Chapter Two: Down the Avenue
You're feeling isolate
And all kinds frustrate
But I love you as you are,
Love you as you are, yeah
And don't worry about the hate
It don't fit in those boxes they create
And it's tearing you apart, it's tearing you apart,
Yeah
And when you build those walls
To keep you safe
It's like a prison you can't escape
You tear them down, you just might hear me say
I love you as you are
I love you as you are
And when the whole damn world doesn't know
What they got til it's gone I love you
I love you as you are
I love you as you are
And when the whole damn world doesn't know
What they got til it's gone, I love you
I love you as you are
Ben stood there for a moment, just frozen in shock. He hadn't expected to come home and see his parents fucking on the couch. He finally snapped out of it and tossed his coat on the floor. "Dad, Cas, what the hell?" He said, covering his eyes, his bookbag dropping to the floor as well. Ben heard voices and feet, and Callie had come in, and was standing there with her mouth open in shock when Ben pulled his hands away. Dean and Cas had put themselves together, and some of Ben's curls fell over his eyes. "I can't….. You have a bed for that reason!" He said, his cheeks still flushed with embarrassment.
Blushing himself, Cas ran his hands through his black mussed sex hair, trying to tame it a bit. Dean wasn't even looking sheepish, he was looking gleeful. "Dean Henry, get that look off your face." Cas told him, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. When Dean didn't rearrange his features, Cas tickled his side a bit, and that did the trick, after Dean was done laughing, he looked a little sheepish. Not as much as Cas would have liked, but it was good enough for him.
"We're sorry, Ben, we kind of just got carried away." Cas said, knowing that he and Dean still had to change clothes. "We'll be right back. Need to change."
On their way upstairs, they ran into Claire and Julie, headed down, their faces flushed and hair messed up as well. Dean smirked. "Looks like someone else got some too." He said, and Claire gave him a look, saying, gross, Dad. Dean just playfully tweaked her hair and he and Cas headed for their bedroom. Dean tossed all of his clothes in the dirty clothes hamper. "That was fun. Ben's scarred for life." He said, unable to keep from laughing. "Dad never brought anyone home until Ellen, so that's never happened to me before." He knew that it hadn't happened to Cas, His parents had not been sexual people or been carried away by passion like that easily.
"You are just so so funny, Dean." Cas said, sounding exasperated but it wasn't in a real serious way. "You should apologize to him too. I wasn't alone on the couch with my right hand." He said, he'd gotten his own clothes off and was taking some new out of one of the dresser drawers. He pulled out a pair of Dean's pj bottoms and grabbed one of his tee shirts too, he liked wearing Dean's clothes and he knew that Dean liked him to. As he was finishing sliding the pj bottoms in place, Dean's arms slid around his waist, playing with the waistline of the pants.
Cas shivered under his touch. "Dean, what are you doing? Frankie and Jamie will be back soon, I got a text from Jo." Dean's breath was hot on his neck as he nibbled Cas' left earlobe.
"Touching my gorgeous and sexy husband." Dean replied, his hand slipping in the front of the pj bottoms and taking Cas' length in his hand, fingers rubbing up and down the shaft. Cas' breath was shallow, and he shivered under Dean's ministrations. He cupped Cas' balls, stroking them and then his hand moving up along the shaft again, his thumb pressing on the tip. Cas was growing hard in his hand again. "Mmmm, so soon, Mr. Winchester? I'm impressed." Dean's voice was silky and hot against Cas' ear, and then he moved along his throat, pressing kisses along the collarbone.
Letting him briefly touch him, Cas shook off the sexy thoughts and feelings and stepped away. "No more, wait till later." Cas told him. "I don't want to ruin these too, we haven't done laundry in a couple of weeks." He said, and Dean pouted. Cas stepped forward and kissed him, his hand touching Dean's chest right where his heart was. "I promise, it will be worth the wait, Mr. Winchester." He purred, and stroking Dean's chest once more, stepped back and reached for the shirt. "I'm going to get dinner started, we're having tuna casserole."
