September 2028 (Castiel is 39, Dean is 40, Eden is 15, Adrian is 11 (almost 12), the twins are 7 (almost 8), Noah is 2 and a half years old, Jo is 39, Tom is 41, Jason is 15 (almost 16), Emma is 11 years old, Gabriel is 43, Katie is 38, Mark (Katie's son) is 8).
Castiel and Dean woke up early Saturday morning when they heard Noah on the baby monitor. He slept in the crib with bars around so he couldn't get out so easily – he would try but rarely succeed. They still used the baby monitor to be able to hear Noah if he needed them.
Dean groaned and rolled over to see what the time was. It was only 5:45am, and the demon refused to get up that early on a Saturday, especially since he had first gone to bed after midnight the night before. He rolled back around and groaned into his pillow, and felt Cas stir next to him. The angel also groaned when he saw the time, but he forced himself to sit up in the bed and rubbed his eyes to wake himself up.
"How can he be awake so damn early in the weekends," Dean mumbled into his pillow.
Castiel gave a small grunt in reply before getting up from the bed and padding over to the door. Noah was still crying on the monitor, and when the angel reached his son's bedroom Noah stood in his crib and lifted his arms up towards him to be taken up. Castiel grabbed Noah under the arms and pulled him up into his arms. The boy stopped crying and snuggled into the angel.
"Are you crying because you missed me?" Castiel asked in a soft voice, and rocked Noah a little. Noah could speak a few words but he didn't speak as much as his older siblings had done at his age. Their family doctor, whom they took Noah to sometimes for a routine consultation, had said that Noah likely just didn't feel confident enough to speak a lot of words yet.
Noah made a small noise against Castiel as the angel held him, and Castiel smiled when he sensed Noah falling asleep against him. The boy had always been very clingy towards him. It had been a nightmare to make him get used to being in daycare all day and being away from his family and Castiel, but Noah was much more comfortable being left there now than he was at first.
Castiel held Noah against him and picked up his pacifier and plush animal before going back to his and Dean's bedroom.
Dean was almost asleep again, but he opened an eye when his mate returned with their youngest son sleeping against his chest. The demon snorted out an affectionate laugh. "Dude, that boy is way too attached to you, Cas."
"I know, but I'm honestly too sleepy to put him back in the crib and make him cry again, so he'll be sharing our bed for a few hours now," Castiel spoke. He put Noah onto the bed between him and Dean before climbing back under the covers and rolling over to lie behind Noah. The boy was curled up in fetal position facing Dean, and his small, fluffy grey wings were wrapped around him. They were still so small that they barely covered his arm as he lay there. His hair was black like Castiel's, and it was ruffled and stuck out in all directions because he had shifted during his sleep.
Dean smiled and shifted closer. Castiel wrapped his wing around himself and Noah as he lay behind their son, and the demon smiled and stroked his hand through the soft feathers in front of him. They shared a loving smile before closing their eyes to sleep again.
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In the afternoon everyone was busy getting ready for their guests. Jo and her family were dropping by to visit them for a few hours, and both Dean and Castiel looked forward to seeing their friends again. It had been nearly two months since they last saw each other. Eden seemed happy too because she had missed Jason.
Eden was fifteen years old now and was in the 10th grade in high school. The high school was separate from the combined elementary and middle school she had gone to but it was located close to it. She almost had the same height as Castiel now but was still a few inches shorter. Her wings had reached their full length by now and reached all the way down to her heels when they were folded behind her back. They were still dark red with different shades of brown and some grey in them, and they had somewhat of a roughness to them but couldn't turn sharp. Adrian too had grown a lot, and he was just a head smaller than his older sister. He was in the sixth grade now, and four days a week he was practicing taekwondo in a nearby studio. It was very common for many alphas to start doing sports or martial arts at his age.
Castiel and Eden had been baking pie and were now busy cleaning up the kitchen before the guests arrived. Noah had been playing quietly with some toys on the floor by the couch while they baked, but now he was coming over to them to show them his toys and get some attention. It made it a little harder for them to clean when they had to be careful not to trip over Noah as he walked around in front of them all the time.
"Noah," Castiel groaned and glanced down at the boy. "Go over to the TV and watch cartoons with the twins – Eden and I are busy at the moment," he told him.
Noah made a small noise of protest and stared up at him. He was clearly reluctant to go, and he grasped a few of Castiel's feathers to play with while he stared up at the angel with his large, blue eyes.
Eden chuckled. "Papa is right, go watch Tom and Jerry with Lily and Isaac. You love Tom and Jerry, don't you?" she spoke and smiled softly at her little brother. Noah glanced up at her from under his lashes while he touched a few of Castiel's soft, white feathers with his hands. He looked a little conflicted about what to do until he finally gave in and padded over to the television.
