January 2044 (Castiel is 54, Dean is 55 (almost 56), Eden is 30, Adrian is 27, the twins are 23, Noah is 17 (almost 18), Jayden is 19, Natalie is 26, Maya is 1 and a half years old).
It was January and a new year had begun.
Noah sat in the classroom at the window row, enjoying the sun's warmth on his skin as it shined in through the windows. He was listening to his algebra teacher talking about x and y again, but Noah had never really fully understood how to solve those kind of problems or why it was important to know about x and y. He listened absently as their young human male teacher explained it to them, and he watched how the guy constantly pushed his black framed glasses into place when they glided down his nose a bit while he was talking.
Algebra was one of the most boring classes Noah had, but at least Amanda and Chanel had the class with him so he wasn't alone. Amanda was sitting next to him and Chanel was sitting in front of them with a girl whom she had made friends with in class. It made Noah feel safer to have his friends sitting around him when pretty much all his other classmates despised him.
Noah rested his chin on his hand as he sat there. His eyes were about to flutter close from being bored, but he woke up when a ruffled piece of paper flew over his shoulder and landed on his laptop keyboard in front of him. He sat back and dared a small glance over his shoulder at a couple of beta angels sitting behind him. The guys snickered as he looked at them. They were always throwing stuff at him in class and trying to trip him when he entered the classroom, so Noah usually tried his best to ignore them and not let their behavior bother him.
Warily Noah started opening the piece of wrinkled paper to see what it said. Amanda glanced at him as she noticed what was going on.
Noah opened the paper and saw the words 'We'll give you 20 bucks for sucking us off like the good little slut you are. It'll be the best you've ever had' written on it. He heard the guys snicker mockingly behind him, and his wings twitched in annoyance but also humiliation. Being propositioned like that and treated like he was nothing more but an object that existed only to please someone else sexually was not just humiliating but also degrading. He could feel the betas staring at him from behind with objectifying gazes and it made Noah want to run out of the room and hide in shame.
"Ignore them," Amanda whispered at him and glared at the guys over her shoulder. "Don't let them get to you."
Noah nodded quietly and clenched his hand down around the piece of paper, wrinkling it further. He suddenly looked over at Tucker who was one of the toughest alpha angel guys in his algebra class. He was sitting next to Amanda by the other table and was whispering a bit with his jock buddy. Both guys were on the lacrosse team, and Tucker was very respected among the jocks. He was a student that had transferred to the school last year, but unlike most jocks he had never said anything to Noah to humiliate him. Noah didn't know if it was because Tucker wasn't a racist and thus didn't have a problem with angel/demon hybrids or if it was because he simply wasn't interested in wasting his time with harassing Noah.
Suddenly, Noah had an idea.
He leaned a bit back in his seat and gestured for Amanda to lean a bit forwards so that she wouldn't get in the way. Amanda frowned but leaned in over the table, folding her wings tightly behind her back. Noah then threw the roll of paper over at Tucker, hitting his shoulder and watched as the paper bounced off him and landed on his table in front of him. Noah quickly shifted so that he was sitting normally in his seat again and pretended to pay attention to the teacher, while Tim and Jake – the beta guys behind him – went completely pale as Tucker cast a glare around himself before unfolding the paper.
Noah and Amanda had to struggle to keep straight faces as Tucker read the message on the paper. It wouldn't be hard for him to guess that it was Tim and Jake who had written the note since they were the only guys who were seated behind him, and none of the girls or Noah would be writing a message to someone about getting sucked off. Also, Noah knew that there was already some existing tension between Tucker and Tim and Jake since Tucker had recently come out as being bi, and Tim and Jake had made a homophobic comment about it once which had pissed off Tucker a lot.
Tucker's eyes narrowed dangerously as he read the message, which could be interpreted as another homophobic joke from the two betas, and he immediately turned his head to send a sharp glare of contempt and rage over at Tim and Jake. The two betas swallowed nervously and shrank into their seats.
"You guys are fucking dead!" Tucker roared, startling everyone in the class. His feathers puffed out in aggression and his hand was clutching the piece of paper so hard that his knuckles went white.
"Whoa! It was Noah who threw it at you!" Jake immediately exclaimed and pointed at Noah in front of him.
Noah tried to act like he had no idea what they were talking about.
Tucker growled at Jake. "Fuck you! Noah's handwriting isn't as ugly as yours, and it sure as hell wasn't him or a girl who threw this at me! You're gonna regret this, you stupid pieces of homophobic shit!"
Tim and Jake looked absolutely horrified as they couldn't find a way to talk themselves out of this mess, and everyone in the class was watching the scene with amusement and interest, even though they didn't fully know what was going on.
"Hey!" the teacher yelled. "Please be quiet in my class and pay attention. You can argue afterwards!"
Everyone turned their attention back to the class, and Noah snickered a bit as he watched Tucker continue to glare Tim and Jake down. He felt a little sorry for having pulled Tucker into this matter when the alpha had never done anything to him, and he hoped that the alpha wouldn't be too violent when taking revenge on Tim and Jake. It had been an impulsive thought to throw the paper at Tucker and Noah really hoped he wouldn't be responsible for the two betas getting too beat up about it. Luckily Tucker didn't have a reputation of being violent – he was more the guy to take revenge by making sure that the people he had a problem with would get humiliated and go down on the social rank order at school.
"You're a genius," Amanda whispered at Noah, grinning in amusement at the situation.
Noah just chuckled and waited for class to end.
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Twenty minutes later classes ended, and Noah snickered as Tim and Jake hurried out of there as fast as they could. Tucker was right on their heels though, along with a couple of his friends, so Tim and Jake were definitely not going to get away.
Noah was off now and had no more classes today, so he said goodbye to Amanda and Chanel and made his way towards the lockers. Jayden had one more class after this ten minute break, and Noah would go to the library now and meet up with Jayden afterwards. They sometimes sat in the library together and did homework there on the days where they didn't go to the swim center or to one of their houses.
