Two Years Later.
Castiel sat in a black suit, in the driver's seat of the Impala, the engine purring as he and Jack waited for Sam and Dean. Jack, now six years old, sat in the passenger seat and was finishing off the paperwork on an assignment for his internship.
"How do you spell... enema," he asked. Cas' eyes narrowed incredulously and his mouth slowly parted before responding.
"Can't you finish that another time?" he leaned over and opened the glove box and Jack obediently placed the clipboard and pen inside before closing the compartment again. He sighed and looked out his window, toward Sam's house.
"What's taking them so long?" he inquired, looking back at his father with innocent confusion.
"I imagine that they had a lot to drink last night," Cas stated, switching on the radio. An advertisement for a local storage facility exploded through the speakers.
"-You have it, we cache it! Come by our all-new depo today!" Jack sighed again.
"You're being impatient," Castiel noted as he searched through the channels on the radio trying to find something he thought might interest Jack.
"It's hot," Jack complained, turning on the air conditioning and fiddling with the buttons on the front of his jacket, attempting to remove it with his seatbelt still on. Castiel pressed the buckle on Jack's belt to release it.
"It is". Cas stated matter of factly. Jack stopped for a moment, considering Castiel's words before responding.
"Is it hotter for you?" He looked up at his father before easily removing his jacket now. Castiel contemplated the question for a moment.
"I don't know." Castiel looked deep into his son's eyes.
"Do you miss it... your grace?" Jack asked while adjusting the cool air towards both his face and Castiel's. Castiel considered his query.
"It was… convenient... not necessary." he weighed.
"I'm thinking I might do it," Jack said, turning back to look at the house as the Winchester brothers made their way outside and toward the car, their laughs muffled as they playfully tried to trip each other as they walked. A smile tugged at the corner of Castiel's lips.
"Not until you're twenty-one" Castiel demanded changing the radio back to the local Rock station.
Sam grunted as he heaved his body into the back seat. Both he and Dean wore black suits that had been perfectly tailored to their bodies a few months prior. Dean sat behind his Castiel and squeezed his shoulder as he shut the car door behind him. Jack turned around in his seat and beamed at the brothers as they started up at the prospect of seeing the boy for the first time since he'd impressed the big wigs at his internship and started tagging along on fieldwork.
"Jack, Hey!" Sam greeted him by gripping his arm.
"Hey, buddy! How's Quantico?"
"It's really great," Jack announced. "It is hard to see all that pain... but it helps to know I'm making a difference." he sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it last night", His tone somber. Cas placed his hand on the back of Jack's seat and turned to look out the back window, sparing a quick look at his husband. He and Dean locked eyes for a moment and an amorous smirk rose up on Dean's face.
"Hey, no worries, man. I'm just glad you're here now", Sam stated earnestly and flashing him a small smile.
"What did you guys get up to yesterday after I left?" Castiel asked, pulling out of the driveway and onto the road.
"Well that depends...", Dean began, convincingly "I can't remember, did you and Garth leave before or after the strippers?" Cas' mouth formed a thin line as he tried not to react. Sam, noticing this gesture couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Cas looked at his brother in law through the rearview mirror.
"Oh. Yeah, very funny" He said with sarcasm while shaking his head at the now building laughter from the back of the car.
"No, really, Cas. You'd have loved her. Blonde, legs for days, ass you could bounce a whole wallet off."
"Give it a rest, Dean". Cas sighed, trying to hide his own smile.
"Honestly, it was a pretty quiet night," Sam said nodding at Cas in the mirror. "Neither of us are as young as we used to be so we just had a couple of beers and ended up talking about old cases."
"Reliving the glory days." Dean chimed in.
"I don't know" Jack interjected "I feel like I prefer how things are now, in comparison to how it used to be".
"You and me both, kid" Dean replied, sincerely. "It's just an expression."
"Did you guys hear about the vampire nest Kaia and Claire took out?" Jack asked the group. Dean nodded.
"Yeah," Cas replied solemnly.
"It's crazy," Sam stated.
"I guess it was always gonna start back up at some point" Dean began, shaking his head. "Some leftover vamp or werewolf from the uh... " he narrowed his eyes in thought "Thanos Snap… falls off the ledge and turns someone… who kills someone else…" The car fell silent for a moment. The air was suddenly morose.
"We're out now… they don't need us," Sam stated, almost as if he needed a reminder himself.
"Damn, right!" Dean agreed. His eyes glazed over as his mind raced through a montage of the many times he'd died, imagining himself replaced by Kaia or Claire or any of the newer generation of hunters. He just hoped that he had taught them all he could.
"You still teaching your Hacking class thing at the bunker these days, Mr. Robot?" Sam made a face at the reference.
"I'm still teaching I.T. once a month," He corrected. Dean nodded. He hoped that their combined knowledge would be enough to keep the kids safe if the bad guys started appearing again. He made a mental note to check in with all the hunters this evening, see if everyone seemed up to scratch, and ask if he could help out in any way. Dean was miles away when Jack spoke up again, stopping his thoughts.
"Cas thought you'd be hungover this morning" Jack piped. Dean snapped back to reality. He looked at the three other men in the car, confused for a moment.
"Did he now?... That's funny 'cause Cas knows my Shrink says drinking is an "unhealthy coping mechanism"" he began, grinning smugly "And I'm so well adjusted now'days, and so in touch with my emotions, that I'm basically Gandhi." He professed, scratching his face. "Besides, I haven't really wanted to drink since we opened the bar" Dean stated, brows raised and a smile. "Watching all the barflies three-sheets-to-the-wind themselves every night gives me PTSD" he joked. Sam pursed his lips at the flippant use of the term before continuing.
"We only had, uhh" He tried to remember "the two six-packs between us, I think".
"Yeah" Dean nodded.
"And it was a long day," Sam added.
"It's okay. You don't have to prove anything to me." Cas stated, eyes trained out the front window.
"Yeah? Well, I want to," Dean affirmed, playfully patting the top of the dark-haired man in front of him. Cas smiled.
"So, no strippers? Just campfire stories?" He asked, picturing the boys lazing around on the couch laughing at wild, dangerous tales from their previous life.
"Nah, I just wanted to do something small and tame". Sam reassured him.
"I don't know, Samuel, I don't think I'd call naked twister with those prostitutes 'small' or 'tame'." Dean beamed leaning into his brother trying to position himself to see Cas' face in the mirror, as Cas simply shook his head. He turned up the radio as Peace Train by Cat Stevens began to play.