Molly was lying on the floor in front of the TV, napping, and she opened an eye when Noah came over. She was bigger now than she was before but not fully grown yet.
Lily was drawing something at the couch table, and Isaac was laughing while he watched Tom and Jerry. Isaac glanced at Noah when his little brother came over and collapsed over the beanbag. Noah liked to explore the beanbags and lay on his stomach on top of them while watching cartoons, and his little wings would flare happily behind him. The doors and the stairs had been blocked with baby gates, although Noah wasn't nearly as persistent to try to get through them as all his older siblings had been. When he was told he wasn't allowed to do something he would mostly obey after a few attempts to keep trying to do it, where the twins would never listen when they were told not to touch something or go into a certain room. Noah was probably the easiest baby they had ever had, but he was also the clingiest one and demanded a lot of attention.
Castiel and Eden chatted a bit while they helped each other clean, and Eden told him about her and Ariel's plans to have a sleepover at the house soon. Castiel agreed to it, happy that his daughter had found good friends in her life, despite being harassed by some of her other classmates at times.
They barely noticed when Isaac wandered over to them and opened the fridge to get a snack. Their backs were turned on him so the boy figured he could easily get away with it, but Castiel turned when he heard the fridge open and spotted Isaac grabbing one of the small yoghurt snacks.
"Isaac, put it back!" Castiel scolded and came over to grab the snack from his hands to put it back into the fridge. "You know that your father forbid you from having snacks for the rest of the weekend because you ate Lily's portion of candy last night." He stared firmly at Isaac who took a small step back and pouted at him.
Isaac and Lily were still little pranksters and were often up to no good – even with each other. School went pretty well for them and they had both gotten a few friends in class, but of course there were some classmates who didn't like them as much, mostly because their parents had told them not to interact with angel/demon hybrids. Isaac and Lily often drew funny things on the blackboard before the teachers entered, hid their classmates' stuff (mostly the bullies'), ran wildly around the corridors and classroom, and Isaac would sometimes make funny comments to something that the teacher or the classmates said during the class to make everyone laugh. Most teachers didn't mind that the twins brought some comedy into the class as long as they didn't overdo it or offended someone. Isaac was definitely the class' clown.
Isaac pouted up at Castiel after the angel took away his snack and closed the fridge. "But she said she didn't want it…"
"No, she said she was saving it for later," Castiel corrected him. "And you ate it instead, and now you're not getting any for the rest of the weekend."
"But Lily gets to eat candy! That's unfair!"
"No, it's completely fair," Eden intervened. "She didn't eat your candy, after all."
"Why is it always me who gets punished?" Isaac whined. His tail curled next to his leg, and it still had the nasty-looking scar on it after his accident a few years ago. The scar on his forehead was barely visible, but the ones on his left leg could still be seen a little.
Castiel smiled and pulled Isaac close while leaning down to place a kiss on top of his son's head. "Because you are naughty and can't keep your little fingers to yourself, that's why. Now, go back and look after your little brother and tidy up your toys; our guests are arriving soon."
Isaac sighed. "Okay, papa," he murmured and turned around to walk back to the living room. Noah was still watching TV and Lily was drawing, so Isaac sat back down and joined Noah while collecting his toys from the floor.
The door between the garage and entrance hall opened, and Dean and Adrian came into the living room. Adrian was grinning up at his dad who was grinning back and patting his head, and they walked over to the kitchen. Molly woke up when they entered and jumped up from her spot on the floor to greet them. Adrian grinned at her and scratched her behind the ears.
"Where were you? We've been looking for you," Castiel spoke and looked up when they came over.
"We were in the garage. Adrian helped me fix a few problems with the Impala; he's getting pretty good at it." Dean smiled proudly down at Adrian who smiled back up at him. Molly had gone back over to Isaac to get more attention.
Eden looked at their hands with a grimace. "Is that why your hands are dirty and gross?"
"They're not gross, just less clean," Adrian said and held up his hands to look at them. Eden shot him a look that clearly said that she disagreed, and Adrian grinned and moved his dirty hands over to her, threatening to touch her shirt. He laughed when she yelped and jumped behind Castiel to get away from her brother's filthy hands.
"You're stupid!" Eden hissed from behind Castiel, and peered around his wing to look at her brother.
"And you're such a girl," Adrian laughed.
Castiel chuckled in amusement, as did Dean.
"Hey, be nice to each other," Dean told them with a smile.
Castiel looked down at Dean's hands which were moving up to pat Adrian's head again. "Dean, if you touch our son's hair with that dirty hand once more I will shove you both into the shower with all your clothes on and turn on the cold water," he growled.