A smile lit up Dean's features. "That sounds good." He would eat just about anything, except healthy food, which he called "rabbit food". He pulled on his own clothes, sans underwear, (he would have gotten out the pink satin panties that Cas liked, but he didn't want the kids to know he owned any) and followed Cas downstairs. Ben, Claire, and Julie were all in the living room, the tv was on and homework was going on. Dean stopped long enough to do as Cas had said, apologize to Ben. "I'm sorry that you had to see Cas and I like that." Dean told him, running a hand through his brown hair. "If you get your homework finished, there's ice cream as a reward. That goes for you two also." He said this to Julie and Claire, who just shot him sly looks.
Then he headed into the kitchen, Callie was with Cas at the stove, Cas was putting on a pan of water to boil for the water. The phone was ringing, so Dean moved to answer it. It was his father. "Hey, Dad. We're ready for you when you're discharged." Dean told him, walking with the phone to get a beer out of the fridge.
Settled back in his hospital bed, John was waiting for Jodi to come and visit. She was sneaking in some food that was contraband, but it wasn't too unhealthy. She was heading over with Chipotle. He was fine with that, it was all natural and he was starved. The hospital food was horrible, even for a Dallas cop. A highly decorated one at that. John brushed his hand across his scruffy face. "Dean, I'm ready to come, trust me." He was going to stay with his son and son in law while he was recuperating because Jodi was of course still working and couldn't take the time off. John didn't mind though, they weren't even going steady and he would get to see the kids and grandkids every day.
"Jode's bringing me something to eat that isn't the disgusting hospital fare." John said, he'd been reading before he called to check in, a Stephen King novel was on his table that was attached to the bed. He also had a can of Sprite there and some crackers. They were going to be checking his vitals in a bit, and give him some more medication. John really couldn't wait to get out of the place. Even if they were taking great care of him. "She's kind of what I wanted to talk about. I know you aren't ready to discuss Callie and that's fine." John said, and waited until Dean had acknowledged this before he continued.
A breath, and he was talking. "So, Jodi and I are…. We're talking, I guess you would say. I know it's not called that anymore, but we're… we're starting something. It's not even remotely serious, at least, not yet. I don't know that I'm ready for serious." John was still missing Ellen greatly. "Is that going to be okay with you and Cas? I still have to get Sam and Jo's thoughts."
This was not a surprise to Dean. Not that it was happening, that John wanted to talk about it right now. "We're ready for you, too, Dad. Believe me. Jamie keeps asking for "Gmpa", which I know means you." Dean sat down at the table and cracked open his beer. There was giggling from his husband and Callie, and Dean wondered why she hadn't joined the homework party in the living room. Speaking of, they were just loud enough that Dean knew some actual work was going on.
"Dad, you can date Jodi if you want to. You know how much we all care about her." Dean said, she'd been a family friend for a long time. "All we want is for you to be happy, Dad. If that's Jodi, it's Jodi." Dean knew that there was no shock in him that it wasn't serious. Dean knew that he'd taken losing Ellen hard, and Jodi had just been there. He didn't even remotely think that he was using Jodi, but she wasn't going to be more than a rebound. He didn't want to say this out loud though, he knew that his father would just deny it.
"Don't worry about that, just look forward to coming here and getting out of there."
Although he'd known that would be what Dean would say, he was still relieved and let out a sigh to show it. "I know that you want that, Dean. I know that's what all you kids want. I have to admit… I didn't see this coming. You know I'm still…. Grieving." This was said after a long pause, and he knew that Dean would just wait for him to continue. It took him a moment to get his voice back to normal. "I miss Ellen like crazy. She doesn't get to see her own granddaughter grow up. It's really not fair." They had of course discussed this before, but it was still kind of hitting him that she was really gone. "We've already lost so many people. I can't lose anymore." He was quiet a minute more as he gathered himself once again.
"She loved all you kids. And Jodi does too, but you know that."
