Chapter 8: Adolescent Adjustments

As anyone who's gone through it-or is currently going through it-can tell you, puberty is awful. The end result is pretty great most of the time, but the process is terrible. Harry was no exception, even with magic he had to go through the 'magic of puberty'-as Sam had glibly tried to reframe it. Harry had no idea what lay in store for him when Sam and Dean had pulled him aside on his twelfth birthday shortly after he'd unwrapped a new copy of Fallout from Bobby. They'd made a tradition of visiting Bobby often as they could, and with Cas' angel abilities and Sam usually managing apparition over a shorter distance (give or take 300 miles), it wasn't too hard to see him at least once or twice a month aside from birthdays and holidays-which were a given. Harry had already blown out his candles and enjoyed a large piece of the coconut frosted cake before presents, which turned out to be a wise choice given how he was soon going to lose his appetite. Bobby was busy talking to Cas about something involving angels and heaven's restructuring after the fall of… something or other-Harry couldn't quite hear their words from across the room-when the brothers pulled him aside.

"Hey, Harry-Dean and I wanted to talk to you for a bit about something. You okay if we go on a walk?" Sam asked. He was smiling, but it was half-hearted. Harry knew something was up, given how the two men had been on edge the last few days, but he figured whatever it was wasn't major-Otherwise they'd've talked to me about it before now.

"Sure." Harry replied, shrugging-hopefully whatever it is isn't too bad. While the brothers made it a point to never exclude Harry from information, they were sometimes selective with the details they provided-which makes sense, I guess. Since I'm a kid they don't wanna scar me for life or anything. The three walked out of the living room and through the front door into the bright summer sun. It was a quiet few minutes as they walked from the junkyard into the woods nearby, both adults clearly milling something over internally as they climbed upward. They came to a stop at a large rock with a picnic table on top of it that overlooked the valley where Bobby's house was.

"Y'know, when we were kids Sam and I used to hike up here sometimes when we stayed with Bobby." Dean stated, exhaling slightly as he looked down slightly to Harry. He fidgeted slightly with the button on his shirt sleeve as he sat down and gestured for Harry to follow suit. He did, and soon all three were sitting at the old half-rotten picnic table. It was quiet a moment as the men seemed to get themselves ready to speak. Harry didn't mind, at the moment he was happy enough breathing in the warm summer air and looking at the different pictures carved into the picnic table, probably by Sam and Dean when they were my age.

Sam finally broke the silence, "Harry we want to talk to you about something." He said as he swallowed dryly, knowing he should've packed the water bottle he'd left on the kitchen counter.

"About what?" Harry asked, studying the nervous faces that looked so different from the men that had been raising him for the last two years. Maybe it is something big…

"About growing up." Dean replied. "And, all the shit that comes with it."

Harry furrowed his brow. He'd heard a bit about puberty from classes at school over the last year or so, but nothing real specific or detailed. "Like, about puberty?"

"Yeah…" Sam said, "And we get that this is awkward, believe me-neither of us is thrilled about this, but we're gonna try to be as honest as we can."

"We figure, well, since you're our kid it makes sense to… explain everything." Dean concluded, waving his hand as he said the last portion.

Harry nodded, now understanding why they'd been quiet on the hike up: from the little he understood, he knew puberty was pretty gross.

"Okay, I guess it makes sense to start by talking about your body…" Sam said, mentally flipping through the notes he'd made.

"And if you need us to explain something, ask." Dean looked at Sam for a brief encouraging glimpse, "Neither of us had a normal 'talk' from our dad, and it wasn't great having to discover some of this shit on our own." Dean tried to smile, "But we're here for you and we want to make sure you aren't surprised by anything. Even if it is pretty fucking gross and weird, puberty's gotta happen."

Needless to say, the next 42 minutes weren't what any of the participants would consider enjoyable. It was awkward, uncomfortable, and somewhat unpleasant. There were questions and answers, some somewhat lewd anecdotes clearly truncated when it was apparent that certain details bared not repeating in the context of instruction, frank explanations of what would happen to his body, and discussions of how his feelings were natural-even if they seemed confusing…Dean had emphasized that last part. By the end of it Harry had a fairly comprehensive understanding of what the next few years would entail, and while not happy that it was happening, he was happy that he'd gotten it out of the way. And that Sam and Dean are willing to do it, even if they do look like they're just as ready to crawl out of their skin as I am right now.