The corridors were crowded with people going home or moving on to their next class. Luckily Noah was small, so he could easily make his way through the crowds and between the people in it.
When Noah arrived at his locker and got rid of his algebra book, he noticed Tim and Jake being cornered by Tucker and some of the jocks. Noah watched the scene closely, hearing Tucker threatening to make Tim and Jake's lives hard if they ever insulted him again, and the two betas nodded their heads compliantly before the jocks stalked off down the hallway. A few people snickered at Tim and Jake's faces and the two betas hurried out of there, their heads lowered in humiliation. Noah tried to suppress the smug smirk on his lips as he stuffed his books into his locker and headed off to the library.
He was almost at the library when he ran into Lucas. The boy was walking with his head down and his wings folded tightly against his body; always looking like a scared cat. His eyes lit up when he spotted Noah, though.
"Hi, Lucas," Noah smiled and went over to him. "Are you off too?"
"Yeah, just had my last class for today. Thank god," Lucas said, sighing in relief.
They moved over in front of the windows in the hallway to move away from where people were walking back and forth in a hurry. The crowds were getting smaller, and fewer and fewer people walked by.
"Do you want to do some homework in the library with me? I'm headed there now," Noah asked.
Lucas gave him a small smile. "I-I can't. My foster parents are picking me up in twenty minutes so I have to go outside soon. But I can hang out with you for a little bit until then."
Noah smiled. "Okay. I would like that."
Lucas beamed.
They were about to turn around and head towards the library when a group of sophomore alphas suddenly approached them, looking cocky and confident as they made their way over to them. The lewd smirks on their faces immediately told Noah that these alphas were going to be a problem.
"Lookie, lookie," the most muscled of the alphas said as he eyed Noah and Lucas with interest. The guy was a demon, and there was one other alpha demon and three alpha angels behind him. It was getting more common for demons and angels to hang out in social groups at school as long as their relationship wasn't sexual in any way.
Lucas flinched and hid somewhat behind Noah, making himself as small as possible. Noah wasn't confident when being confronted by sexists alphas either, but he was not nearly as scared as Lucas was. He tried his best to shield Lucas from the alphas' gazes.
"The school's two slutty subs," the guy then continued, licking his lips as he looked at them. "I've always wanted to try some sub ass. I hear they're incredibly tight and perfect for housing a cock." His friends cracked up behind him.
Noah glared back at them, his wings twitching in annoyance and his hand gripping the strap of his bag tightly.
The corridor was almost empty now. There was a group of people further down the hallway, but they just stared briefly at the scene before moving on. No one was coming to help and barely anyone noticed what was going on.
One of the alpha angels suddenly seemed to recognize Noah, and he went over to the demon at the front and said, "Dude, that's Jayden's boyfriend, no? I don't think we should do anything to him; I don't wanna get in trouble with Jayden – that guy is fucking strong, I've heard."
Noah had no idea how the sophomore alpha knew Jayden, but he couldn't help the surge of pride when he sensed how scared the guy was of his boyfriend. He hoped it would make the guys go away already, especially now that Lucas had grabbed a hold of his shirt was clutching it with trembling hands.
The demon snorted. "Well, he ain't around, is he? And I like what I see…" He smirked and licked his lips as he looked Noah and Lucas up and down.
Noah felt sick as the guy eyed him like nothing more than a sex toy.
"Just go away already. None of us are interested in your company," Noah muttered, still glaring firmly at the alpha demon in front of him.
"Ohh, she talks," one of the angel alphas mocked, making the others burst out laughing.
Noah rolled his eyes and grabbed a hold of Lucas' arm as he started walking along the wall towards the library with him. He had had enough of those alphas already.
The alpha demon in the front was having none of it, though. He growled and immediately moved over to block the way for Noah. "Walking away while I'm talking to you is impolite," he growled.
"No, you are impolite," Noah grit out angrily, his heart pounding and his palms sweating from being nervous. "If you want a tight ass, go find a willing hooker or something and leave us alone."
The alpha snarled. He took a step forward and reached out to grab Noah by the shirt, but he was interrupted when Jayden suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Leave my boyfriend and Lucas the fuck alone!" Jayden snarled in rage and shoved the other alpha demon back harshly. He immediately got between Noah, Lucas, and the alphas, and spread his sharpened wings as a warning.
The alphas backed off and eyed him nervously, since Jayden was both older and bigger than them. The leader of the group didn't back down so easily, though. He and Jayden glared each other down and growled threatening at the other, spreading their wings in aggression.
"Well, I accept that you want us to keep our hands off your little girlfriend there, but Lucas isn't taken… And he's got a pretty face and a nice ass," the guy spoke, a lewd smirk forming on his lips. "Maybe your little slut wants to join in too?"
Jayden saw red at that. He snarled angrily and punched the guy before he could even properly consider the consequences.
The guy reeled back and clutched his jaw in pain before he growled and moved in to attack, but his friends quickly held him back to avoid him getting into trouble at school.
Meanwhile Noah stared wide-eyed at the scene, but was distracted when he heard Lucas gag behind him. He turned his head to look at him, and in the next second Lucas covered his mouth and ran towards the nearby bathrooms as fast as he could. Noah quickly followed him, glancing back at Jayden to see if he was alright. Jayden briefly glanced back at him, nodding as if to tell Noah that it was okay that he followed after Lucas.
Noah followed Lucas over into the girls' room, and when he entered the bathrooms he heard Lucas burst into one of the vacant stalls and empty his stomach into the toilet. Noah quickly came over to help him and put his shoulder bag down on the floor next to Lucas'. He kneeled down on the dirty floor and held a hand on Lucas' forehead to help him as he threw up one more time. He rubbed his other hand over Lucas' back soothingly, trying to make him relax.
When Lucas was done he whimpered pathetically before slumping down on the floor. His trembled from shock and panic over the incident, and he averted Noah's eye as he sat there.