They talked a bit more, and then John had to go, Jodi had arrived. Dean hung up and then set his eyes on Cas and Callie, who were still talking animatedly at the stove. Dean supposed that he was going to have to deal with Callie staying for dinner. She seemed to be getting along well with his husband. Dean knew that was just Cas though, he was a cinnamon roll and could get along with just about anyone. Dean could be one when he wanted to be, but he usually didn't want to. He enjoyed taking people off guard and seeing the looks on their faces. It was just how he'd always been.
Three weeks later
They were just letting John in the house, Jo had picked him up on her way to work. Cas was going to be the one home with him that day, the kids were in school and Dean was going back to work as a construction worker. Cas wasn't exactly happy about it, but he couldn't really object. He knew that Dean wouldn't be happy with sticking around the house, he was made to work and for a long time he hadn't been able to do it safely. Cas wasn't going to stand in his way, all he'd been able to do was tell him to be careful. Now, he was giving John a hug as he walked in slowly. He could move on his own steam, but he was supposed to take it easy. Cas also had rules on what it was he was supposed to eat, the doctor had made sure that he and Dean knew what was going on.
"Dad, it's so good for you to be here." Cas told him, as he and Jo helped him to the couch, Cas had it set up for him to lounge around, a bedroom was ready for him upstairs as well. Part of the best thing of getting money, they had enough bedrooms and some to spare. Cas made sure he was settled in at one end of the sectional, and then he and Jo sat down too. Cas had the baby monitor closeby, and he was going to do some writing that day on a new book. Cas was glad that he could work from home, they could have John be here and take care of him without a nurse.
John gave him a half smile. Even this had worn him out. He was glad to be out of the hospital and be given a clean bill of health. He was going to be around for a long while yet. "You know I'm glad to be here. It's going to be amazing to get to see you kids every day." John let Jo pool the blankets around him. She set a bag of Chipotle on his lap, he'd been hungry and she'd stopped for him. John reached for the drink and put it in the cup holder. "Sorry to bring my own food, Cas, I know you'd be more than willing to make me something. I just really wanted takeout before I can't have it for awhile." He knew how vigilant Dean and Cas were going to be about his diet, not that he blamed them.
Waving it off, Cas smirked. "I know, Dean will make sure you eat healthy." He thought it was hilarious, because while Dean had a new heart, he wasn't exactly supposed to eat like a sixteen year old kid either. But he did and seemed to be okay. "You go ahead. You're a Winchester, I get it." He told him, reaching out and squeezing John's shoulder. Then the baby monitor made noises, and that meant Jamie was awake. "Oh, you get to see Jamie. He'll be hungry too." He said, and went up to get the baby.
It didn't take him long, he told Jamie they were going to see "Grmpa" and the baby was bouncing eagerly on Cas' hip. He was just over a little of a year old, and he was already speaking and crawling around when you let him. They let him in his playpen, which was huge and took up half one side of the living room practically, and in his room if his door was closed and someone was inside with him. He was a very curious baby and would get into things if left alone. When he got back down into the living room, Diana had also come in, and Jo was petting her.
"Oggie!" Jamie exclaimed, and Cas laughed. "Yes, Diana's here too, kiddo." He said, setting Jamie on the couch next to John. "I'll be right back with something for you to eat." He told the baby, who was now leaning as close to John as he could, trying to see what he was eating. Cas got out a bottle of milk and a couple of cans of baby food, a beef one and a peaches one. Jamie liked the peaches. Then he headed back in, Jamie was giggling as John played peek a boo with him.
Jo watched this, and she knew that this was a miracle. They had almost lost John forever. She was a bit jealous that she and Sam didn't really have the room for John to come and stay with them. That was why, not because there would be no one to look after him. Jo worked from home as well, data entry, they'd sold the bar. She hadn't wanted to, but once she had Laura, she wanted to be there for her and not have Laura be raised in daycare. She could get a job if she wanted one later when Laura started school. At the moment she was with Charlie, Charlie had agreed to babysit since Sam was working too. He had finally gotten through law school and was now a paralegal at a firm downtown.