Dean immediately pulled his hand back and looked at him. "Okay, I won't touch him then," he grinned and held up his hands. Eden laughed and slowly moved away from behind her papa.
"Go wash your hands and change your clothes, you're awful to look at," Castiel said while he scowled between Dean and Adrian. "And take a shower too while you're at it; your wings are full of dirt, and I will not have you look like that when Jo arrives. Just be finished before the guests come." The two of them looked down at their skin and clothes and saw that they were indeed full of grease all over their skin, clothes, and wings.
"Yes, sir," Dean grinned teasingly.
"Papa is bossy," Adrian mumbled and turned around to head upstairs. Dean just chuckled and ruffled his hair, making Cas glare at him but the angel didn't protest since they were both heading to shower anyway.
Adrian went to shower upstairs while Dean took the downstairs bathroom, and they both pulled on a new set of clothes and threw the dirty ones in the laundry basket.
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When Jo and her family arrived, Dean and Castiel greeted them in the door and led them inside. Everyone was happy to see each other again, and the twins threw themselves over Emma and tried to persuade her to play hide and seek. Adrian insisted that he didn't want to join because it was a childish game, but after continuous nagging from his younger siblings he decided to join anyway.
They entered the living room and the younger children began playing. Jason and Eden glanced at each other every now and then while their parents chatted, and Eden was puzzled about why Jason averted her eyes every time she looked at him.
"I see that hide and seek is still a popular game," Jo remarked when the kids ran around to find a hiding place. Their laughter could be heard all over the house. Molly was running around with them, and Isaac scolded the dog when she busted his hiding place.
"Sure it is, we've played it a hundred times too, remember?" Dean smirked. "I especially remember when you got stuck in your parents' closet and screamed like mad when you couldn't get out," he chuckled.
"Hey, I was frightened! I was only six," Jo protested with an annoyed glare.
Tom and Castiel chuckled, and the angel glanced down at Noah who was hiding behind his leg and under his wing. The boy was always a little shy when guests came over, even though he knew Jo and her family well.
Jo smiled when she spotted Noah peering up at her from under Castiel's white feathers, but when they made eye contact Noah blushed shyly and hid himself completely behind his papa and his feathers.
"Aww, aren't you a cutie," Jo grinned at him. "Don't be so shy, I'm not gonna hurt you."
Dean chuckled and watched as Noah tried to pull the feathers back over him when Cas unfolded his wing to make him stop hiding. "Yeah, he's always shy around other people. He'll soften up in a few minutes."
"Don't you want to play with the others?" Castiel asked softly and peered down at Noah. He had to turn his upper body around to see him. Bright blue eyes peered up at him, partly covered by Noah's messy, black hair that would need to get cut soon. The boy softly shook his head and kept clinging to Castiel's leg, burying his face in the angel's pants shyly. Castiel smiled and turned around to pick up Noah, who immediately buried his face in his shirt when he got lifted up.
"Reminds me a bit of Adrian when he was younger, he was also hiding under your wings all the time, Cas," Jo chuckled fondly.
"Yes, but Noah is worse. He does play well with his friends in daycare though, although he mostly plays with the girls because they are calmer," Castiel spoke and rocked Noah on his arm. The boy's black hair was just as messy as his own, and his little grey wings flared shyly every now and then. He peered around at the others sometimes, but whenever he made eye contact with someone he would turn shy again and hide his face. He would grin at them though, indicating that he wasn't entirely uncomfortable around them.
"Well, he is a girl in a way so there is nothing wrong about that," Jo remarked with a chuckle.
"Sounds so weird when you say it like that," Tom muttered.
Dean laughed. "Well, Cas is a bit of a girl too." He grinned at Cas and gave the angel a playful nudge with his wing, teasing him.
"Shut up, Dean," the angel muttered, and looked down at Noah whose face was still buried in his shirt. He could feel the boy starting to relax a little now which was good.
Eden smiled fondly at her little brother and came over to stand next to Castiel. She stroked Noah's little hand, making him look at her from where his face was buried in Cas' shirt, and he giggled slightly when she gently poked his side to tease him. Eden grinned fondly and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before stepping back.
"Eden is the nice big sister as always," Jo noted with a smile. Tom nodded in agreement next to her, while Jason stared at Eden silently.
"Yeah, we wouldn't know what to do without her sometimes," Dean smiled and gave Eden a gentle shove when Cas moved over to the couch and Dean followed him. Eden gave him a little smirk as he passed her and slapped her tail against his. Dean laughed softly and gestured for Jo and Tom to join them on the couch.
Jason looked hesitant to join because listening to your parents talking with their friends wasn't all that interesting when you were almost sixteen. Eden smiled knowingly at him and came over to him. "Wanna go up to my room, as always?" she asked.