"So, anything else you want to ask us?" Sam said as he rubbed his arm, finally finished with everything that he and Dean had thought to share.

"What if it's two guys?" Harry asked.

Sam blinked. It hadn't occurred to him that Harry might end up into men. Not that there was anything wrong with it. Just, so far he hasn't had any sorts of relationships or crushes… So, we don't really know what he'll end up into. "Um…"

"Because, well, I'm not really sure what I am."Harry said, and it was honest. So far he hadn't had any real inklings of a romantic attachment.

Dean smiled knowingly as he sighed lightly, "You'll figure out how to make it work. I did." He looked over at Sam, who was tilting his head slightly, as if gears were clicking into place.

"Wait…" Sam asked, his brow scrunching slightly.

"Yeah." Dean replied preemptively.

Sam blinked again, this time his head swiveling in the other direction. "Wait, really? I thought I was just reading too much into it."

Harry looked over at Dean, who sighed-this time more steadily from his nose than before, "Yes. But before I confirm it, I want him here too." After a quick moment with his eyes shut Cas had appeared.

"You said it was urgent. Is everyone alright?" The angel looked between the three sitting at the picnic table, observing only healthy humans.

"He figured it out." Dean smiled as he nodded to Harry. "I wanted you to be here when I officially said it."

Cas nodded, "I understand."

"Cas and I are together. We have been for a while." Dean said as he looked at his brother and his son. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner, but with everything going on I didn't want to make things change and complicate anything."

"That's okay." Harry replied, "When you guys get married I get to have three dads instead of two!" He grinned.

Dean's brow shot up slightly at the idea of marriage, and even Cas seemed a bit surprised. Sam just chuckled. "I had my suspicions." He looked at the angel, "Take good care of my idiot brother, maybe he'll listen to you better than me."

"Hey!" Dean frowned.

"If he did we could have averted a great deal of trouble already. He is as stubborn as he is loyal, which I admit makes an admirable companion." Cas smiled.

The four talked for a short while longer before they hiked back to Bobby's. After climbing back down the rock and through the forest they returned to the little blue house, ready to break the news to the eldest hunter.

***SPN-HP***

The next two years came and passed, and most of what had been discussed had happened. Harry had been a fair bit taller than he'd been when he first became a Winchester on that summer day, but eating well and getting regular exercise had helped to further fill in the skin and bones and allowed some of his energy to finally go to a growth spurt-so I fucking finally grew over five feet tall! Shortly after this the other changes had begun. Between the voice cracking and squeaking, the sudden arrival of body hair in places he never wanted any, and acne; Harry couldn't wait until he finally was an adult and through all the bullshit of being a teenager. Admittedly, being magical did help with quite a few of the issues: there were spells and potions to help deal with his voice and acne. And with contacts and a hunter-trained frame Harry was now far from the bottom of the totem pole in school. It also helped that he had an anti-possession tattoo, Sam and Dean had made sure he got it soon after the talk. While heaven and hell had ignored him so far, it made sense to keep anyone with the Winchester name safe. Plus it makes most of the other guys at school think I'm a badass, which isn't bad.

Harry had grown in other ways beyond the physical. In the years of training he and Sam had managed to become fairly competent wizards in their own rights. Harry wasn't capable of everything-not by a long shot-but he was at least able to do simple spells to protect himself, charm objects, and help out the brothers in their everyday lives. Sam was also advancing in magic. Possibly because of his age, certain spells had come faster for the younger Winchester brother. While Harry couldn't yet apparate or conjure a patronus, Sam could do both.

Sam did have to contend with a different magical issue, however. Because of the root of his magic being intertwined with Azazel's blood he had a much easier time with grey magic, and if he wanted to Sam was confident that dark magic would be simple for him-which is why I'm not even going to familiarize myself with any of that bullshit. Better to not know than to know it and accidentally do something.

Things were changing, but as they did the three Winchesters were adapting with it.

***Author's Note***

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the reviews! We're going to have some more focus on Harry the next couple of chapters, but Sam and Dean are still going to play big parts. Sorry if you don't ship Destiel, I promise this is the only real mention of it for this fic. As for Harry's question about it being two guys, I always got the impression that Harry might be bi or ace-given how he always seemed awkward whenever girls expressed interest in him in the books. I figure that without the pressures of the Dursleys or being "the chosen one" he can actually be a somewhat normal teen and figure out what or who he likes on his own terms.