"Hi, Jamie." She said, moving to tickle his toes. He giggled and squealed in between bites of beef stew baby food. Jo's eyes got a little misty. She and Sam were both upset that they couldn't have another child naturally. But Jo also didn't mind adopting. They'd already put themselves on the list, since it was a long wait. Sam was sure that they'd get something sooner rather than later though, with the cache that the Winchesters still had in Dallas. Even if Jo had told him that it covered the whole country. It was the stubborn Winchester streak, although she did know that here on the Dallas end he might actually be right.
"Op, Joey." Jamie admonished her, still giggling as John reached over to tickle his belly too.
Cas was laughing too hard to get them to stop, he just waited until Jamie was done giggling to give him another bite of the baby food. It took ten minutes to get him fed and the bottle of milk in his hands, but it was worth it. Cas just wished that he'd been able to film it. He looked at Jo, and he saw her eyes misty. He touched her arm, giving her a look of sympathy. Cas knew that the knowledge that she couldn't carry another baby to term had to be hard for her. Cas also knew that she wanted to adopt. He and Dean had discussed that too, although if they did, it would be only one more child. Cas didn't want to do it for another year and a half though, Jamie would be three by then and wouldn't be as much maintenance as a baby would be. He wasn't sure that Dean felt that way, too, he was sure that Dean would sign on for another kid soon.
He got why that was though, they'd both gone through losing kids before, and the threat of having them taken away. Dean wanted them to have one free and clear. "Somebody's ticklish." Cas said to Jamie, and lifted his shirt to give him a raspberry on his belly, which sent him giggling again. The dog moved to them, nosing in to get to Jamie, jumping up on the couch and across Cas' lap so Jamie could pet her. "Oggie!" Jamie exclaimed again, and reached out with one of his tiny hands to brush the fur on the top of Diana's silky head.
With a mouthful of a chicken bowl, John reached out and tweaked Jamie's toes, who giggled again and told "Grmpa" to stop. John couldn't believe how adorable the kid was. And he was so happy. John still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that there were people in the world who didn't want members of the LGBT community adopting children or having children. Jamie was an incredibly well cared for child, and was always giggling and smiling, and he was very smart. Why his father had chosen his lover over Jamie John would never know. "Who's a big man?" He asked Jamie, who was lavishing in the attention he was getting.
The front door opened and shut, and Dean came in. He'd managed to get away early. "Jamie! There's Pop's boy." He said, coming in and setting down his hard hat. Jamie reached out his arms, wanting to "up up". Dean picked him up, and kissed Cas hello. "Hey. I got away early. My crew has got things under control." Dean bragged, and clasped John's shoulder with his free hand. "Hey, Dad, don't get used to that Chipotle." He said, giving him a smirk. "You're gonna eat what I say as long as you're here under my roof." Dean told him in a firm voice, but there was a hint of jocularity to it.
"You ain't too big to get whooping, boy." John told him, a smile on his face. Jamie was happily bouncing on his father's hip, with no indication that he wanted down. Which John didn't think was odd, except that after he ate he liked to crawl around in his playpen and play with the toys he had in there. Dean just smirked back at him and moved to join them on the couch. This is when Jamie squirmed, and Dean put him in the playpen before he went to sit with them. Immediately the sounds of a Fisher Price fire truck began to emit from the playpen.
"Go ahead and try it, old man." Dean said, as he cuddled up to Cas, who was beaming from ear to ear. Dean knew that they could joke about it now, but when he was a kid, a spanking would have happened. But Dean didn't think that that was uncalled for. Or that it was abuse. It was used mostly as a last resort, if John had had to tell him more than once. Dean didn't let that happen often, but it did happen sometimes. Dean was a willful kid and a Winchester. And he could be incredibly sarcastic and disobedient when he wanted to be. He turned his eyes to Jamie, who was moving the fire truck around, it made noises but he was making his own as well.
