Yikes, writer's block really hit me hard on this one. So I'm finally back with the tenth chapter! I'm amazed we got this far, and even more touched by all of your support. I'd like to especially thank ImaginativeWandering for their stunning comments. You really make my day brighter. Without further ado...

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As soon as Jack had set himself up, Dean suggested dinner.

"That sounds like a great idea, Dean." Cas smiled, now directing his attention to Jack. "Anywhere in particular you want to go, Jack?"

Jack stared at him in confusion.

"We need to go get you some stuff anyway, so we might as well make a whole night out of it," Cas explained. "Would you like to go for pizza, or Italian, Chinese..?" he trailed off.

"Italian sounds… nice." Jack looked at Cas and Dean. "How will I pay you back for my food?" His voice broke a little. "I don't have any money."

"Wha- Jack we pay for the meal! Or rather… Cas does." Dean leaned in a little like he was telling a secret. "If you didn't know, he's loaded." This got a small smile out of Jack, which Dean considered a personal victory.

"Come on, I'll grab my wallet and we can head out in just a second." Cas stood up suddenly, flinching internally as Jack recoiled slightly, fear crossing his face for a brief moment. It's ok, he wanted to whisper, you're safe now.

As soon as they got to the car, confusion broke out on Jack's face. Cas smirked. "I don't like fancy cars."

Jack's eyes then flitted to examine the impala, sleek and black, pulled in next to Cas' light beige car. Dean wasn't even sure you could call that thing a piece of junk a car.

"Luckily for this family's reputation, I like fancy cars." Dean smiled. "This is my Baby, and she's just about the nicest car you'll ever ride in. Alas…" Dean clutched his heart dramatically, "You'll have to ride in Cas' car tonight. He's driving, and that means we're taking the pimp car."

"Hey, I get great gas mileage in the pimp car!" Cas shot back, walking around the edge of their driveway to his car door. Dean opted for the passenger seat, leaving Jack to take the backseat.

He yanked once, twice, but the door refused to open.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You've got to really yank on it. The door sticks sometimes and this idiot," he jerked his hand back at Cas, "refuses to get it fixed."

Jack nodded, finally getting the door open and buckling himself in quietly. Cas pulled out of the driveway after checking in the rearview mirror that Jack had successfully done at least that.

As they drove down the road at a reasonable speed, Cas nervously checked on Jack throughout the entirety of the ride. He was looking out the window at the cars passing by, occasionally shifting his glance again to the interior of the car, not that there was much to see, not saying anything. Cas wasn't sure if he should initiate a conversation, or just leave the teen to sit there silently and take in his new situation. Eventually, he opted for the latter, turning on the radio.

Taylor Swift blared through the speakers, the volume as high as it would go. Cas nearly crashed the car.

Quickly, Dean switched it off with a nervous laugh. No one stepped forward to fill the silence, so they just sat there.

When they finally pulled up to the Italian restaurant, the tense silence became nearly unbearable. Cas has no idea what he's doing, Dean thought, not for the first time that evening. He leaned over and kissed Cas on the cheek reassuringly.

Cas blushed immediately, fumbling with the door even as he opened it. "What was that for?" He managed to make out. God, it's like when I first met him all over again, and had no idea what to say, he thought to himself. Get a grip, Cas.

Dean just smiled dreamily at him. "You," he responded simply. "Come on, let's go inside. Unless it's too fancy for your exquisite tastes."

"Haha," Cas monotoned, closing his door. "Come on, Jack, let's head in."

After another brief struggle with the car door, he was out with them, though even as they walked in, he lagged behind, his head down and his shoulders set.

The moment they walked in, little bell on the door ringing softly, the brunette man behind the counter looked up, eyes widening as he took them in. "Hey, Dean! Long time no see!"

Dean blinked, before grinning back at the slightly younger man, walking over to hug him. "No way! Adam? You didn't tell me you got a new job! How are you doing man? How's Samandriel? How's college?"

"He's doing great! Since he started his transition, he's been much happier." Adam beamed happily, and Jack noticed red writing spiraling down the side of his neck and into his shirt. He felt shame run through his entire body the longer he looked.

Unmarked filth.

Quickly, Jack looked away from his neck, filling his head with thoughts of his mother. Breathe.

Adam and Dean were discussing something. "You have got to visit us on campus sometime." Adam gushed, turning then to Cas. "And Castiel Novak! Such a nice surprise to see you dining at our establishment! Table for three?"

"Thank you Adam, that would be wonderful." Cas smiled as he followed the man to an open booth, overlooking a small creek. They all sat down, Jack next to Cas, and Dean whispered something in Adam's ear. He nodded, and left with a small smile and a squeeze of Dean's shoulder.

"So how do you know him?" Cas asked.

"He's actually my brother." Dean smiled. "Well… kind of. He actually came over from Germany as a transfer student. He stayed with my family for a while when we were all younger. I haven't seen him in a few years!" Dean had a reminiscent look in his eye.

"You've never mentioned him before." Cas noted. "Did something happen?"

