"Thanks for helping me with my stuff, man." Stiles sighed as he retrieved a couple bags of belongings from the back of his jeep, glancing at the house that didn't look any more lived in this time, despite knowing the couple he would be living with was definitely there, waiting, confirmed by the anticipatory texts they'd shared just minutes ago.

"No problem. I'm happy to help make this all as easy as possible for you." Scott assured, a bit too carefully and lovingly for Stiles' comfort.

"Dude, I told you I'm okay." Stiles didn't feel like lying to his best friend today, but he didn't want any more of his pity or concern either. It made him anxious for Scott to still be tiptoeing around him. Not that Scott didn't have a right, but it certainly wasn't helping him get better. "Or at least I will be. Of course I'm still sad. But nothing's gonna make things better faster, so… I'm thinking, now that I'm mostly back on my rocker… maybe we deal with this the way we've been preparing to since we realized Death is inevitable: Taking the last of dad's liquor and getting drunk in the preserve tonight? Can call it 'celebrating the move' if you want." Scott patted him on the back before clumsily hauling Stiles' duffle back up one arm and grabbing the last box, giving a disappointed sigh, as if he could say no.

"Although I disapprove, I will of course be there. For moral support." Scott conceded.

"Of course." Stiles repeated back patronizingly, giving a small smile and laugh as Scott elbowed him.

"And you're not gonna drink for a while after this, right?" Scott asked cautiously.

"Promise." Stiles sighed. "I swear, Scott, I'm good. I'm gonna be fine, and if I'm not, on my life, I will not be mad if you clock my ass. Alright? Just knock me straight the fuck out."

"I don't wanna knock you out, jackass." Scott laughed.

"Good," Stiles spun around, pointing at him. "'Cause you're not gonna get to, because I'm gonna be fine."

"Right." Scott nodded, obviously skeptical. "So… Ready to meet your... new... guardians?" Scott asked, to change the subject to what they were here for, again tip toeing on every word. Stiles sighed, wondering if he'd ever get around to talking to him about that. Not if we don't stop being a coward about it. Right…

"Ready as I'll ever be, Scotty. I'm just hoping they aren't total jerks in person, or something."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. They've been totally chill so far, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Stiles sighed. He didn't like not being able to eloquently explain his anxiety when he knew he had fair reason to be anxious. "Sometimes people are different over the phone, you know?"

"... No? Not really." Scott said with a little shrug, like Stiles was worried he would. How exactly was he supposed to argue with that, with Scott not knowing something? He couldn't lie, it did help his nerves, but not by that much. They went up to the door and Stiles shifted the weight of his bags a bit to knock lightly. He couldn't get his keys right now, and besides he really didn't want to suddenly burst in unannounced. Almost immediately a man with curly brown hair and stubble, wearing a blue suit and brown trench coat, answered and looked them both up and down before speaking.

"Hello!" Voice deep and stiff but seemingly glad, excited even, maybe. Way different than the voices he'd heard from either Cas or Dean, instantly making his nerves sky rocket. But the man's expression seemed vaguely nervous too, maybe it was just that? Stiles paused, confused when the man didn't let them in.

"Hey, I'm Stiles- uh, Stiles Stilinski. Your... kid.. ish? Is this the right place." He croaked, even though he knew it was, worried perhaps this was a mover or lawyer or something and he'd end up being embarrassed for assuming it was one of the guys.

"Yes, I assumed you were! I've been meaning to ask, actually, the paperwork says your name is-?" The man continued in a downright alarming voice Stiles definitely didn't recognize at all, deep, gravelly, and monotone, not like Cas' calm lighter lilted voice, or Dean's confident smooth drawl. It didn't even sound healthy.

"Whoa! Is your voice strained, or is it always like that? Man, I'd definitely get that checked out if I were you." Stiles said a bit out of shock, a bit out of wanting to change the subject so he didn't have to explain how to pronounce his name for the next hour.

"Oh, no. It just sort of gets like this when I'm-" Before the man could respond, another man peaked out from a room in the back of the house, visible from the entrance.

"Cas, is that the kid? Hurry up and let him in!" Dean's familiar voice called. Though it sounded different off the phone, it was definitely unmistakably Dean's voice. Stiles almost sighed in relief hearing Dean's voice also confirming this was somehow Cas. Dean went back to whatever he was doing and the guy in the overcoat moved aside to let the two of them in. Stiles could hardly believe it was Cas (or "James for legal purposes" according to Morrell), the quirky emoji spamming softie he'd been texting hourly for a week or two now. He supposed maybe he was just anxious and it was making him all stiff. And grumbly, apparently. Seriously, he needed to get that looked at… Stiles would annoy him about it later, once they were better acquainted.