"Sure, why not," Jason shrugged and joined her up the stairs.
Their younger siblings were still playing hide and seek, and Adrian was counting to fifty in the entrance hall. Isaac ran in the direction of the laundry room, and Eden and Jason had to quickly step aside on the stairs when Emma and Lily ran up the stairs next to them and almost knocked them over.
"Hey, be careful!" Eden scolded them as they ran by.
"Sorry!" Lily giggled and disappeared into Dean and Castiel's bedroom while Emma hid behind a big plant in the hallway.
Eden rolled her eyes and led Jason into her room. Once they were inside, she closed the door and locked it so that they wouldn't be bothered by the kids again. Her room was painted in a creamy white color now – it had had a light pink color before when she was younger – and the few posters on the walls were mostly from movies that she liked. It was extremely tidy in there because Eden hated when her room was a mess, and the shelves were filled with books, a few DVDs and games, some of her favorite plush toys from when she was younger, and there were a few photo frames her with her family and her best friends.
Jason's eyes darkened a bit when he saw a photo of Eden and Carter together with Ariel before quickly looking away again. Eden talked a lot about Carter and Jason didn't like him much, even though he had never actually met him yet.
They could hear playful screams from the hallway outside when Adrian seemed to have found Emma behind the plant, and Eden chuckled softly. "Hide and seek is a fun game, but I get tired of playing it with the twins all the time."
Jason chortled. "Yeah, it's more fun when you're younger."
Eden smiled and agreed, and they both ended up standing in awkward silence again. Her tail moved nervously behind her as she tried to think of something to talk about or do, and she frowned when Jason seemed to purposefully avoid looking at her. Her eyes briefly travelled over her friend's thin but more muscled appearance and the more visible hairs on his arms. When she looked at his face, she saw him frowning at one of her posters before chuckling.
"Isn't that your uncle Gabriel?" Jason chuckled as he pointed at the poster.
Eden followed his gaze to the poster across from her bed which had Gabriel and his band pictured on it. "Yeah, he gave it to me recently and said I should put it in my room to have something sexy to look at. I don't think it's particularly sexy, though," she chuckled.
Jason laughed. "Your uncle is crazy. Katherine has a poster of his band too, and she was shocked to hear that I know the guy…"
Eden frowned. "Who's Katherine?"
Jason tensed for moment and glanced at her guiltily. "Um, Katherine is my girlfriend. Didn't I tell you about her…?"
The room was filled with awkward silence for a few seconds.
"No, you didn't…" Eden muttered and stared down at the floor. She shifted uncomfortably as a weird, negative feeling spread inside of her that reminded her too much of hurt and jealousy. "When did you meet her?" she asked in a quiet voice and glanced up at Jason from under her lashes.
Jason shifted a little. "Um, I've known her for about a year, she's in the grade below me. We got together about four weeks ago." He looked over at Eden, studying her face intensely as she silently nodded and averted his eyes while staring at her feet. He would almost think that she looked hurt that he had found someone else, but Jason couldn't wait for her forever, especially not when she always talked so eagerly about another boy – Carter.
"It's just weird… to picture you with a girlfriend," Eden spoke and gave him a wry smile.
Jason smiled a little. "Yeah, but she's really nice and she's human like me. My parents like her a lot too." He missed the way Eden's tail tensed at his words.
"I see," Eden spoke, staring at her feet.
There was an awkward silence again until Jason looked over at Eden's desk. He smiled widely when he saw an old picture of him and Eden where he was blushing like mad while Eden slung an arm around his shoulder to pose for the camera. "I remember that photo. I have the same one at home somewhere," he said and walked over to look at it.
Eden turned and glanced at the photo he was referring to. "Oh. Yeah, I've had it for many years. I like it because you look so much like a girl on that picture with the way you blush."
"Hey!" Jason protested and chuckled playfully.
Eden laughed.
Jason looked back at the photo and reached over to touch the frame. He absently stroked his thumb over the picture and Eden's wings on it. "Your wings are a lot bigger now, though," he muttered absently.
Eden shifted and scowled slightly at him. "You do know it's inappropriate to comment on a girl's wings, right?"
Jason snapped his head in her direction and looked mortified. "Oh right, I'm sorry!"
Eden laughed softly at her friend's reaction. "It's okay, but it is sort of like commenting on a human girl's butt or something. Not sure if Katherinewould approve of that." The last part was spoken somewhat bitterly, and she cringed at herself.
"I guess not," her friend muttered.
They stared at each other for a few moments, in silence. Usually they'd play a game together in each other's rooms, but the whole subject of girlfriends put a dark cloud over the room.
