"Mooooommmmm! I don't wannaaaaa!" Dean whines, full on pouting and stomping his foot.

"Dean Jonathan Winchester!" He winces at his mother's use of his full name. "I won't tolerate this behavior! Sam is going with you and you are going to include your brother, and that is final!"

"But Mom!"

"No!" Mary takes a calming breath. "Dean, no. I already spoke to Mrs. Shurley, and she said for both you and Sam to come over, that Castiel is thrilled to have you both over."

"Sammy is just a baby!"

Mary looks disapprovingly down at her son. "And you're acting like one, so that seems pretty fair to me."

"Mom!"

"Dean! This is happening, and if you'd like to continue seeing your friends in the future, I suggest you stop this behavior right now! I have no qualms with grounding you for the foreseeable future!"

Dean finally stops arguing, but continues staring sulkily down at his feet.

Mary shakes her head before turning and yelling up the stairs, "Come on, Sammy! We're going to be late!"

"Thank you for letting them both come over. I just didn't have time to find a sitter with John at work and the station calling me in last minute like this."

Cas's grandmother smiles warmly at the younger woman. "Oh, it's no problem at all. I'm glad to have them both over, and I know Castiel is, too. You go do what you need to, Mary, and the boys will be taken care of while you're gone."

"Thank you again, Grace" Mary says before crouching down to look her sons in the eyes. "Now, you two behave for Ms. Shurly, you hear me? I don't want to get any bad reports when your father or I come to pick you up."

"Yes, ma'am!" the boys chorus.

She looks pointedly at her eldest. "And you better be nice to your brother, or so help me God, Dean Winchester, never mind your father, you will face my wrath. You got that?"

Dean, watching his feet, mumbles something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Mary questions sharply.

Dean begrudgingly looks up into his mother's eyes, sulkily grinding out, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good!" she chirps, dropping the stern act in favor of a smile and ruffling both of her boys' hair before she stands up. "I'll see you both tonight. Love you!" And then she's gone.

Grace Shurly smiles down at both the boys. "Castiel is up in his room. Why don't you two go on up there, and I'll bring you kids some snacks in a little while."

"Thanks, Mrs. Shurley!" And then they're off like a bolt to Cas's room.

Castiel's grandmother's house isn't overly large- a small, two story house on the outskirts of town, recently refinished with vinyl siding to replace the wood that termites had eaten into, but it's warm and cozy. There's only two bedrooms, it being all Grace had needed when she was younger to house herself and her only son, Chuck. It had also been all she could afford as a single mother back in those days, but she felt incredibly proud of it. It is still all she needs now, with only herself and her young grandson living there.

Dean loves coming to Cas's house, as rare a treat as it is (his mom and dad say he can't go over a lot because Mrs. Shurley can't always keep up with a bunch of rowdy children, which Dean thinks is an unfair way to describe him and Charlie). When he does get to come over, Cas's grandmother is always kind and never overbearing. She has the best snacks, too.

And then there's Castiel's room. While Dean's room is rather boring and run of the mill, a typical eight-year-old boy's room with camo and toy soldiers and GI Joe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles posters, Cas's room is like a fantastical fairytale land, like the ones in the games they and Charlie always play together. It's why Castiel's house has the best make-believe lore they can create.

Cas's room is right up the stairs and just to the left, on the right hand side of the hall. It's the room his father had inhabited when he was younger, but there isn't much left of Chuck in the room now that Cas lives in it, just the books that Chuck writes and sends to Castiel, as though his son should care about a series that is well-beyond his eight years and written by his absent father.

The walls are smattered with postcards from all over the world, all sent by his wayward mother, Becky. It's the only thing Castiel has of his mother, and he cherishes them much more dearly than the Carver Edlund books, because though it has been much longer since he has seen his mother than it has been since he's seen his father, at least he never remembers his mother as passed out, reeking of booze, and forgetting to feed him. Plus the postcards actually bare his mother's real name, a trait his father's books do not share.

The rest of the surfaces are covered in an eclectic collection of whatever else catches Castiel's interest, which given the child's dreamy personality, changes weekly. There are beautiful blown glass bulbs and bottles filled with colorful sands alongside random bird feathers and stones and sea shells he picked up the one time his mother swooped into town to take him to some far away beach. He has a bookshelf filled to the brim with books of all different topics that span all different reading levels. There are the Carver Edlund books, of course, but next to those are things like Cat in the Hat and Goodnight Moon, and on another shelf is a collection of encyclopedias right next to science fiction novels that Castiel is not yet old enough to understand in their entirety but is excited to read once he can.

