As you keep asking for more, here's a new chapter. I hope you enjoy.
And thanks for the reviews and adds ;)
Chapter 3: Fathers
It was late afternoon and Castiel, who had returned from work, was arranging the house, particularly his and Dean's bedroom as well as Asher's, because he didn't have time to do it before leaving in the morning.
After a while he heard the front door open, it was certainly Dean and Asher that had arrived. Castiel walked to the entrance to meet them, but he saw the little boy with a backpack run past him. "Asher," he called, but the boy didn't turn around and went to his room.
Asher always came to greet him when he arrived and told him everything that had happened in the kindergarten. He looked at Dean, that was entering, with a frown and confused look.
"I don't know. He was quiet the whole ride," Dean replied to his questioning eyes.
Castiel looked in the direction of where Asher had disappeared when he heard the door of the boy's room close. He turned again to Dean, whose face showed concern just like his. "Did the teachers say anything?"
"No. They said everything went well. Asher wasn't as enthusiastic like the other days, but nothing unusual happened." Dean tried to find some sort of explanation for the boy's odd behavior, but he couldn't.
Castiel walked to the wood door of Asher's bedroom. He knocked on the door that was never closed. "Asher, can I come in?"
"No." Castiel heard hurried sounds in the room. "Don't come in." By the boy's loud voice, Castiel realized he was right behind the door.
Castiel tried not to take personally the little boy's words. "Why not?" he asked calmly.
"Because..." Asher murmured. "Just because!" he decided after a while in an apprehensive voice.
That wasn't a reasonable answer and it was obvious the boy was hiding something. "Asher..."
"Please don't come in," Asher asked in soft pleading tone.
It alarmed Castiel. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Asher said. "I just want to be alone for some time."
The reply seemed honest to Castiel and he was a bit more relieved. "Don't take too long." It was a mix of an order and a warning delivered with a careful gentle voice, a voice Castiel didn't know he had; a parental voice.
"Okay..." Asher replied lowly.
Reluctantly Castiel went to the living room where Dean was. He told the hunter Asher wished to be alone and Dean became more confused and concerned, the boy was rarely alone, he always played in the division of the house he or Castiel were and when Asher was in his room he was constantly calling them to show them what he was doing. So Dean hoped the sudden change of behavior vanished as quickly as it appeared.
They sat on the couch with the television turned on, but they paid no attention to it. As Dean tried to find a cause, his mind soon travelled by a dark road. What if it had something to do with the night Asher's parents died? What if he had seen something? Now that he thought about it, they never found out what Asher knew. He could have seen the werewolf getting inside the house, or even killing his parents.
Dean took a deep breath to interrupt his line of thinking. But even if Asher didn't see anything, he certainly heard it, and it was equally terrifying. Dean knew exactly how tragedies in childhood could follow them for the rest of their life. Sometimes he still remembered about the fire that destroyed their house and took his mother.
Dean noticed his heart beating fast on his chest; the worry and fear were overshadowing his mind. Then a glass of whiskey appeared before his eyes, Castiel was holding it. He hadn't even noticed the former angel leaving, so certainly needed the drink. With a grateful subtle smile Dean accepted the glass and drank it. In the past, he had drank alcohol like someone drank water, but it had been years since he drank anything stronger than beer.
Castiel sat next to him and they stood there without knowing what to do. It was ironic how a hunter and a Heaven's soldier, that had destroyed the most powerful and evil creatures and had saved thousands of people, didn't know how to help a little boy, the one that mattered the most. Castiel remembered seeing Asher's mother, covered in blood that came out of the deep cut of claws and teeth, but still breathing and the last thing she said was to take care of her son. Castiel promised her he would.
Minutes later Asher appeared in the living room and walked to them with something hidden in his hand and sheet of paper.
"Hey, buddy," Dean greeted him with a smile.
Asher put the paper with the white side turned up on the low table between the couch and the television and stopped in front of Dean. "Today is Father's Day and at school we made a gift to give our dads," he spoke with uncertain voice. "But my dad isn't here." His sweet chocolate eyes became a bit sadder. "So I want to give it to you." Asher opened his hand in front of Dean and showed him the keychain with a car. "You... You think he'd mind? Do you think he'd be mad at me?" his childish voice trembled while he stared at Dean.
Dean exhaled the air he didn't know he was holding. "No, I don't think your dad would mind," he replied, caressing the little boy's blond hair.