Both of them jumped when there was a hard knocking on the door a few seconds later that kept repeating and getting louder. Eden rolled her eyes as she went over to unlock and open the door. "What?" she snapped lightly when she spotted Adrian outside her door. He always knocked very hard and continued knocking until the door was opened or until she replied, and it got on Eden's nerves every time.
"Jeez, do you have PMS?" Adrian asked with a scrunched nose. "Just wanted to say that dad and papa are calling us down to have pie now."
"Already?" Eden frowned.
"Yeah, apparently the twins are starving and so are the guests," Adrian shrugged. He peered behind Eden's wings and saw Jason standing a few feet behind her. He gave Jason a small wave with his hand and Jason smiled and waved back, before Adrian went away from the door and headed downstairs.
Eden glanced over her shoulder at her friend. "Wanna go?"
"Sure."
They went out of her room and Eden locked it behind her to make sure that the twins wouldn't get a chance to go inside and make a mess of it.
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They went outside after having eaten pie when the weather finally cleared up a bit. The children began playing soccer in the garden, and the adults watched from the garden table on the terrace. Eden and Jason were playing too – Eden was with Lily and Emma, and Jason was with Adrian and Isaac, so it was the boys vs. the girls.
Molly was running between them all the time, making playing a bit difficult, but they didn't mind much.
Jason was a very skilled player because he played on a soccer team at his school, but he took it easy on the girls to give them a chance – something that kind of annoyed Eden because she wasn't a bad player. When it was her and Jason battling for the ball, she could easily feel that her friend wasn't giving everything he had and almost just let her take the ball, so she decided to play it easy as well to provoke Jason into taking her seriously. When Jason finally began fighting for the ball for real, Adrian had come over to help him get the ball away from Eden because he had gotten impatient, so Eden quickly tried to push it away from them. The three of them were pushing against each other as they fought over the ball, and Eden finally managed to give the ball a good kick in Emma's direction, but she lost her balance when she tripped over Adrian's feet and ended up falling into Jason. She let out a loud yelp as they both crashed to the ground and she landed on top of him.
"Uff!" Jason exclaimed when he hit the ground and Eden landed right on his chest, knocking the air out of him. They could both hear the girls cheering when Emma kicked the ball into goal past Isaac, but at the moment they were both busy groaning in discomfort over the fall.
Eden grunted and used her arms to lift herself off of Jason's chest. She blushed furiously when she realized her face had just been buried in his shirt and that her boobs had been pressed into him. Not to mention that her hip was currently resting right on Jason's crotch. She stared back at Jason completely mortified when she felt the slight bulge of his crotch against her hip, and she quickly scrambled to her feet. Her wings flared out briefly before she got them under control and folded them back behind her back.
Jason had tensed up when Eden was on top of him, and he blinked at her when she quickly got up before getting up as well. He blushed briefly and looked away, embarrassed.
"Are you two done kissing the grass with each other? The game isn't over yet," Adrian said from a few feet behind Jason, where he and the others were waiting for them to get back in the game. Molly barked and wagged her tail, obviously wanting to get on with the game as well.
"We weren't kissing anything!" Eden blurted at him, flushing in embarrassment, and walked past Jason to continue the game. She gave Adrian a small push in annoyance when he smirked at her. She could feel Jason's eyes on her but she shrugged it off and they continued playing.
Meanwhile, Dean and Castiel were talking with Jo and Tom at the table on the terrace and absently watched the kids playing in the garden.
"Damn, what a nasty fall," Jo remarked when she saw Eden fall into Jason on the lawn. "Let's hope they don't stumble like that into bed," she smirked and looked over at Dean and Castiel across the table.
Dean chocked on his beer and coughed like mad, causing Jo to crack up. Castiel stared at her with wide, shocked eyes while Noah sat on his lap.
Tom chuckled. "Well, I don't think that's gonna happen. Jason has Katherine, after all…" he reminded his wife and took a sip from his own beer.
"I'm just saying," Jo argued and turned to scowl at Tom.
"Don't give me horrible images in my mind – my girl is too young for such things," Dean groaned after he recovered from his coughing.
Castiel looked at his mate with a small smile, and glanced down at Noah who was sitting on his lap and playing with a dinosaur toy in his hands. "I was a little surprised to hear that Jason has got a girlfriend now. Sometimes I forget how old they are," he muttered absently as he looked at Noah.
"They grow fast," Jo sighed.
"Too fast," Dean smiled and reached down to poke Noah. The boy yelped softly and turned his head to look up at Dean. A grin appeared on his face before he turned his attention back to the toy. It was a blue dinosaur that was pretty soft and safe for babies and toddlers to play with. He squeezed it a little, causing a funny sound to come out, before putting it up to his mouth and chewed on it. "Can't believe you like that taste," Dean chuckled and ruffled Noah's messy black hair fondly. Jo smiled at the scene.