"I'm sorry… But the things they said… I-I just couldn't…" Lucas trailed off as he let out a strangled sob, squeezing his eyes shut as tears threatened to spill free. His wings wrapped themselves somewhat around him and his tail curled up tightly as he was struggling to hold back his crying.
Noah couldn't really imagine what it must have felt like to Lucas. It must have reminded him too much of the horrible things and abuse that had happened to him in the past and it had literally made him feel sick. Noah sat down next to him on the floor and reached out his hand to rub Lucas' thigh near his knee soothingly, trying to comfort him.
Lucas tensed for a second before relaxing, accepting Noah's comforting touch. He took a deep a breath then. "I'm pathetic, aren't I?" he murmured, still not meeting Noah's eye.
Noah's face softened. "No, you aren't. What they said made me want to gag too. Those alphas are such sexist assholes that I wonder what went wrong in their upbringing," he murmured bitterly.
Lucas huffed out a laugh and a small smile appeared on his lips.
Noah smiled a bit and continued to run a soothing hand over Lucas' thigh, offering him comfort. "Don't listen to them. They're just stupid and you're much better than them."
Lucas lifted his gaze to look at Noah with teary eyes, and he smiled a bit as their eyes met.
There was a soft knocking on the door to the girls' bathrooms then, and they heard someone walk into the room with quiet steps. Noah looked up as Jayden appeared at the stall they were sitting in. The door was open and Lucas was leaning back into it as they both sat on the floor.
"Hey," Jayden said softly, looking between them in worry. "Is he okay?" He shifted his shoulder bag a bit on his shoulder as he stared at Lucas with concern. He shouldn't be in the girls' bathrooms, but he was worried about them and there weren't any other people in there at the moment anyway.
"I think he's better now," Noah replied and looked at Lucas for confirmation.
Lucas sniffled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm good." He wiped his tears away and looked up at Jayden with a small smile. "T-Thanks for helping out."
Jayden smiled. "You're welcome."
"What were you even doing there? You have another class now," Noah said and frowned up at Jayden in confusion.
"The classroom is nearby and as I walked down the corridor I heard some girls talking about how they had seen a group of alphas gang up on the school's two submissives on the hallway near the library, so I went there as fast as I could," Jayden explained. "It isn't the first time I've had a fight with those guys. I've seen them bully others and sexually harass some of the girls before. I'm surprised they haven't been given more warnings yet."
Noah got up from the floor then and went forward to inspect Jayden. "Did they hurt you?" He frowned in worry and checked his boyfriend for bruises but didn't find any.
Jayden chuckled softly and reached out his tail to curl it around Noah's leg in affection. "No, the guy's friends held him back so he didn't manage to land a punch at me. I doubt he'll report me to the principal for punching him, though; he's gonna have trouble explaining why I punched him in the first place."
Noah inwardly chuckled at that. He unconsciously placed his hands on Jayden's chest in relief, and the alpha smiled softly at him as they stood there.
Lucas got to his feet again and Noah quickly helped him steady himself. He walked with him over to the sink so that Lucas could get cleaned up, and Jayden stepped back as they walked past him.
"You should go to your class," Noah told Jayden as he helped Lucas clean up.
"Yeah, I guess I should. I'm already late, though," Jayden murmured and checked his phone to see what the time was. "Are you guys gonna be okay on your own?"
Lucas nodded. "I'm being picked up soon, anyway."
"Okay. Go home and get some rest," Jayden told him. "You should really start taking some self-defense classes, you know? Both of you."
"Yeah, yeah, just go already," Noah told him with a smile.
Jayden chuckled and left the bathrooms, leaving Noah and Lucas alone in it.
"I don't know… I suck at self-defense," Lucas murmured after Jayden had left.
"Have you ever taken classes?" Noah asked. He already knew the answer to that, though.
Lucas hesitated and shifted guiltily. "No… But I don't think I'd be good at it. I'm somewhat of a coward and I hate fighting…"
Noah chuckled. "Yeah, me too, but it can't hurt to try to attend some classes. We can go together if you want? They have some for girls and submissives only."
"I'll think about it…" Lucas smiled and washed his hands in the sink.
Noah nodded. Adrian had told him a few times to learn self-defense, but Noah just hadn't pulled himself together for it yet, mostly because he didn't want to attend the classes alone. He watched Lucas for a few moments before cautiously saying, "When you come home, maybe you should tell your foster parents about what happened… It'll help you feel better."
Lucas turned off the water and grabbed some paper towels to dry his hands with, not meeting Noah's eyes as he kept his head down. "Yeah, I will… I also have my therapist. It helps a lot to talk to her."
They grabbed their bags and left the bathrooms together then, and Noah followed Lucas out to the exit door to make sure that he got outside safe. They parted ways, and Noah was slightly surprised when Lucas pulled him into a small hug after having hesitated for a bit. They hadn't hugged before since Lucas was not really the type to like physical interaction. Noah smiled and returned the hug, feeling Lucas relax against him as if hugging wasn't nearly as bad as Lucas had thought it would be. Lucas pulled back and smiled shyly at him before walking over to the street where his foster parents would pick him up, and Noah watched him for a bit before going back inside and headed to the library to study.
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There weren't many people in the library that day, only a small group of freshmen girls in the corner and then the librarian who walked back and forth to put books on the shelves.
Noah found a nice, secluded spot. He made sure to sit somewhere where the librarian would notice it if someone approached him and harassed him, but also a spot where he could sit alone and not be bothered.
After what felt like ages Jayden finally arrived at the library when his class had ended, and Noah smiled as his boyfriend sat down in the seat next to him and leaned in to kiss him.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Jayden asked after they pulled away from their kiss. He grabbed a hold of Noah's hand and rubbed soothing circles into it with his thumb.
"I'm okay," Noah smiled and looked at him. "I just really hate running into the kind of guys like those from earlier."