"Right, of course. Welcome. Please, uh, have a seat." Cas said apologetically, giving a welcoming gesture as he held the door open for them. Scott and Stiles set the bags and box down at the bottom of the stairs and went to sit on one of the couches. Cas sat across from them on an identical couch.

"Well… As you know, this is Stiles. I'm his best friend, Scott. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Scott said cheerily, and held out his hand. Cas took and shook it with a smile, but replied with nothing. Scott didn't seem to mind initially, smiling over at Stiles. Stiles assumed proud of himself for introducing them so smoothly. They sat there awkwardly for a few seconds before Cas looked at the door to what seemed to be the dining room, seemingly about to call Dean, but before he could, Dean came in with two glasses of some kind of blue drink. He handed them to Scott and Stiles with a slick smile.

"Hey, sorry for leaving you alone with Cas for so long, he can be a bit, uh, socially crippled, for lack of a better word. But our dumbasses completely forgot to get anything to drink at the store so I had to whip something up. Thank fuck we made ice last time we were here." He looked to Cas as he sat down next to him. "You at least introduced yourself, right?" Cas gave Dean a slightly confused look. "Supposed to do that when you first meet someone... Even if you've already talked. So they know it's you… You didn't, did you?" Cas opened his mouth as if about to give an excuse, suddenly realizing he indeed had not, but then just turned back to them.

"I am Castiel, Cas for short. We talked extensively on the phone, it's lovely to finally get to meet you both in person. My apologies, I'm just... a bit nervous." Cas explained, voice still gravelly. Stiles and Scott both smiled and nodded understandingly. Stiles looked to Dean to fill him in on the introductions.

"I'm Stiles, this is my best friend Scott I was telling you about. He came to help me with my stuff and meet my- um, you two. Nice to meet you guys. I don't think I've said this yet, and I really wanna get it off my chest so... thanks for taking me in, moving here- It really means the world to me. My only other choice to stay in town probably would've been emancipation, and Tara- my dad's friend- really didn't want me doing that. So, you guys are pretty much life savers." Scott jumped ever so slightly at Stiles' straightforward attitude. Stiles had been avoiding talking about all this for the longest time, but mostly just because he was scared it wouldn't work out. Part of him was glad to finally lay it out in the open at least a little.

"You absolutely have nothing to thank us for, kid, we're beyond ecstatic to have you. 'We casa es tu casa' so make yourselves at home. Um, except don't go through the boxes. We haven't unpacked everything and we don't really know what's where. Some sharp stuff, some breakables, you know how it is." Dean shrugged and gave a light head shake. "Otherwise you've got the run of the place."

"Cool. So, any other rules you wanna make perfectly clear before there are any problems?" Stiles said, not able to stop thinking how weird this all felt; how weirdly formal it was. Yet Dean chuckled.

"Just don't wake us up if you come home late and keep it down if you bring a chick around." Dean joked. Stiles gave an appreciative smirk, even though he wasn't all that amused. Castiel tightened up with an inhale but didn't loosen up when he sighed.

"Dean…" He said in a scolding voice. Stiles wasn't sure if over the bad heteronormative joke, or what.

"Alright, alright. I'm sure we can come up with some more... Uh… Why don't you start, Cas?" Dean apparently assumed otherwise.

"I believe... curfews are a fairly common rule?" Cas suggested, with a bit of a shrug. Dean sighed.

"Cas, curfews are for losers and idiots. He's just going to break it, because of course he is, he has a life-"

"I actually have zero life, but continue." Stiles interrupted, amused. Dean didn't seem to mind.

"Still, eventually he's gonna break it because curfews are stupid, and we're gonna have to pretend to be mad at him for having fun for once in his life!" Dean turned to Stiles once he finished. "Sorry for the once in your life bit, I'm projecting a little." Stiles shook his head and gave a dismissive wave, not minding at all.

"It's meant to ensure he stays safe and gets a healthy amount of sleep for school. Violations can obviously be dealt with on a case by case basis, but it's good to have as a general guideline to encourage healthy decisions, is it not?" Cas insisted in a voice Stiles finally recognized a bit more.

"Fine. Ugh... How about... tell us in advance if you're going to be out past 12?" Stiles tried not to show his shock about Dean's apparently genuine leniency. "11 on school nights, I guess. That way we know you've at least got time for a good 7 hours of shut eye. Cas, you wanna come up with something?" Cas took a second, as if thinking, before seeming to have an idea. Stiles was a bit shocked he was fine with the curfew.

"Oh. No Satanism, witchcraft, or necromancy in the house…" Cas said, as if it wasn't the absolute weirdest fucking thing. Dean quickly put a hand on Cas' shoulder as the boys sat up straight at the odd rule.