Suddenly there was a loud scream from the garden, and the adults quickly looked down towards the children and saw Lily come running towards them, crying.
"Papa! Isaac stepped on my tail!" she cried and ran over to Castiel for comfort. The angel frowned in concern and gently put Noah down before he got up from his seat and went over to kneel in front of Lily. The girl was sniffing and sobbing, and Castiel carefully took her tail in his hands to see if she was in pain. She let out a small cry of pain and flinched away from his hand, and Castiel shushed her gently and pulled her into a hug while he kneeled in front of her. The tail didn't seem to be injured; it was likely just a little bruised.
Isaac was standing in the garden, staring at his feet in shame while the others looked at him.
Dean groaned and got up from the table. He walked down into the garden towards Isaac, who was shrinking back when he noticed his father's anger. "Why did you step on your sister's tail?" he demanded and stared firmly down at Isaac.
"I didn't mean to… She sat down to fix her shoelace and I accidentally stepped on her tail while playing," Isaac muttered and glanced up at him from under his lashes. His own tail curled in shame behind him, and he looked genuinely sorry about what he had done.
"Yeah, I don't think he meant to," Adrian spoke, and glanced between Isaac and their father. "I almost stepped on her as well."
Dean sighed and gestured for Isaac to come closer. The boy warily padded over to him, and Dean gave him a little pat on the shoulder. "If it was an accident then it can't be helped. But I trust you to know not to do such things on purpose."
"I wouldn't! Lily is my favorite twin," Isaac exclaimed.
Dean chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Good. Wanna go up and comfort your sister?" Isaac nodded and followed Dean up to the terrace, where Castiel and Jo were kneeling down to comfort Lily and check on her tail once more.
"Guess the game is on break now," Adrian muttered and went up to the terrace as well. Emma and Molly followed.
Jason and Eden watched them go and lingered in the garden. Jason watched as Lily sniffled softly but had calmed down now before he turned to look at Eden. "Sounds like it hurts to have your tail stepped on."
Eden cringed a little. "Yeah, especially if the base of the tail gets tugged at. But it hurts more to have your wings injured."
"I wouldn't know; I don't have either of those," Jason smirked.
Eden looked at him with a small, amused smirk. "No, you don't. Kinda makes you a freak," she joked, giggling. Jason chuckled, and they moved up to the terrace to the others.
Noah was standing by the garden table, watching silently as Lily cried and Castiel and Dean tried to comfort her. He blinked when he saw the others looking at Lily's tail and touching it carefully to see how it was. When his siblings came up on the terrace as well, Noah looked between their tails before peering around himself, trying to spot a tail that wasn't there.
When Lily had calmed down again, Castiel looked over at Noah to see what he was doing. He had been so occupied with comforting Lily that he had forgotten to keep an eye out for his youngest child. He gave his son a sad smile when he saw the little boy peering around himself and touching his lower back to search for a hidden tail. He walked over and pulled Noah up into his arms, and Noah immediately leaned into him.
"Tail envy?" Jo said as she looked at Castiel and Noah. She smiled in sympathy at little Noah who seemed a little confused over his missing tail. It didn't make sense to the little boy that all his siblings had tails when he didn't.
"I'm afraid so," Castiel sighed and rocked Noah gently. "He's becoming more self-conscious lately and is starting to notice his differences… although he doesn't fully understand them yet." The other children looked over at their youngest brother in sympathy.
"Don't be sad, Noah, tails can hurt sometimes," Adrian told his little brother, and went over to him and Castiel to comfort the youngest one.
"Uhhuh," Lily agreed, sniffing.
Dean smiled when Noah still had that sad and confused expression on his face, and he walked over to stand in front of Castiel and leaned in to place a soft kiss on Noah's cheek. "Adrian's right, don't be sad." Castiel smiled and looked at Noah who seemed to be in a bit better mood now.
"I didn't think he'd have tail envy this early," Tom said.
"I think he's more confused about why he doesn't have one when all his siblings do," Dean spoke, and gently stroked Noah's bare arm with his finger while the boy sat on Cas' arm. He gave his son a smile before turning around to face the others again. "And it certainly doesn't help when Isaac shoves his tail into Noah's face while watching cartoons," he mumbled and glared down at Isaac.
"I'm not doing it on purpose – he's always sitting behind me," Isaac mumbled. When Isaac got excited over something on the TV, he'd often move his tail back and forth, catching Noah's attention when the younger boy was behind him.
"I hope he won't be too sad when he grows up…" Eden spoke, looking genuinely worried for her youngest brother.
Jo smiled at her. "I think he'll be okay. Having no tail is cool – makes dressing so much easier."
"Yeah? You're the one who wore fake tails as a kid to look like me," Dean smirked.
