Dean drove home, a steady grin on his face. The night might not have ended on the best of notes, but Dean was certain the night had still been a success. A success in what, he wasn't sure. He pulled into the drive and parked, stepping out of the Impala a moment later.
But instead of making his way to the front door, he waited. He leaned up against the side of his car and looked up into the sky, stars slowly revealing themselves as the day turned to night. He just wanted to bask in this moment, knowing that if he walked through the door there could very well be some bad news waiting for him, or some sort of complication, or chore.
He stared into the sky, smiling to himself. It had been a long time since he'd allowed himself to get into any sort of relationship, even making new friends. So much was going on with the house, and payments and Sam coming down from Boise, he thought he'd never find the time, and here he was. Making up a relationship with Castiel.
He then frowned and corrected himself. He wasn't making up a relationship, he was building a real one. No matter how much of the premise of said relationship was fed on the falsehood of Dean's desire for Castiel, it was still a relationship.
The front door opened and Sam poked his head out, "I thought I heard you pull up. What are you doing?" Sam asked, looking around the yard, as if trying to find Dean's distraction.
Dean sighed, rubbing at the back of his head for a moment, "Nothing. I'm coming in now." He smiled to Sam. "How was the rest of your day?" he asked his brother as he stepped through the front door.
Sam gave him a skeptical glance, "It was fine. I have to finish some school work before the deadline at midnight, though."
Dean nodded, "Well, you do that." He mumbled, shutting the door behind himself. He then shrugged out of his leather jacket, "Have you eaten?" he asked Sam, who had already went back to the kitchen where he'd set up his laptop on the table.
"Uh, no. Not yet. Did you have something planned?" he asked, looking to his brother back in the living room. There wasn't anymore chili, and Sam really wasn't in the mood for burgers again, and there really wasn't anything in the house to make a meal. "Are you gonna go to the store or something?"
Dean chuckled, "Nope. I'm just gonna order take out." He mumbled, taking a seat on the couch to take his shoes off.
Sam rolled his eyes, "Yea, ok." Going back to his work, "Make sure you get extra egg rolls. The place by the grocery store never gives us enough."
"Sure thing." Dean replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket to call in his order.
When Castiel entered his childhood home, he noticed that there was a distinct lack of noise, or chatter coming from any room. His brows furrowed, quickly checking both the kitchen and dinning room. No one. He then ventured to the living room, where Samandriel stared into the fire place.
"Samandriel." He called to his cousin, slightly concerned.
He looked up from the fire, then smiled to Castiel, "How did things go?" he asked.
Castiel returned the smile, "It went well. I made plans- well, rather, Dean made plans for me to come over to his house tomorrow." He told him, taking a seat on the couch.
"Really?" Samandriel gave him a skeptical look.
Without needing to be prompted about why he wanted Castiel to come over, he replied, "He wants me to show him my work." He grinned.
"Heh…" Samandriel gave a small laugh, "That sounds great." He mumbled, then looked back into the fire.
Castiel watched the fire as well, the flames mesmerizing, but he eventually had to ask, "Where is everyone?"
Samandriel gave a sigh, looking upwards for a moment, "I think Kali and Gabriel went with Michael to the office, while Lucifer went to work. And Anna's outside, with Joshua."
Castiel's brows perked up, "Joshua is here?" he asked, surprised.
Joshua had been their Head Grounds Keeper when he was younger, but he retired after Castiel graduated high school. But really, he'd been more than a gardener to their family, he'd been more like a relative. When Castiel was real little, in 1st grade, he remembered a time when Joshua picked him and Gabriel up from school and took them out for ice cream. Unbeknownst to them, Michael and Lucifer were already home with their mother and father, because they'd both gotten into a fight at the prep school. Someone had made a comment to Lucifer, one that implied he and his brother were in a relationship that was more than brotherly love, and that set Lucifer off. He told Michael at lunch and they went and found the boy who'd made the mistake of insulting the Autman brothers, and Michael beat him mercilessly.