Asher looked at Castiel, and he spoke with uncertainty. "You said my dad didn't leave me, that he's always watching me... and my mom too."
"Yes, they are," Castiel agreed. If in Heaven his parents have a son, why shouldn't Asher feel like he had his parents too?
"And I'm sure he's very proud of you," Dean intervened. "You made something beautiful." He took the keychain from the boy's hand and examined it. The small car was made of half of a wood clothespin, painted in black with windows in light grey and flat drawing pins to make the wheels. It resemble with... "The Impala?"
Asher nodded.
A smile grew on Dean's face and a low chuckle escaped from his mouth. "It's awesome, Ashie. Thank you." He kissed Asher's forehead and the boy leaned closer, trying to hug him, so Dean picked him up and sat the boy on his lap.
Asher stared up at him with a tentative smile, and then asked curiously, "Can someone have two fathers?"
Dean remember what Bobby had done for him and Sam, ever since they were kids, he always took good care of them when John was away, and when their father was gone forever Bobby continued helping and supporting them. Yes, Bobby was a father to him too. "Of course," he replied naturally.
Asher was pleased with the answer, and with a larger smile he asked again, "What about three?" Then he looked at Castiel with wide tender eyes.
Dean let out a low and short laugh in amusement. "I don't see why not."
Asher jumped out of Dean's lap, grabbed the sheet of paper and showed it to Castiel. "For you." It was a drawing of him, Dean and Asher with green grass under their feet and the sun and clouds above their heads.
"This was what you were doing in your room," Castiel figured out. He had seen other drawings of Asher, all of them very good, but this one seemed like it had been painted in hurry, and the sky wasn't even painted as the other drawings.
"Yes," Asher admitted shyly. The hopeful smile faded while he stared at Castiel contemplating his drawing. "You don't like it," he spoke with disappointment.
"No. It's a wonderful drawing," Castiel hurried to say. "I love it, Asher."
Asher hugged Castiel too, burying his face on the blue sweater, while the former angel petted his hair. "You are the artist, but I think your work isn't quite finished, is it?"
Asher blushed in embarrassment and shook his head. "No."
"Then finish it." Castiel gave back the drawing to the boy.
Asher ran to his room and returned with a case of colored pencils and a short green stool that he put next to the table and continued the drawing sat the table.
After a while he had to interrupt to have dinner and then he went to change his clothes to the pajama with a tiger before going back to the drawing. Asher could dress the pajamas by himself, but that night he appeared in the living room with the sweater backwards. With a laugh Dean stopped him and helped him to turn the sweater around.
With an arm around Castiel's back, Dean and Castiel watched television while Asher painted thorough and silently in front of them. An hour and half later the little boy was still painting.
"Time to go to bed, Asher," Castiel told him.
"Already?" he asked surprised.
"Yes." It was actually past the hour Asher usually went to bed. Castiel stood up and waited for the boy to go with him, but he kept focused on the drawing. "Asher..."
"Wait. It's almost done." He changed the pencil for another one hurriedly. "Just one more thing..." he said while the dark blue pencil slid on the paper. "There." He put the pencil aside on the table and contemplated the finished drawing with a proud smile.
He got up and ran to the couch, climbing it. "Goodnight, Dee." He wrapped his arms around Dean's neck and kissed his cheek.
"Goodnight, kiddo," Dean replied, kissing Asher's head.
Then Asher went with Castiel toward the bedroom, but they made a little detour to the bathroom where Castiel washed up the boy's colored hands on the bidet. When it was finished, Asher yawned and when Castiel looked at him he saw his sleepy face. He picked up the boy, carried him to his room and laid him in the bed. Castiel gave him the stuffed dinosaur that Asher grabbed instinctively, although his eyes were already closed. He tucked in the boy and said, "Good night, Asher."
"Night, dad," the boy murmured sleepy.
With a surprised face and happy eyes, Castiel left the room and joined Dean in the couch. "Hey, check this out." Dean showed him the drawing.
It was a lot more colorful, and there were several flowers on the grass and birds in the sky, but there was one thing that caught his attention, a word Asher had written, 'Family'. A sweet warmth in his chest started melting his heart into caramel, and looking at Dean with a grin he couldn't contain, Castiel knew he was feeling the same. He cuddled against the hunter's familiar body and kissed him lovingly.