"Cas… Satanism? Really?" Dean sighed, more in a "don't bring that up" sort of way, rather than the "What the fuck are you talking about" way that one might expect.

"Oh, no, not my Satanism..." Stiles joked in a monotone voice to lighten the mood.

"Rituals and evocations, I mean of course. Your personal beliefs and preferences and non-ritualistic holiday celebrations are your own business and, of course, welcome, but we'd rather avoid anything that could lead to demonic, spiritual, or otherworldly intrusions of the property, as we've gone through a lot to make it as unlikely as possible."

"Cas…" Dean repeated, jerking Cas' shoulder gently, giving him a very clear "What are you doing, shut the fuck up" sort of look.

"Well, Dean, I do believe a few special rules might be appropriate?" Cas argued the topic carefully, not giving the two of them any hints about what they were on about.

"Fine fine, you're right…" Dean sighed roughly and nodded, seeming to understand what Cas meant. "Another little rule: Let us get the door, unless it's someone you personally know, like Scott. And even then, can't hurt for them to call or text before they come over. Even if it's like a minute before, that's fine. Generally just make sure you shoot somebody a text before you knock. Got it?" The teens found the request mildly weird and didn't see the point to it, but figured it wasn't terribly unreasonable, especially out in the middle of nowhere with at least two anxious people living there, so they nodded along.

"And if we are not here, and someone you don't know visits, do not let them in, even if they say we're expecting them. The only people that would have an immediate concern have a key, and will announce themselves before letting themselves in. Anyone who does not have a key can wait outside until we return." The two nodded again at Cas' rule, seeming a bit overprotective, but normal enough.

"Also, if we tell you to do something that sounds a bit odd, say like putting salt across the threshold of the doors and windows, just trust us and do it." That's where the boys raised their eyebrows both in confusion and suspicion at Dean. "Oh, also don't touch my car or my guns without expressed permission. Because you will be under house arrest for a month if you do." That was the first time Dean sounded incredibly serious, and it kind of scared Stiles and definitely Scott, distracting from the previous weird remark.

"One last thing, if you randomly find pie in the fridge, please do not eat it. Dean enjoys pie with a passion, so it is likely his, and I'm sure he'd be disappointed if it disappeared." Cas said in a bit of a joking, admiring tone. Dean seemed slightly embarrassed, but didn't disagree.

"Any questions?" Dean asked. Scott raised his hand, which Stiles found vaguely hilarious. "Other than 'why would we do -blank-' or if we're insane?" Scott lowered his hand. Of course he did. No one could tell Stiles Scott wasn't the second most hilarious man on earth.

"Yeah, one or two." Stiles offered, being sure to sound serious. Dean and Cas both seemed so attentive, Stiles almost felt bad. "First, is the garage included in the 'in the house' part of the witchcraft, necromancy, and Satanism rule?"

"Is it?" Cas asked Dean. Dean gaped at Cas.

"Of course, it is! You think I'm gonna let Baby get possessed or cursed?!" Dean said with serious outrage. Stiles tried not to laugh.

"Aw, but what about my Yule ceremonies? I'm gonna freeze. To death. We're in the mountains, we get snow!" He said dramatically.

"We're in California. I'll be shocked if it drops under 20. A bit of a chill will be good for ya." Dean insisted with a smirk. Stiles was glad Dean took it in good humor. "Anything else?" Stiles nodded.

"Would you mind if I hung out with Scott tonight a bit past curfew?" Stiles asked.

"Not at all. Have fun." Dean said quickly. Castiel tilted his head, looking concerned.

"That doesn't sound very safe." He said, a bit unsure.

"He just means hang out as in to spend time together, Cas." Dean leaned over to him and said quietly. Cas rolled his eyes and nodded understandingly.

"I'm aware. Wouldn't it still be best to know where they'll be?" Cas explained, a bit condescending in return. Dean shrugged, and looked at Stiles for an answer.

"Beacon Hills Preserve." Stiles answered readily.

"…Star gazing?" Dean looked between the two. Stiles nodded, not really caring much what Dean thought.

"Yeah, thing for school." Stiles specified, trying to give the proper impression without being all 'no homo' about it. Dean smirked and winked, apparently not getting the hint.

"Right, have fun with that. Behave, 'cause I'm not answering any calls from jail 'til morning." Dean joked, getting up off the couch. "Gonna hit the store real quick, then start up some chili for later." Dean jerked his thumb over his shoulder, waiting for them to nod farewell before heading out. Castiel looked at them both with a slight air of worry about him, but nodded.

"As long as you're both careful… we'll refrigerate your dinner then. Now, would you like me to show you to your room?" The boys both nodded graciously, ignoring that they'd already been up to it on their own plenty, and got up to follow Cas.