Michael and Lucifer were punished, taking away Michael's driving privileges along with some other privileges, so Michael and Lucifer had to walk home. Their parents had to pay a hefty fee to keep the both of them in the prep school, and because Michael usually picked Castiel and Gabriel up from school as well, the task was passed down to Joshua, who volunteered himself. So for a full two months, Joshua picked them up from school, and they went and did a range of activities together, from going to the park for a few minutes to helping Joshua look for new plants and flowers to add to the gardens. The Elephant Ear plant Castiel picked out is still thriving in the garden, being one of the largest and oldest plants they have.
The biggest reason Joshua took them out for these getaways was so that they wouldn't drive past Michael and Lucifer who would still be walking home from school on the road side. It wasn't until Castiel was in middle school that the truth about that whole situation came out.
Samandriel grinned, "Yes, his daughter brought him over. Anna is walking him through his gardens while she runs some errands in town." He told Castiel. Jacqueline, his daughter, was in her thirties and was the youngest of Joshua's children. She was also his main care taker, though it wasn't for lack of her siblings trying to help, but simply because she had no children or a husband of her own, and she enjoyed being with her father.
Castiel didn't waste any more time with Samandriel, and simply turned from him and went for the door outside.
Samandriel smirked, shaking his head and looking back into the fire.
When Castiel stepped outside, he was on the patio, a small white iron fence surrounding the tiled flooring and furniture, with an opening leading to the pool area, with it's own fencing surrounding it as well. There was another opening in the fence, allowing passage into the gardens and ponds. The gardens behind their house were almost a maze, winding in every direction and spreading for almost an entire acre. It was this extravagant to showcase their company's products and how they were no longer limited to just lawn furniture, but had a wide range of equipment, décor, and plants for arranging.
Since the Autman garden was big enough to be its own park, Castiel pulled out his phone and called Anna. The phone rang for a moment until she finally answered, "Hello?" she spoke.
"I'm here in the back, what section are you and Joshua in?" he asked, trying to spy around peaking vegetation.
Anna laughed, something musical, "We're here in the evergreens." She told him, then hung up, without saying goodbye. Castiel rolled his eyes, then set out towards the trees to the far right of the gardens. There was one long path that stopped and started at the end of the gardens and the beginning. It was sided with evergreen privacy trees with various flowers planted at their feet.
He took the path that lead directly to the path Anna and Joshua would be on. It wasn't before long that they came into his sight, and Castiel was grinning. "Anna! Joshua!" he called out, gaining their attention with a hand waving in the air.
Anna, who had an arm linked with Joshua's, waved back. Joshua, who had his other hand on his walking cane, gave a wave back as well. Though, of course, he wasn't able to lift it very high. Castiel rushed towards them, sprinting slightly, not willing to waste any more time with walking.
Once he was close enough, he could tell that Joshua was smiling at him, "Castiel," he spoke, then looked him up and down, "Look how tall you've gotten." He muttered.
Castiel chuckled, shaking his head a bit, "It's so good to see you, Joshua." He told the aging man, then came up to him and gave him a warm hug. Joshua hugged back with one arm, patting his back lightly.
"It's good to see you, too, Child." He told him, his voice seemingly choked with emotion. Castiel was unable to tell with how muffled he sounded.
For a long while, the three of them walked through the trees and flowers, recounting old stories, and times past. Joshua had new stories to tell them, of his grandchildren graduating high school, and his eldest son having his second child. Joshua had such happiness in his face when he spoke of his family. He wondered if Joshua considered them a part of his family as well.
He remembered his Dad mentioning something about paying tuition for one of his daughters a time before, he Joshua told him he didn't have the funds at the time. He wondered how she had turned out.
"Joshua…" Castiel gained his attention while they were stopped at a pond, watching dragon flies.
