said you were here to check up on Cas. Do you feel like catching up with him properly?"
"Sure." Gabriel seemed genuinely excited by this idea.
"Great. Feel like taking Dean, too? I'm pretty sure Cas wouldn't let you go anywhere without him anyway."
"Of course; what kind of older brother would I be if I didn't help out once in a while?"
"A bad one. Excuse me; I have to make a call." Gabriel watched Sam turn his back as he held his phone to his ear again. "Hey, Bobby, it's me. Yeah, so what are the details?"
Two little boys stared up at Gabriel, green and blue orbs shining with childish curiosity. He stared back at them for a moment, unsure what to do. "Kids love parks, right?"