"Mmh, no. Not really." Dean shrugged. "He left of his own accord, when he turned eighteen." Then Dean leaned in, as if he was telling them an especially exciting secret. "Samandriel, his boyfriend, used to be named Samantha."

"Ok, that's great. Good for him." Cas was confused.

"When Samandriel told Adam he wanted to change his name, Adam's tattoo changed as well." Dean's eyes sparkled with pride and happiness. "How cool is that?" He grinned. "They were both so happy when they told me, they were crying." Then his face got darker. "But Samandriel's parents weren't happy. They had wanted to raise the 'perfect catholic daughter.' So, Samandriel and Adam left. It seems like they haven't been doing too shabby either, since then." He finished.

"We could have them over some time, Dean. I would love to get to know your younger brother and his boyfriend." Cas smiled.

"And we would love to meet you." Adam was back, placing three waters in front of them, as well as a small basket of bread. "I'm glad Dean finally found you, Castiel."

Cas smiled. "I'm glad as well."

Adam turned to Dean, whispering something in his ear. Dean blushed slightly and chuckled. "Shut up. Can you just bring us the usual?"

"Will do." Before leaving again, Adam asked them one more question. "Do any of you have any allergies?"

They all shook their heads unanimously.

"Fantastic." And with another small smile adorning his lips, Adam left.

"He didn't even take our orders?" Cas was confused. He reached for a piece of bread.

"Don't worry about it." Dean smiled, also ripping open a warm roll. "Just wait. You won't regret it."

"Whatever you say… So, Jack," Cas turned to look at him. "Where would you like to go shopping after this?"

Jack looked at him, confused, his mouth full of . "What do you mean?" His voice was quiet, hoarse from not being used, and shaky, but the question remained.

"I mean, like which places? I understand if you don't want to go somewhere fancy, but there's a perfectly nice Target down the street from here, and a Macy's downtown. Also, don't quote me on this, but I believe there's both a JC Penny and an Old Navy somewhere nearby."

Jack smiled slightly, looking shaken up by the options. "Target?"

"Target it is, then! Right after we finish whatever food Dean has mysteriously ordered for us…" Cas smiled then, looking at the three of the from an outside perspective. They almost looked like a family.

Dean, it turned out, had ordered them a very large pizza. As Adam brought it to their table, holding it above his head, there were murmurs and gasps. He set it down, along with plates for the three of them.

Thank you's were said, and Adam once again departed, though not before giving Dean a small scrap of paper containing his new phone number. Apparently, Samandriel's parents had been calling him on the old one. Cas cut politely into his pizza, raising a small bite to his mouth, before looking up to see Dean shoving pizza into his mouth.

"Dean," Cas chided, his knee bumping Dean's under the table. He smiled as Dean's cheeks colored with embarrassment.

"Sorry." He lowered the slice, mirroring Cas as he set down his pizza and took up a fork and knife instead. Then he turned to Jack, who was sitting there quietly. "Jack, why don't you dig in?"

Jack looked up at him, his blue eyes full of confusion and fear. "You hadn't finished what you wanted to yet. I didn't want to take anything you might-"

"No. We don't do that here." Dean frowned as he interrupted Jack. "Take some, it's stuffed crust. You'll love it."

Hesitantly, Jack cut off a piece of pizza, and took a bite. Almost immediately, a look of bliss crossed his face, and he began devouring it even faster than Dean had been. He had finished his second slice before Cas had even finished his first, and was about to grab a third before his manners seemed to kick in. He leaned back visibly from the large pizza, an embarrassed blush adorning his face.

"It's ok," Cas smiled at him, taking another piece for him and setting it on his plate. "You can eat as much as you want to here. Have you ever eaten stuffed crust before?"

Jack responded simply with another bashful smile and shake of his head before digging in.

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They pulled into the parking lot behind the mall, much to Cas' relief. I'm glad that Jack didn't want super expensive clothing, he thought as they walked through the sliding doors. Not that I couldn't provide that, but I have absolutely no idea what fancy clothes look good, and which are terrible. Plus, all of them are incredibly uncomfortable. He chuckled a little at that, and a short man passing by gave him a strange look. They entered Target.

As soon as they entered the male's section, Jack's eyes widened. Cas could understand. There were a lot of choices. Luckily, Dean seemed to have some kind of mental know how to deal with this.

"Ok Jack, we need to get you a full wardrobe, and we have to start somewhere. Would you like to look at long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirts, or jeans first?" Dean asked. God he loved this man.

Jack looked wordlessly to Cas, who shrugged. "We're near the shirts. Might as well start there."

In the end, they got him five pairs of jeans in various shades of blue, though Jack tended to favor the darker shades. They also got four long sleeved shirts, two in white and two in dark green. He got light and dark blue striped short sleeve shirts. Jack had also found a beige jacket with dark brown designs on it that he seemed to absolutely adore, and even though it was more expensive than all the shirts combined, Cas bought it for him. He also saw Dean throw some oversized flannels into the cart, for sleepwear. All Cas could think was gee, I hope he likes plaid.