"Hmm?" Joshua hummed, his only indication that he'd heard Castiel, his eyes still fixed on the calm waters.
"What was it that Lily majored in, again?" he asked, not remembering what. He knew it had something to do with education, though.
"Early childhood development." He answered without skipping a beat. His smile was broad as he continued, "She works in Portland now, Kindergarten." He nodded once, "She sends me pictures of classes every year." He told them. He then looked to Castiel, "That's another reason I need to thank ya'Daddy." He nodded again, then looked back to the pond. "He was always such a generous man."
Anna gave a small gasp, "That's right, he helped pay for tuition, didn't he…" she then looked to Castiel, brows furrowed, "But I thought he paid for William's tuition?" she asked, sounding confused.
Joshua chuckled, "Castiel's Daddy paid for all my children's tuition." He told Anna with a knowing smile, then started walking them in another direction. "Now where were those herbs again?" he mumbled to himself, his mind already off the subject, searching for different plants in the sections he remembered them in.
But Castiel and Anna shared the same look of shock and awe. Neither of them were aware at just how much Castiel's father had given to Joshua, but Castiel was sure he'd have done the same.
As the afternoon grew dark, lights began to come to life in the gardens, lighting their path and aiding their sight. But Castiel and Anna didn't want to drag Joshua around outside all night, so they made their way back into the house, guiding Joshua to a lounge chair where he sighed, laying his cane to prop up against the end table beside him. By this time Lucifer, Michael, Gabriel, and Kali had made it back home, and they joined them in the living room, Lucifer making Joshua a tall glass of iced tea. They all sat in the living room, talking, though Castiel was certain his brothers were eyeing him every other second.
Lucifer then stood up as the conversation died out for a moment, "Hey Castiel, give me a hand in the kitchen real quick." He told him, already leaving the living room. Though Castiel knew Lucifer didn't need any help in any department of the kitchen, he knew there wasn't any room for argument with his brother so he stood up and followed after him.
Once in the kitchen, Castiel could see pots sitting on stove eyes with lids and salad ingredients already cut and placed into serving bowls. "Um… What did you need help with, Lucifer?" he asked, seeing as how things looked to already be done.
But instead of answering him, Lucifer took a seat at one of the tall chairs at the island, sitting in it backwards while his arms folded over the chair back. He grinned at Castiel. "Tell me how it went."
Castiel sighed, rolling his eyes, "It went fine. Why did you make me leave the living room for this?" he asked, some what frustrated.
Lucifer chuckled, "Oh no, you give me details, little brother. I want to know." He told him, giving him a squint eyed smirk.
Castiel groaned, his head falling back, "All we did was talk, Lucifer." He told his brother, annoyed that he was trying to draw this out more than necessary.
"About what?" Lucifer pressed on, knowing how much he was pissing off his brother, but couldn't be bothered to care.
Castiel frowned at Lucifer, "We talked about school, and my writing." He folded his arms over his chest, "Can I go back to the living room now? I want to say bye before Joshua leaves." He complained.
Lucifer chuckled, "Fine, fine. Go." He told him, waving his hand at him dismissively.
"Thank you." Castiel told him, then left in a rush.
Lucifer smirked to himself then pulled his phone out of his pocket. He replied to some messages, but was mostly trying to pre-occupy his mind at the moment. Earlier in the day he'd gone with Michael, and Gabriel to Zachariah's office to speak with him, to get some answers as to why he was at their house the other night. Of course Zachariah had nothing to say, with his legal obligations bull shit. They left knowing less than they did coming in, and a lot more frustrated.
He sighed, tucking his phone back in his pocket, and for a while Lucifer simply laid his chin on his arm and swiveled in the chair. He was afraid something drastic had been done to the will, enough to be worried. He ran a hand through his short strands and huffed as he climbed out of the chair.
There was only one way to learn what had been done to the will, but Lucifer was hoping the day wouldn't come.