Jayden scrunched his nose a bit in agreement. "Yeah. It's 2044 and some alphas still think of subs and females as sex objects and think they can do whatever they want with them. I hate saying it, but sometimes I'm really not comfortable leaving you alone somewhere… I get so worried that some asshole is going to hurt you."
Noah couldn't help but smile at that. "I mostly stay close to other people to avoid being vulnerable to such assholes. I don't think those alphas would have done anything since we were standing in the middle of a school corridor, but they were really making me uncomfortable… Lucas too."
Jayden squeezed Noah's hand for comfort. "How is Lucas anyway?"
"He got better, I think. I think he's just as grateful as me that you came by to help us."
Jayden smiled and cupped Noah's hands between both of his own while brushing his tail against Noah's legs as they sat there. "And I'm glad I was nearby. Did those bastards touch either of you?"
Noah shook his head. "No, but they were making rude comments…" he muttered.
Jayden growled and held Noah's hand tighter.
"You are kind of hurting my hand now, Connor," Noah murmured. He chuckled softly at Jayden as the alpha released his tight grip on his hand and looked a bit surprised, as if he hadn't even noticed it.
"Sorry…" Jayden murmured and brought Noah's hand up to his mouth to kiss it softly. He narrowed his eyes in a small glare as he put Noah's hand down again. "And you've been calling me that more often lately. I'm not sure if I like it or not."
Noah laughed. "Sorry."
Jayden huffed. "You're not sorry at all," he chuckled and leaned in to nuzzle Noah's cheek fondly. He grinned as Noah giggled and shyly turned his head away, but Jayden kept nosing at his cheek and jaw in affection. The alpha hummed and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of the submissive and purred softly as he took it in. He squeezed Noah's hand as their hands were joined on the table in front of them, and he felt Noah smile and lean into his touch. "I can't stand it when other guys look at you inappropriately or say things to you like those guys did earlier… It makes me want to punch them all." He let out a possessive growl and his feathers puffed out a little.
Noah shuddered at the possessiveness in Jayden's words and his mouth fell open in a small gasp while he bared his neck to his boyfriend. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of Jayden's lips touching his skin tenderly.
"But mostly I can't stand the thought of you being with someone else – you're mine," Jayden growled, hisvoice gruff and possessive, and Noah shuddered and let out a small whimper as Jayden nibbled gently at the skin just under his jaw. "You are mine, right…?" he whispered against Noah's skin, teasing his lips over Noah's neck which he knew his boyfriend liked a lot.
Noah chuckled fondly. "Yes, I'm yours. I only want to be yours." He pulled away from Jayden so that he could look him in the eye, and he smiled as Jayden's bluish grey eyes met his.
A grin covered Jayden's face then, and he leaned in and captured Noah's lip in a deep, possessive kiss.
Noah kissed him back and smiled against his lips. He tried not to get too carried away since they were in the school's library and that made him a bit paranoid, but Jayden was kissing him so deeply and dominantly that Noah couldn't help but melt into it. He moaned as Jayden moved his hand up to cup his cheek gently, and Noah found himself grasping Jayden's shirt tightly and running his hands over his clothed chest.
The sound of books falling to floor a few bookshelves away made them pull apart abruptly, immediately remembering where they were. Noah quickly gathered his hands in his lap and glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them, but it seemed that no one had been watching them. They heard the librarian mutter a small series of curses a few feet away, obviously having dropped those books by accident, and they both chuckled a bit at that.
Jayden rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry… I got carried away. Again."
"Me too," Noah chuckled and glanced down at Jayden's lap briefly. He lifted his gaze to Jayden's face then, a smirk tilting his lips. "And I think we should stop touching for a few minutes. I don't think you'd be popular with the librarian if she saw your pants right now."
Jayden blushed a bit and squirmed as he tried to cover his lap and the erection that was visible in his jeans. "Sorry, but I can't help it when I'm around you." He glared when Noah snickered. "And just so you know, you only have that honey-like scent on you when you're aroused, so don't make fun of me." He couldn't see Noah's erection because Noah had placed his hands in his lap, and it wasn't as visible as it was in Jayden's pants because of size difference, but he could smell it when Noah was aroused when he inhaled his scent from his neck. Judging from how weak that honey scent had been, he guessed that Noah wasn't aroused or wet enough to leak through his pants but probably enough for him to feel it a bit in his panties.
Noah blushed furiously and pretended to turn his attention back to his laptop, and Jayden laughed at him.
"You're so cute sometimes," Jayden snickered and put a hand on Noah's thigh, rubbing it tenderly.
"Shut up, Connor," Noah muttered, staring into his laptop screen to hide his flushed face from Jayden. "And I need to finish my homework now. I don't wanna do it when I come home."
Jayden laughed and pulled away to bring out his own laptop from his shoulder bag. "Yeah, me too."
They settled down to do their homework together and help each other out a bit.
When Jayden got bored or stuck he shoved Noah playfully, making the submissive growl at him in annoyance when he broke his concentration. Noah glared as Jayden laughed but he couldn't stay angry or annoyed with him for too long so he quickly softened up again – and shoved Jayden back when the alpha least expected it.
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On Friday Noah was excited to get home from school since Adrian and Natalie were coming over to spend the weekend at Dean and Castiel's house with little Maya. They hadn't seen each other since Christmas and Noah really missed his brother. Dean was turning 56 years old on Sunday so the kids were coming over on Friday to be there to celebrate it on Sunday, though Eden and Jason would first drop by on Saturday.
Isaac still lived at home for now since he hadn't found a job yet. He had attended a few interviews and auditions for roles, but hadn't gotten a role yet – neither on TV or in a theater. He suspected it was because he was an angel/demon hybrid, even though many of the casters had insisted that it wasn't the reason.
Lily, on the other hand, had finally been employed in a local theater where she played the violin at musicals and other performances. She had been there for almost three months already and she got along well with all her coworkers. Tony had gotten a job as a marketing consultant and he and Lily had rented a big apartment together where they had moved in a few months ago, so Lily didn't live at Dean and Castiel's house anymore now.