There's also a herd of assorted stuffed animals in another corner of the room, across from the foot of his bed. They're all in different states of wear, some brand new and some old and worn, barely any fur left on them or missing eyes, but Cas treats them all with the same reverent respect. His other toys are all put away neatly in a toy box at the foot of his bed.

The room is perfectly Cas, and it's one of Dean's favorite places in the world.

They aren't there an hour before Sam is complaining of being bored, Cas having been absorbed in one of his multitudes of books while Dean played with Cas's collection of pogs.

"Nobody cares, Sammy," Dean grumbles distractedly, quickly followed by a loud "Ouch!" as Castiel, from his place on the bed above Dean, whacks him in the head with his book.

"I'm sorry, Sam. We've been rude. What would you like to play?" Castiel asks while Dean pulls a face as he rubs his head.

"I want to play make-believe with you guys!" Sam explains, a huge, toothy grin spreading across his face that Cas can't help but return with a small smile of his own.

"You're too little for make-believe!" Dean grouses.

Sam rounds on his brother, all tiny, righteous anger. "That's not true! You were younger than me when you and Charlie stared playing!"

"Yeah, well now we play big kid make-believe!" Dean spouts back.

Sammy's bottom lip starts trembling, eyes welling with tears. "That's not fair! You have to play with me! Mommy said!"

"Mommy said!" Dean mimics cruelly. "God Sammy, when did you become such a big baby!"

"Dean, stop it!" Cas chastises, and immediately Dean looks at least a little remiss. He glares at Dean until the other boy looks fully remiss and mutters a low, "Sorry Sammy." It is swiftly followed by an even quieter utterance of "Brat," but Castiel still hears it and responds with a swift and disapproving, "Dean!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Dean shouts quickly, fearing another book to the head and the anger of his best friend. Also, maybe he does kinda, sorta, just a little bit feel bad when he notices that Sam's feelings really do look hurt.

"What kind of make-believe game would you like to play, Sam?" Cas asks as he makes his way across the room to the younger Winchester.

Sam screws up his face him thought before responding, "I want to be something awesome, a super hero... Like the Power Puff Girls!"

Dean is immediately groaning. "Dang it, Sammy! That's a girl show!"

"Is not!" Sam shoots back.

"Is too!"

Before the brothers can devolve into a full on Winchester fight, Castiel says quietly, "I don't think it's a girl show..."

Clearly shocked, Dean rounds back on his friend. "What?"

Cheeks tinged pink, Castiel mutters shyly, "It's about children being powerful and standing up for what is right..."

Dean stares mutely, unsure what to say to that, and before he can decide, Sam's excitedly saying, "So you'll play with me!"

"Of course," Castiel replies, cheeks still tinged pink and smiling shyly.

Dean's own cheeks heat up of their own accord, something about his best friend's expression causing an odd fluttering in his stomach. He clears his throat, pointedly ignoring the warmth in his face, and says, "Fine! But we're not calling ourselves the Power Puff Girls! Come up with a better name."

"Easy!" Sam exclaims, once again all toothy grins. "The Chesterpuff Boys!"

Dean pulls a face of horror, while Cas just simply looks confused. "But I'm not a Winchester..."

Sam and Dean both look at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Of course you are!" they both cry simultaneously.

Dean slaps a hand onto Cas's shoulder. "You're an honorary Winchester."

Castiel looks at both of them, lost, before looking back at Dean and smiling happily. "If you both say so."

"Oh, we say so!" says Sam resolutely.

The three boys share a moment of happy silence before Dean removes his hand from Cas's shoulder and claps it against his other one. "So! What are we doing today, Chesterpuff Boys!"

Sam runs over to the large pile of stuffed animals, grabbing an old and faded, grey teddy bear. "Saving the city from..." He looks at the bear and then at Castiel.

"Metatron," replies the older boy helpfully.

Dean raises an eyebrow at him. "That's a really weird name for a bear."

Castiel meets his gaze unwaveringly. "It is the name of the scribe of God."

The two boys continue to have a stare down before Dean finally relents, shaking his head and sighing. "What ever you say, Cas." Quieter, he adds, "Still a weird name for a bear, though."

"Anyway!" Sam announces loudly, once more gaining the attention of the older boys. "We're saving the city from Metatron, who was turned into a GIANT TEDDY BEAR MONSTER and is now destroying Lawrence!"

"Well then!" Dean says, pitching his voice lower and cracking his knuckles. "Chesterpuff Boys, assemble!"

Cas and Sam pump their fists in the air. "Yeah!"