Snorting laughter, John said, "You know you can't take me." He reached for his drink, and Jo went to throw away his food trash for him, he didn't even try and offer to do it himself because he knew he would get shot down. He was going to let them do it, instead of letting his Winchester stubbornness get in their way. He knew they were doing it because they loved him and they needed to, not out of any thought that he couldn't do for himself. Telling himself that made it easier to just let them do things and not pushing past his limits.
This is when Cas made his leave, he had to go and get some work done. Dean let him go reluctantly, kissing him three times before he let him leave the room. Jo said she had to go and get Laura so Charlie could go out on a date, and so that left Dean and Jamie alone with John. There was so much they needed to discuss, but Dean wasn't sure he wanted to get into the heavy stuff when things were so light now. Dean knew they had to talk about Callie. And why John had never told them about her until he'd been in what essentially was his deathbed. Dean couldn't be mad about it, because he knew that it had to have been hard for John, to tell them that they had family out there that they'd never met. Dean knew that that wasn't an easy thing to have to admit.
Looking at his father, Dean wasn't sure what to say. "Dad…. I… I hate to ruin this light mood." He said, and John immediately took on a serious expression and slowly turned to face his son on the couch. Dean thought a moment before he spoke. "I know you wanted to be the one to tell us about Callie. And I… I get why you took so long to do it. Sam's more flexible than I am, but we all know that I'm just like you, hella stubborn." He let a small smile play on his lips. He usually didn't use slang that was that current. He was an old soul. "But Dad, you should have told us, and before you were dying." He said, really hoping that they weren't about to have a fight. He just wanted the truth.
That was a hard question. Even if Dean had gotten the nail on the head. "You know that I was just trying to not fuck the situation up." He said, shaking his head, and running his hand through his brown hair. He didn't know that if Dean was angry that he could blame him. But John was good at reading him, and he was sure that he wasn't angry. "I also wanted to make sure that she wanted to be in the family before I told ya'll that she was out there. I didn't know what she thought, because I wasn't sure what her mother had been telling her about me. But I swear, I didn't know about her until recently, with the last year or so. I never knew about her before that."
A pause, and John wiped tears off his face. "She's… she's staying with her mom's sister, Callie's mom passed away a few months ago. I wanted to get custody of her, but then I got sick, and she's almost 18 as it is. So it doesn't really make sense for me to do it. I wish that I could take her in right now. I'm sorry that I still ended up fucking it up anyway." John said, and he knew that it was true, even if he hated admitting it. That had been what he was trying to avoid. "You don't have to be in her life right away or at all if you don't want to. But know that everyone else wants her to be in this family."
Taking that all in, Dean wasn't sure what he was going to say. It would sound cruel to his father that he wasn't sure he was ready for Callie to be his sister. "I really am not mad, Dad. I'm not. As someone who had a kid show up and say he's mine, I don't know that I can blame you for not speaking up. It would have been hard for me to have to tell Cas if he wasn't here too." Dean was glad that Ben seemed to be settling in well, and accepting the fact that Cas was his dad, too. Dean looked into his father's eyes for a beat or two before he started speaking again.
"I am not sure that I'm ready for her to be my sister. I know how importantly we take family. I know that. But I'm just not sure that I am ready. I spent my whole life thinking that Sam was my only sibling. And it's hard to have to give up that idea." Dean knew that the same thing could happen to John, even if he thought it unlikely. Henry Winchester, John's father, had just disappeared one day. While John's mother thought he took off on purpose, John had always thought his father had been taken. Or murdered.
None of that was a surprise to John. "You don't have to be. But it will gum up the works if you don't get okay with it soon. She loves the kids, and the kids love her. And so does everyone else, as I am sure that you know." John thought it was kind of hilarious that Callie resembled Claire a bit, who had no Winchester blood in her whatsoever. But you definitely could think they were related by blood rather than by adoption and marriage. John actually thought that it was pretty cool, and the two of them were getting close, although Callie wouldn't let Claire call her 'Aunt' like she did her other aunts and uncles. Callie said they were too close in age for that.