Noah was playing some game on his laptop in the living room when Dean and Castiel came home at 4pm. He smiled as he watched his papa giggle over something Dean had done or said while they carried the groceries inside.
"Hey, kiddo. How was school today?" Dean asked, struggling to get past Bella who was barking and running between his legs while he carried a heavy bag of groceries. "Bella! Sit!" he ordered with a small growl of annoyance.
Noah chuckled as Bella sat down on her butt and looked up at Dean innocently while the demon moved over to the kitchen with Cas. "It was okay. Nothing much happened today," he replied.
"How is Lucas doing?" Castiel asked from the kitchen with a hint of worry in his voice. He had heard about the incident two days ago where Noah and Lucas had been approached by those alphas, and Noah had told him that Lucas had reacted pretty strongly to that.
"He's okay… He was a little quiet and distant yesterday but we managed to cheer him up in the lunch break and now he seems to be doing better."
"That's good," Castiel spoke, relieved, and let Dean help him put the groceries into the fridge.
"What's Isaac doing?" Dean suddenly asked when he noticed he wasn't there.
"He had an audition for a role at one of the theaters today, remember?" Castiel said, slightly amused that Dean had already forgotten about that.
"Oh right. I forgot."
They all looked up when the front door opened, and they immediately knew it was Isaac when they heard him curse over something in the entrance hall while he was taking off his shoes and jacket.
"Speak of the devil," Dean chuckled and shared a look with Castiel. He temporarily abandoned the groceries to go into the living room and glanced out into the entrance hall where Isaac was busy shrugging out of his jacket. "How'd it go?" he asked, referring to Isaac's audition.
"How'd you think it went? Like shit, of course!" Isaac growled, aggressively shoving his jacket onto the hook on the wall before stomping up the stairs angrily and slammed the door to his room shut with a loud slam.
Dean stood there, dumbfounded and speechless, and cast look over his shoulder at Cas in the kitchen who looked just as dumbfounded as him.
Bella whined softly, sensing the sudden mood change in the room and didn't like it.
Noah had flinched when he heard Isaac's door slam shut, and he sat there with wide eyes and didn't know what to do. A grim, ugly feeling spread through his chest when he noticed how upset his brother was. It wasn't like Isaac to behave like that, so something really bad must have happened to upset him.
Normally Dean would get angry when one of the kids slammed their doors and snapped at him, but today he just couldn't help but feel pretty sad about it rather than angry. He looked over at Cas helplessly.
Castiel felt tears prickle in his eyes but he forced himself to stay strong. He cleared his throat before speaking since he knew that if he spoke right now his voice would be all croaky. "You should go talk to him, Dean."
"Are you sure it isn't best if you do it?" Dean asked.
"I think he needs his father more than his mother right now."
Castiel was often the one that comforted the kids when they were sad or upset and he could mostly make them cheer up again pretty fast with hugs and comforting words, but he had the feeling that Isaac needed another kind of talk. One that Dean would be better at giving him than Castiel would.
"Yeah alright. I'll bring him down with me afterwards," Dean said and headed out to the stairs. Bella moved to follow after him but he ordered her to stay put.
When Dean arrived at Isaac's door he gently knocked a few times, waiting for a response.
"Come in. The door is open," came Isaac's voice from inside.
Dean entered the room and found Isaac lying on the bed with his face buried his pillow and his wings splayed out on the bed next to him while his tail was flicking in agitation. Dean closed the door and walked over to Isaac's bed, puffing his tail against Isaac's and earned a small grunt from him.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you and slammed the door," Isaac grumbled into his pillow.
"Good. You should be sorry, 'cause it was kinda rude." Dean sat down on the edge of Isaac's bed and gave his son's tail a playful tug, making the beta jump in surprise. "What's up? What happened?"
"I am just so fucking tired of racists and people who think that I'm less worth than them because I'm an angel/demon hybrid," Isaac growled, still lying on his stomach on the bed. "I was so fucking close to getting that role! They let me do a scene to show my skills, and I got praise from the other actors who said I played it better than the others who had attended the audition, but then the CEO of the theater got involved and said that he doesn't want to make 'advertisements' for abominations!" He growled in anger and sat up on the bed, folding his knees under him and clutched his pillow against his chest while digging his fingers into it angrily. "Well, fuck him! If it wasn't for that ass-clown I would have gotten the damn role! I'm so sick of this shit!"
Dean stared at him and sighed heavily. "I know. You and your siblings don't exactly have the best chances for jobs because of what you are, and neither Cas or I ever wanted you to feel miserable because of it…"
"I'm not miserable, I'm just fucking angry at that prick!"
"And miserable because you didn't get the role you wanted," Dean pointed out.
Isaac's mouth fell shut as he had no argument for that statement. His mouth was set in a straight line as he looked away from his father. "Well, of course I'm miserable. I'm never gonna find a damn job at this rate…"
Dean huffed. "So what, you get turned down eight times for a job and now you're thinking you'll never find one? I didn't take you for a quitter." He got up from the bed then and moved to stand in front of Isaac who blinked up at him in slight bewilderment. "You don't quit, got it? And you don't sit around here feeling miserable and sorry for yourself – you go out there, you get yourself another audition or interview or whatever, and then you show them what you are really made of! Life's too damn short to let a bunch of donkey-faced assholes win over you! You haven't let racists pull you down before, so don't you dare get started with it now," he growled, staring Isaac firmly into the eyes.
Isaac just blinked up at him for a few seconds, completely dumbfounded, and let his father's words sink in. He let out a small snort then. "Jeez, dad, and here I thought you were gonna hug me and tell me everything was gonna be okay…"
Dean chuckled. "Well, I am telling you that everything's gonna be okay, but it isn't gonna be okay if you just sit on your lazy ass with a pillow clutched against your chest like an insulted child while that CEO bastard is laughing behind your back now. You go out and you show everyone what you're made of, 'cause as far I as I know, you're a damned good actor and people should regret not hiring you for the roles that you were meant to play."