The others laughed and Jo's face went pink. "You just can't shut up, can you?" she grumbled.
"Nope, I got that from you," Dean grinned. He jumped back when Jo tried slapping his arm, and the children laughed. They loved to watch Dean and Jo get into their friendly fights and behave like children sometimes.
They sat back down at the table and the children started playing another game. Eden and Jason joined. Although they were teenagers now they still participated in their younger siblings' play sometimes. Adrian and Jason got along well, and Adrian was always excited to have Jason show him new moves and tricks in the games they played because Jason was older and more experienced. He was a bit like the older brother that Adrian didn't have.
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When it was time to part with the guests after dinner, the children all waited in the living room for the adults to finish their last bit of talking. Saying goodbye could take a while because Jo always found something new to say right before leaving.
Jason sighed as he listened to his mother telling Castiel about some new recipe she had found on the internet and which he thought the angel should try. When he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, signaling that he got a text message, he pulled his cell phone up and started typing on it while waiting.
Emma, Lily, and Isaac were tumbling around while waiting for their parents to finish, while Adrian and Eden stood and waited as patiently as they could.
When Eden saw Jason start typing on his phone, she came over and asked, "Friend of yours?"
Jason glanced up at her before he kept typing. "Yeah… Katherine is texting me about something."
"Oh," Eden said, her wings drooping slightly behind her. She almost regretted having asked. She glanced down at Molly while scratching her behind the ears and smiled at her, and the dog looked up at her with her brown eyes.
When the guests were finally ready to leave, they all said goodbye to each other and hugged. Eden was about to hug Jason like she always did but she held herself back. It felt too awkward and wrong now that he had a girlfriend. She avoided looking at Jason when he was clearly confused about why she had pulled back when she was about to hug him, but he didn't make any moves towards hugging her either.
Everyone yelled goodbye and waved at Jo and her family when they went out to their car and drove away, and Emma giggled when Isaac was jumping hyperly while waving at them.
Once the guests were gone the family went back inside and closed the door. The twins went over to watch cartoons before bed, and Castiel went upstairs to put Noah to bed when he got sleepy. The boy protested softly and squirmed when Castiel carried him upstairs, but as soon as he was in his bed he calmed down.
Eden lingered in the doorway to the living room, and Dean came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Something wrong?" he asked. "You didn't hug Jason like you always do. Did you two get into a fight or something?"
"No, it's just… He's got a girlfriend, dad, I can't hug him…"
"Of course you can – I hug other people even though Cas is my mate. Hugs don't necessarily mean that you like them romantically."
"I know that, but it just felt wrong," Eden muttered, staring at her feet.
"Is Eden sad?" Lily asked from the TV, and stared at her big sister in worry. She shrieked when Molly jumped at her from behind. "Molly!" she laughed, shrugging the dog off.
"No, I'm fine," Eden reassured her with a soft smile and chuckled at Molly's behavior. She smiled at Dean in gratitude before moving away from him. "Aren't Gabe and Katie dropping by soon?"
"Yeah, we're gonna babysit Katie's son Mark until tomorrow, so they should be here any minute now…" Dean muttered and looked at his wristwatch. Gabriel had called them a week ago to ask them to babysit Mark while he and Katie went somewhere – Katie and her son had moved in with Gabriel about eleven months ago. Dean wasn't sure what the two had in mind, but he suspected that Gabe had planned some cheesy night together with his girlfriend for just the two of them.
Castiel came downstairs again after having put Noah to bed, and a few minutes later the doorbell finally rang. Castiel answered the door was met by Gabriel who pulled him into a tight hug while grinning at him.
"Baby bro! I missed you!" Gabriel exclaimed, hugging his brother even though Castiel was beginning to try to pull free.
"Gabriel," Castiel muttered into his brother's shirt and flared his wings when Gabe wouldn't let go.
"Don't kill your little brother," Katie scolded Gabriel and gave his wing a little slap to make him let go.
Gabriel finally pulled back, looking at Castiel with a wide grin, before going inside and hugging the others as well. Dean gasped when the air was knocked out of him, and Lily and Isaac jumped up and down in joy over seeing their uncle again.
Castiel invited Katie and Mark inside, shaking Katie's hand and smiling at the boy before closing the door behind them.
Katie was five years younger than Gabriel. She was a full blood angel with grey feathers and a few white ones in between, her eyes were blue/grey, and she had shoulder-long dark brown hair. Her son Mark stood next to her – he was eight years old, had grey wings with a few white feathers like his mother, hazel eyes, and brown hair. They had met Katie and Mark before so they weren't complete strangers to each other.
"I'm so glad you can babysit Mark for tonight. My parents are both too busy to take him," Katie smiled when she entered.