They spoke a bit more about it and then moved on to other things, which pleased Dean greatly. John was retiring, which Dean was heartily in agreement with. His father needed to finally rest and be there for his grandkids. If he didn't slow down he might be gone before his time. And Dean knew exactly how that felt.
A few days went by, everything was going fine. John was having the time of his life getting to see his grandkids every day, and they were all getting closer. At the moment, Sam and Dean were waiting for Callie to join them. It was a no spouses event. Plus, Cas was deep in the writing zone at his laptop and refused to be disturbed. Jo had taken Laura over to Dean and Cas', and that's where the rest of the family was holed up while they were having this meeting. Dean and Sam were in a Mickey D's, Dean was starving and would eat nothing else at the moment. So he'd decided not to wait for Callie and was digging into his meal.
Sam made a face. "Dean that is a ridiculous amount of food." He was waiting until Callie arrived and only had a Diet Coke sitting in front of him. Sam hadn't even tried to talk him out of ordering that much, he knew his brother and he knew how stubborn he could be. Sam also hadn't wanted to rock the boat, because Dean had agreed to meet with Callie and acknowledge her as his sister. Sam assumed whatever John had said to him had struck a chord. Sam didn't know that he could push at it too much, Dean might change his mind.
"You're going to need another heart if you aren't careful." Sam told him, brushing his hand through his brown hair. He knew that Dean wouldn't listen though, he never did. It wasn't anything that wasn't out of the ordinary.
"Shut up, Sammy. I won't need a new heart." Dean scoffed, his mouth full of cheeseburger. He had three of them, two large fries, a strawberry milkshake, and a hot fudge sundae, which he had eaten first and it was actually empty. This is when their sister got there, and Sam stood up to meet her and they joined the queue to get something to eat. Dean watched them as he worked on his food. This was going to be hard for him, but he knew that he had to do it. John was right, it was going to make things harder if he didn't get along with the program and try and get to know her. Dean knew that he didn't want to be the only one who wasn't making inroads with her, but he also usually was the one who wasn't making inroads with things like that. He was too much his father's son.
Within ten minutes, Sam and Callie had joined him at the table. They had considerably less food. Sam sat back in his seat and unwrapped his burger. He usually ate as healthy as he could, but he decided today he could go a little crazy. "Callie's on the honor roll, Dean. She's actually moving to Claire's school." This had been mostly because of the girls being close, but also because Callie was having issues at her other school with bullying. Her aunt had tried to get them to deal with it and hadn't been able to. And while Callie would have rather fought back, her aunt chose to let her go to school with Claire. "Her aunt has been really great about her getting to know us." Sam said, trying to get the conversation started off on a good note.
Dean looked at his sister. She was definitely more like Sam if she was on the honor roll. It's not that Dean was stupid, but he didn't put as much stock in book learning as his brother did. Sam was a nerd, there was no doubt about it. "That means you're more like Sammy than you are me. What are your thoughts on music?" Dean asked curiously, he was like his old man in that respect as well. Classic rock was his main interest.
Callie smirked at him. "I don't necessarily like school as much as Sam does, I just have a desire to have a career. I actually want to be a writer, like Cas." She said, as she sipped her Coke. She had noted how much food Dean was eating, and from what she knew of him, it didn't surprise her. "I like anything, really. I'm not picky. But rock is definitely my favorite genre." She told him, and smirked at the small smile he let play on his lips. He was definitely giving her a vibe that he was like their dad. Callie looked at him. "I'm glad that you agreed to this, Dean. I am. I know how hard you fought this. And I know what it's taking for you to be here."
This was a concession on her part that Dean thought she might have trouble admitting as well. "I know that I was hard on you. And I'm sorry, okay? I really am." He meant what he said. He knew that Callie would know how hard that was for him to admit. Dean was quiet for a moment as he sipped his milkshake. "I know I was a jerk. I'm… I want us to be family. I know that you didn't know about us for a long time. I can't fault you for that either. You're just a kid." Dean knew she was going to take offense to that, but Dean was the father of a 17 year old and a 13 year old, so to him, she was a kid. "You may not like me to say that, but remember, I've got a kid that's about your age."