Isaac laughed, although a bit half-heartedly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm still angry at that ass, tough."
"I didn't say you shouldn't be; I'm just saying you shouldn't let it make you feel miserable or like you're not good enough, 'cause you are."
Isaac grinned, finally feeling more confident again. He got up from his bed and threw the pillow back on its place. "Thanks, dad," he smiled, nudging his tail against Dean's in gratitude.
Dean just smiled before pulling Isaac into a tight hug, grinning when he felt Isaac return it and lean into him. He patted his son's back proudly before stepping back. "Now, are you gonna come downstairs to apologize for making your papa and little brother worry their hearts out?"
"I think we should call an ambulance if that happened," Isaac quipped, a deadpan expression on his face.
Dean laughed and shoved him lightly. "That's my boy," he chuckled and wrapped his arm around Isaac's shoulder as they headed to the door.
"Oi," Isaac warned since Dean made it sound like he was a child, but he still chuckled at it.
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Isaac had seemed a little bit ashamed when he saw the worried expressions on Noah and Castiel's faces when he and Dean had come downstairs. He explained to them what had happened and why he was angry, and Castiel had come over to him afterwards and had hugged him. Isaac had accepted the hug and let his papa rub his back for comfort. Castiel was sad that Isaac was having trouble with finding work because of what he was, and he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about that.
At 4:50pm Lily came over to the house along with Tony to be there for Adrian's visit. They were there for Dean's birthday too of course, but Lily didn't see Adrian that often and she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
Adrian and Natalie arrived at 5:30pm along with Maya who was one and half years old now. The baby grinned widely when she saw Dean and Castiel, and she immediately reached up her arms towards Castiel to be picked up.
"Hello, Maya," Castiel grinned and picked up the little girl. He settled her on his arm and smiled at her. "What a nice dress you have," he remarked softly when he took in her pink dress with a unicorn on it.
Natalie smiled. "Yeah, my brother Ben gave it for her for Christmas. My brothers totally spoil her," she chuckled.
Lily came over to see Maya's dress too and the baby smiled shyly as the others looked as well.
They greeted and hugged each other in the entrance hall before moving into the living room.
Once inside the living room, Maya wanted to be moved over into Adrian's arms, so Castiel brought her over to Adrian who took her gently and smiled as he got her settled on his arm.
"What's wrong? You were so eager to sit on your grandma's arm just a few minutes ago," Adrian cooed at the baby who leaned into him and rested her head under his chin.
"She's just such a daddy's girl," Natalie chuckled and stroked her hand tenderly down Maya's arm.
Lily smiled at that. "Has she learned more words since last time?"
Maya could say several words now but couldn't really form any sentences. She could repeat words when the adults asked her to say something, although it sometimes came out as something different.
"Well, my brothers taught her to say 'ass'," Natalie muttered, looking very unimpressed about that.
Adrian laughed. "She says it more like 'ash', actually."
The others laughed at that.
"That's fucking genius!" Isaac laughed. "I gotta teach her some words too."
"No!" Natalie snapped, making the others laugh at how insistent she was about that.
"Yeah, you better keep her away from Isaac's filthy mouth," Dean chuckled.
They went over to sit on the couch then. Isaac snatched one of the chairs and Dean took the other, while the others sat down on the couch with Castiel sitting closest to Dean, then Noah, Tony, and then Lily, Adrian, and Natalie on the other side of the couch. Maya sat on Adrian's lap first but then moved down to play under the couch table with some toys.
"So how's it going with living together now?" Natalie asked Lily and Tony.
Lily smiled and grabbed a hold of Tony's hand. "It's going well. We have a nice, big apartment and some very nice neighbors. Our work schedules are different though, since I often work in the late evening to play at musicals and such in the theater."
"Are you still glad to work there?" Adrian asked, keeping an eye on Maya who was cooing softly while she was playing around under the table. The baby giggled when Bella came over and nosed curiously at her toy. Maya moved a bit over towards Noah's legs then, and giggled shyly when he glanced down at her with a soft smile and poked her gently with his foot to make her laugh.
"Yup. I have the nicest colleagues. Only one or two rotten apples among them but it's nothing I can't handle," Lily grinned.
Isaac snorted. "Well, at least you have a job."
Adrian looked over at him, a sympathetic frown covering his face. "Still no job?"
"Nope. Every boss I've met is a racist grade-A asshole."
"Isaac, don't use such words around Maya," Castiel scolded him in disapproval.
"Yeah, I'd appreciate that," Natalie chuckled before looking over at Isaac. "Have you been looking for a role as a guest star on a TV show or something? It could be a good way to start an acting career and they're auditioning in L.A. after all, which is not that far away. And if you get a small role where you have to be on the set for a week or two, you can sleep at Adrian's and my apartment if you haven't got a car or anything yet by then."
"Hey, don't give him ideas," Adrian groaned, horrified at the thought of having his hyper little brother sleeping at his place for a while.
Isaac laughed at Adrian's comment before looking at Natalie with a smile. "Thanks, I'll take you up on that offer. And yeah, I did keep an eye out for guest star roles over there and I did find one role recently that I'm interested in… Guess I should contact them and come over for an audition. I just hope the casting people aren't too racist."
"And I don't think I've ever seen an angel/demon hybrid in a TV show or a movie before…" Tony said, pondering over that.
"Me neither," Lily murmured.
"Well, someone's gotta be first," Dean said and smirked at Isaac.
"Woot! I'm gonna make everyone like angel/demons hybrids when they see me on TV!" Isaac cheered and moved his arms up with enthusiasm.
The others laughed at it, and Adrian and Castiel both looked slightly embarrassed about being related to him.
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They all had dinner together and enjoyed the food that Castiel had prepared. Natalie had helped him out a little and they had had a nice little chat together about random things from their lives and about Maya.