Lastly, they stopped in at Hot Topic, because he had seen it on the way in and questioned what it was like. Not really knowing, what was inside, they agreed to check it out on the way back to the car. Jack had found a Panic at the Disco shirt, which excited him, since apparently it was always on in the bar where he had occasionally worked for pocket change and tips. He stumbled across another with a Hogwarts crest on it, since Harry Potter was Jack's favorite book in the house, (Sam was going to be thrilled) and one last lilo and stitch tank top, because Jack could remember his mother bringing him to watch it when he was quite little. He also found a Hufflepuff beanie that seemed to fascinate him, black with the badger on the front, so they added that to the cart as well.

By the time they made it home, pulling into Cas' gravel driveway, everyone was exhausted. "Watch the landscaping," Dean advised.

They assisted Jack in putting away all of his clothes. Now came the hardest part- leaving him for the night.

"Ok, we'll be right down the hall, okay Jack?" Cas asked him, concerned. He didn't want to baby him too much, but he was worried Jack would be uncomfortable during his first night in the big house. "We're going to stay up and watch a little tv together. Please don't hesitate to call us if you need anything."

Jack hesitated, fear clear on his face, before nodding. Then, he surprised both cas and Dean, pulling them into a weak hug, burying his face in Cas' shirt. "Thank you," He whispered, same as he had countless times at the store.

"No problem, kid." Dean smiled at him.

"Yeah," Cas smiled, choking up a little bit. "No problem."

As soon as Jack had retired and Cas had stopped fretting, he and Dean sat down on the couch together, Dean's leg draped casually across his lap. "I love you, you know?" Cas smiled at him, speaking up as he flipped casually through the channels.

"Oh, really?" Dean smirked.

"You're so amazing with Jack, and I just threw this upon you, and you didn't have to stay-" Cas was stopped by a finger resting gently on top of his lips. He looked over into Dean's green eyes, seeing him frowning slightly.

"What did I tell you about doubting any of your decisions here?" Dean looked deep into his eyes.

"Uh," Cas stammered, "Nothing? I think…"

A small smirk was now adorning Dean's face. "Well, I'm saying it now. Any of this," he gestured to Cas' concerned face and anxious manner, "will be swiftly halted by and remedied via a surprise tickle fight."

Cas' eyes widened. He was extremely ticklish, and Dean knew it."You wouldn't…"

"Try me." Dean's eyes sparkled , his tone became more serious. "In all honesty, Cas, it's amazing what you did for Jack, and I couldn't be more proud to have someone as my soulmate."

Cas smiled, blushing under his gaze. "I just hope I can pull it off… for his sake as much as ours."

"I'm positive that you will." Dean stroked Cas' hair back affectionately. "You're amazing."

"You're the better one with kids, out of the two of us." Cas replied, offhand.

"Yeah, well, practically raising your younger brother by hand will do that to you." Dean's smile remained intact, though his eyes were back in faraway times, pain evident on his beautiful face.

Cas pulled him in for another kiss, cupping his face gently as their lips brushed together. His skin was warm.

They cuddled for a while, letting each other be calmed by the other's presence. Game of Thrones was on behind them, though the volume was on low, nothing that could startle or even minorly concern them. All that mattered was that they had each other.

Dean traced Cas' forearm, traced the four letters bringing them together at that very moment. He loved the way that Cas stroked his hair every time he finished tracing the tattoo. "You know, I think this'll be good."

"Hmm?" Cas hummed slightly, looking to him.

"Jack being here. This'll be good for us. He'll be good for us." Dean elaborated.

"I just hope we're good enough for him." Cas looked down the hall. "He needs good people in his life."

"I think we'll all be okay." The ghost of a smile was tugging at Dean's lips. "Trust me, Cas, you don't give yourself enough credit. Also, you're headed dangerously close into tickle territory," he warned.

"You were the one who brought it up this time!"

Dean just chuckled. "I love you…" He singsonged, and Cas could swear that he felt his heart melting.

"I love you too," Cas snuggled a little closer to Dean, feeling his eyes droop with sleepiness. A small yawn escaped his lips, and he felt Dean lean over and kiss his nose before untangling himself and standing up.

He heard, "Come on, Sunshine," and then Dean was picking him up, and walking him down the hall to their bedroom. "We can't have you sleeping on the couch, not when we have this million dollar mattress right down the hall."

He just blinked at him sleepily, the ghost of a smile adorning his lips.

He felt Dean shift to hold him in one hand as he opened the door, and felt him shift again to avoid the numerous boxes piled around their room. He could even hear Dean swear lightly under his breath as he stubbed his toe on one.

Eventually, it appeared that Dean had navigated the maze of boxes and made it to the bed, and he set Cas down softly on the soft mattress, crawling across him to curl up and spoon him."Night, Cas."

"...Night, Dean."

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

Tick tock.

There was a bloodcurdling scream from the next room over.

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Ok, so obviously, this is not the end. If you may have guessed. I'd just like to formally apologize one more time for the long wait, I've had almost no inspiration this entire time, but I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought, I love hearing it!