Even if he was barely old enough to have a teenage daughter, Callie knew that she had to give him that. Sam just seemed to be content to let them talk, and be a mediator if he had to be. Callie ate some fries as she considered what he said. "You were a jerk. But I can't blame you anymore than you can me. You had to adjust to this too." Callie couldn't blame him for being upset about the whole thing. She said, "For the record, your kids are amazing. I'm glad that Dad told you about me. I'm sorry that it had to happen the way that it did, but the important part is that it happened." Callie said, surprised to feel her eyes get misty. She wiped them with a napkin.
"Dad's gonna be okay." Sam said, reaching out to touch her arm. He was more than glad that they'd been able to do this today. "But you know that." She'd been in touch and knew that he was okay. Sam really thought maybe their luck was changing, since John was doing better. And that they weren't going to lose him now. It was amazing that they weren't going to lose him after how close they came. "We've had a lot of bad luck." Sam said, but he didn't say anything about his feelings about their luck changing, because he didn't want to jinx it, which was funny, he wasn't the one of the brothers to be superstitious. That was something that oddly, Dean was.
Callie nodded. "Yeah, he's too stubborn to die." She agreed, and this caused them all to laugh a bit. She finally felt like Dean was her brother. They were sharing a laugh. Which they hadn't done yet. Callie wasn't sure how to put her feelings into words. It was nice, getting to be here with her brothers, and she knew that they felt it too. She watched as Dean finished up his third burger and went for some more fries. She could hardly believe that he was on a new heart. "You are going to need a new heart if you keep eating like that." She admonished him.
"You sound like Sammy." Dean scoffed, waving a dismissive hand to her. Dean didn't know that he could afford to be so blasé about it, but he also wasn't going to start eating rabbit food. Dean knew that Cas worried about it too, even though there was nothing wrong with Dean or his heart. Dean couldn't fault him for that either though, because Dean had died, technically. They may have been able to bring him back, but that didn't mean that Cas wasn't going to have some worry about it or PTSD. Dean knew he would feel the same if it was him in Cas' shoes. Dean didn't like to think about if he had to be in Cas' shoes. Because that would mean that he would be without Cas, or having to watch him go through all of that. It would be incredibly hard, as he knew it had been for his husband.
The lunch lasted another thirty minutes, and then they all decided to go back to Dean and Cas' since everyone else was there. Dean on the way out got ice cream sundaes for Frankie, Claire, and Ben. He liked to do things like that for the kids when he could. When they got in the door with them, Frankie grabbed it and ran off to the kitchen, Dean laughing as he followed her. Cas was there, working on his laptop at the kitchen table. Dean leaned to give him a kiss. "Hey, sexy writer man." He said, as Ben too came into the kitchen. "You get your homework done?" Dean asked, Ben wasn't as good of a student as Claire was.
"Yes, Dad." Ben said, rolling his eyes. He leaned to help Frankie open her spoon so she could eat her ice cream. He was still having trouble accepting Claire as his sister. And now there was the feeling that he might be gay. There was this new kid Jesse Turner at school, and Ben couldn't help but get butterflies in his stomach whenever they interacted. He knew that that was not something that happened to a straight kid. He knew he could talk about it with Dean or Cas, obviously, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it. It wasn't exactly something that he'd planned in his wildest dreams.
You can come out of the shadows
They're only scared of what they don't know
But I love you as you are, love you as you are, yeah
Yeah, you waged this war within yourself
Wasting time dying in a shell
They don't define you, just know they never will
Author's note: Okay, so, wow. I wrote this in just about four and a half hours when I couldn't get back to sleep. I knew that this would be updated sooner rather than later. Funny thing is I have the TW/SPN crossover to type up, the second chapter. So really that should have been first. Oh well. I hope you're liking and I have no idea where this fic is going to go.