Afterwards Castiel walked around with Maya after the baby had tripped on the floor and hurt her knees and hands, and now she was crying and sobbing. Natalie had comforted her for a bit first, but since Maya was getting tired and sleepy she just kept crying, Natalie and Adrian had gone upstairs to set up the portable crib in Adrian's old room for Maya to sleep in, and in the meanwhile Castiel was trying to calm Maya down.
"Shh, it's okay, sweetie. It doesn't hurt that bad, and soon you'll be sleeping in the crib with your favorite plushie," Castiel told her and smiled gently at the sobbing baby.
Maya gave a few more sobs and stared at Castiel, her eyes still wet with tears. She looked at his blue eyes before leaning into him so that her head rested on his shoulder. Her body was still shaking with small sobs which were slowly subsiding.
"Aww, you're just so tired, aren't you?" Lily cooed and smiled at Maya while rubbing her back soothingly.
"I think she may need a new diaper too…" Castiel spoke and frowned at the baby when he sensed how heavy her diaper was.
"Eww! I'm gonna pass on that," Isaac said and walked away with a disgusted grimace.
Tony chuckled. "Me too."
"Hey, didn't you and Lily talk about babies recently? You should get some practice then." Dean smirked between Lily and Tony and laughed at the horror that suddenly covered Tony's face.
Noah giggled as he watched them. Bella was sitting next to him and panted happily as he rubbed her forehead the way she liked it best.
Lily smiled and continued to rub Maya's back who was now calming down while leaning against Castiel. "Well, I wouldn't mind getting some practice. If Adrian and Natalie are okay with it."
Dean laughed. "I don't think anyone would get upset over missing out on changing a baby's diapers. And you've changed her diaper twice before already."
"I know, but Noah still has to try," Lily spoke and turned to look at her younger brother.
Noah took a small step back. "Um, no, you go ahead. You are probably going to have babies before me anyway, and I ate so much for dinner that I don't think I can handle the smell of poop right now…"
Isaac burst out laughing from the other end of the living room, and Tony laughed too.
Lily chuckled. "Okay then."
Castiel gently transferred Maya into Lily's arms so that she could be taken to the bathroom for a diaper change. Tony reluctantly followed Lily there to assist her, and Castiel smiled as he watched them go.
"I am amazed that you are practically encouraging Lily and Tony to have a baby," Castiel spoke, looking at Dean with a smug smile.
Dean rolled his eyes and went forward to place his hands on Cas' hips and caress his leg with his tail. "I don't think it would make a difference if I tried to discourage them from it."
The angel chuckled softly. "Probably not."
Noah watched as Dean leaned in and rubbed his nose against Castiel's before kissing him softly. He smiled as he watched them but was quickly distracted by the gagging noises Isaac was making from across the room. He giggled at his brother and saw Dean roll his eyes but refusing to stop kissing Cas because of it.
"Ugh, it's so gross in this house! Everyone is making out! I'm glad that Jayden isn't here, otherwise I would be watching him having his hands all over you too," Isaac complained and scowled over at Noah.
"You're just jealous," Noah laughed.
"I'm not!"
Dean and Castiel pulled away from their kiss and laughed at the interaction.
Adrian and Natalie walked back into the room then, and Adrian glanced between his brothers with a skeptic frown after he had heard them arguing from the stairs. "Is he bothering you again?" he asked Noah and sent a sideways scowl at Isaac.
Noah chuckled. "No, not really. He is just jealous that everyone but him is in a relationship."
"Shut up, man! I'm not jealous!" Isaac protested stubbornly. "I like being single; it gives me freedom to be me, and I can fart all I want in my bed without anyone complaining about it."
"That's nasty," Natalie laughed.
"Oh yeah? I bet you've made Adrian stop farting in your bed now," Isaac said, smirking at his older brother who scowled him.
Natalie chuckled. "Not really, but I have kicked him out of bed a couple of times when he farted too much."
Adrian turned his head to look at her with a teasing smirk. "At least I'm not the one that accidentally let out a pretty loud burp once while talking on the phone with my brother."
Natalie's face went completely red at that.
"No way! She did that?" Isaac laughed, while Dean, Cas, and Noah looked stunned. Lily and Tony emerged from the bathroom then with Maya and frowned between them in slight confusion since they didn't know what they were talking about.
"I was drunk! And shut up! It isn't funny, Adrian!" Natalie growled and smacked him on the arm in embarrassment. This was not something she wanted her in-laws to hear about.
Adrian laughed uncontrollably, dodging Natalie's hand when she tried to smack him again for laughing so hard at her. The redder her face got from embarrassment, the more Adrian couldn't stop laughing.
Isaac was laughing hard too. "Wow, that's awesome! Wish I could have seen it."
"It was pretty priceless," Adrian grinned, laughing as Natalie growled and tried to cover his mouth with her hands to make him shut up.
Dean and Castiel were laughing, especially as they watched Adrian and Natalie struggle with each other and how Natalie stubbornly kept trying to cover Adrian's mouth even though he kept grabbing her hands to make her stop.
Bella was barking and wagging her tail furiously, hyped up by everything that was going on.
"Wow, what's going on?" Lily asked Noah who was also laughing. Maya sat on her arm and rubbed her eyes sleepily, not understanding what was going on at all.
Noah caught his breath from laughing to explain it to her and Tony, and then they too were laughing.
Eventually Adrian let Natalie cover his mouth but kept laughing against her hand. When everyone was done laughing Natalie blushed and corrected her hair a bit since struggling with Adrian had messed it up. She then moved over to Lily to take Maya who was whining and calling for her, and she glared at Adrian when he slapped her butt playfully when she walked past him.
Maya calmed down a bit when she was in Natalie's arms and she gently shushed and rocked the baby. "Let's get you up to bed, shall we?" She smiled at her daughter who nodded and sucked on her pacifier, before looking over at Castiel and Dean. "I'm pretty sure Maya wouldn't mind it if you help me tuck her in. If you want?"