"You're welcome, it's a pleasure to," Castiel smiled and led her into the living room with the others.
The twins jumped over to Mark to interact with him. They had gotten along well the last time they met him, and they were the same age. As soon as he saw the twins, Mark finally stepped away from his mother and joined them in playing.
"Hey Molly! Such a good doggie!" Gabriel exclaimed when Molly came over to greet him. He scratched her behind the ears and patted her fur, and the dog wagged her tail in response and tried to lick his face.
Isaac and Lily grinned and came over to pat Molly as well.
"Wow, Eden, you're still so short. Don't you drink enough milk?" Gabriel teased when he saw that Eden was still not taller than Castiel was. Gabriel himself was only a few inches taller than Cas, so he wasn't a very tall person either.
"I drink milk," Eden muttered. "And you should talk – you're not tall either."
"Hey, I'm taller than you!"
Katie rolled her eyes at Gabriel. She was a few inches shorter than him, around Castiel's height.
"Uncle Gabe, uncle Gabe!" Isaac cheered and ran over to him. "You promised me you'd teach me magic tricks with cards!"
"Whoa, a magician never reveals his secrets," Gabriel told him. He had learned magic when he was younger and had performed a few times at private events.
"But you promised!" Isaac pouted.
"Well, in that case I'll make an exception… if you can keep the trick secret," Gabriel smirked. Isaac nodded eagerly and Gabriel ruffled his hair fondly and laughed at him. "But not today, kiddo, haven't got the time." Isaac looked up at him, acting offended and disappointed but Gabriel stood his ground. He looked over at Dean and asked, "Unless you don't want me to teach him?"
"Nah, it's fine, what harm can it do. Besides, Isaac loves to entertain people and fool around, and doing magic tricks is much better than pulling other silly pranks," Dean shrugged.
"He drew on my door the other day, so I think I prefer magic tricks too," Adrian muttered. Eden laughed, causing him to glare at her.
Katie gasped. "No way? He did?"
"Yes, and Isaac cleaned it himself," Castiel spoke and looked firmly at his son.
"Quite a trouble-maker, aren't you?" Katie chuckled as she looked down at Isaac.
Isaac shifted a bit. "Yeah, 'cause it was fun. But cleaning it up wasn't so fun…"
Gabriel laughed. "It never is."
They chatted for a while and shared some news about their lives before it was time for Katie and Gabriel to leave. Castiel smiled to himself when he saw his brother grab Katie's hand and entwine their fingers as they prepared to leave. The two of them seemed deeply in love. It was then that Castiel felt a slight change in his brother's aura.
Castiel gasped. "You've bonded?" he asked as they were about to leave. Dean looked at him in surprise before concentrating on searching Gabriel and Katie's auras as well, weakly sensing their bond.
The children gasped and looked at them.
"Wow, I thought you'd never notice!" Gabriel laughed.
Katie chuckled and blushed a little. "Yes, but it's still very new."
Castiel was amazed. Gabriel hadn't even bonded with Kali, so his brother must really love this woman to bond with her. He smiled widely at them. "I'm happy for you."
"Wow, didn't even know you could do that…" Dean joked and gave Gabriel and teasing smirk.
"Hey!" Gabriel laughed.
"That's nice," Eden smiled.
"Now you just need more babies!" Isaac exclaimed out of the blue, making everyone turn to look at him.
"Yay, babies!" Lily cheered.
"Whoa, easy on the horses, guys," Gabriel said and laughed at his nephew's boldness.
"I wouldn't mind having a younger sibling, even though Loki is kinda my sister," Mark admitted.
"Mark," Katie whined, embarrassed.
Dean laughed at the way Gabriel and Katie squirmed a bit. "Come on, kids, no more embarrassing comments, let the guests leave."
They said goodbye, and Mark got a hug from Gabriel and Katie before they left him with the Winchester family. They'd be picking him up again the following day.
After the guests were gone they all spend some time in the living room before heading to bed. Mark would sleep in Isaac's room which both of them didn't mind – they had become rather good friends. Mark was used to being around hyper people since he lived with Gabriel now, so Isaac's wild and hyper personality didn't bother him much even if he was a bit more quiet himself.
Dean and Castiel went to bed at around 11pm after having sat on the couch together and cuddled. They got into bed soon afterwards and made slow love to each other before sleeping, wrapped in each other's wings.
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Author's notes: Updates will be coming slower now, sorry about that. And yes, Jason's got another girlfriend now but that might change… :) I just love Eden and Jason together so you'll see a lot more of them in upcoming chapters. The story is slowly headed for its end but there are still quite a few chapters to go before I end it. Thanks to all the readers who are still with me, you make it worth it! :)
Please leave some feedback for me :)