Castiel smiled and went over to them. "Of course." He stroked Maya's cheek gently and the baby glanced at him with tired, blue eyes and kept staring at his face.
Natalie, Dean, and Castiel moved to go upstairs with Maya, and Natalie stopped when she reached Adrian to let him lean down and place a chaste kiss on Maya's head.
"Good night, sweetie," Adrian smiled and stroked his daughter's cheek lovingly. Maya stared back at him through sleepy eyes but seemed to smile a bit behind her pacifier.
Natalie smiled and went upstairs with Dean and Castiel to lay Maya to sleep in the crib in Adrian's room. She shifted Maya over into Dean's arms for a moment, and the demon rocked Maya gently on his arm and kissed her head when she whined softly.
"Shh, your mommy is just getting your night clothes ready," Dean told Maya softly as they stood in Adrian's room. The lights were dimmed to make it more comfortable for Maya who didn't like sharp lights when she was sleepy.
Natalie roamed through one of the bags with baby clothes and finally pulled out some cotton stockings and a blouse for Maya to sleep in. She handed the items to Castiel. "You don't get to see her all that often, so I'm gonna let you get her dressed and tuck her in. I'll go downstairs to the others."
"Okay," Castiel smiled.
Natalie leaned in and kissed Maya good night before quietly leaving the room and shut the door behind her.
Maya sobbed a little in protest when her mommy left, but Dean shushed and rocked her to calm her down. "No, don't be insulted 'cause you're left here alone with grandma and grandpa. We're not that bad to be around, you know." He made a funny face and noise after that, and Maya laughed and dropped her pacifier which fell down on Dean's arm.
Castiel chuckled and picked up the pacifier. "Let's get her dressed."
They put their granddaughter down on the bed and helped each other change her clothes. Dean struggled to get the stockings on the baby and cursed when it didn't go how he wanted. Castiel chuckled at him before taking over, and Dean huffed as he watched how easy the angel made it look.
Maya flapped her little, white wings and laughed when Dean tickled her stomach a bit, but she was so tired that her laughter was pretty weak.
"You really are sleepy, aren't you?" Dean grinned at her.
"Sleepy," Maya murmured and stared up at them as Castiel adjusted her blouse. She didn't speak that much, especially not when she was sleepy, but sometimes she spoke out some of the words she knew.
Castiel smiled at that before picking her up and went over to tuck her into the crib. Dean helped him wrap the blanket around her and make sure she was comfortable, and Maya immediately closed her eyes once her head was on the pillow.
They watched their granddaughter with soft smiles before quietly leaving the room and turning off the lights. They had made sure that the baby alarm was in place, and Castiel held it in his hand as they entered the hallway and closed the door behind them.
"It kinda makes me miss the time when our kids were little," Dean smiled and grabbed Castiel's hand as they stood outside in the mostly dark hallway.
Castiel smiled and looked up at him. "Yes, me too, but our grandchildren make up for it. I enjoy having them over, and it's amazing how fast they all grow…"
"Yeah, they're gonna be dating soon," Dean chuckled.
The angel gave him a look. "There's still at least another decade until that, Dean."
"Mm, true, but time passes so fast."
Castiel smiled sadly at that, knowing that Dean was right. He stared at Dean's clothed chest and felt the demon entwine their fingers and brush his tail against his leg. "Do you think that Isaac will be successful in finding a job soon? It pains me that he is having so much trouble with it… That's not what I wanted for our children…"
"Hey," Dean spoke, his voice soft and gentle, and reached out to tilt Cas' head up by placing his other hand under his chin. He smiled as blue eyes met his. "He'll find a job, don't worry. It's just a bit more difficult for him since angel/demon hybrids are not something you see on TV or on the stage every day, you know. I'm sure he will soon have a role where he can show everyone his talents. He's certainly not gonna give up trying."
Castiel's lips curled into a small smile. "I know. He is just as stubborn as Gabriel," he said, chuckling softly. "But still…"
"I promise you it'll be alright," Dean insisted. He smiled at Cas before leaning in to capture the angel's lips in a soft, loving kiss, humming as they moved their lips together. They pulled away after a few moments and Dean cupped Cas' cheek while looking at him fondly. "Can't believe I'm turning 56 in two days," he chortled.
Castiel chuckled. "Yes, you are getting quite old," he teased. He looked at Dean's face which still looked pretty young, but it was starting to show a few signs of wrinkles. Demon youth didn't last forever, but it sure lasted much longer than humans'. Dean would always be handsome in Castiel's mind though, old or not.
"Oi. At least my dick doesn't get old, 'cause I made you scream pretty loud last night when I fucked you into the mattress." Dean smirked cockily at Cas who blushed slightly.
"Well, someday your back will get old and who is going to make me scream then?"
Dean's smirk immediately faltered, and he glared when the angel laughed at him. "Hey, that's not funny! No one ever gets to fuck you but me."
"I know. I don't want it any other way," Castiel laughed, brushing his wing against Dean's but still had a teasing grin on his face.
Dean raised an eyebrow at him. "What brought you in such a teasing mood tonight, huh? Well, I'm not sure if I like it…"
"You don't have to like it," Castiel chuckled and reached out to squeeze Dean's hand once more. "Let us go downstairs now and be with the children again."
"Yeah, let's do that," Dean agreed. He squeezed Castiel's hand back and walked over to the stairs with him, ready to go downstairs to continue the evening in the company of their family.
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Author's notes: Again, sorry for the slow update, but my beta is now finally done with her finals so she'd have more time to proof-read! :) Now you're probably just gonna have to wait for my slow ass to write the chapters XD
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Just a few more chapters left of Devoted. I'm pretty sure it will have 95 chapters in total, so there's just about 5 whole chapters left now. I am going to write the spin-off, which I will be naming "Dedicated" – the title should reflect that it's dedicated to Noah and Jayden's story, and at the same time it's a synonym for the word "devoted". I do hope that many of my readers will be following that story as well :)
Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review for me :)