jimminovak:

Bedtime

Cas perked up when he heard the distant, short sound of the key scraping against the lock. He recognized the sound immediately as Dean fiddling with his keys in the darkness of their porch. They should really get a light. 

He shot a glance at his watch and realized how late it actually was—past 10 PM, and he felt a pang of guilt for keeping Jack up so late. But he reminded himself that Jack wouldn’t have slept before Dean came home, anyway. 

When they heard Dean actually turning the key, and the heavy step of his boots in the hallway, Jack started climbing off the couch. He looked at Cas hopefully, who smiled.

“You want to go say hi to papa?”

Jack was already running, as fast as his little legs could run, towards the hallway. He was wearing his favorite pajamas, and the hems of the pants kept tugging under his feet. Cas smiled faintly as he saw it and followed Jack closely to make sure he wouldn’t slip. Jack squealed when he turned around the corner and saw Dean.

“Hey, you!” Dean sounded tired, but the smile he got when he saw his son running up to him was genuine. Cas loved that smile. Dean’s hair was messy, there was some dirt on his cheek and Cas was sure he’d spotted a new wound on his arm when he took off his jacket. It had only been a few seconds, and he was already worried. 

Jack, however, laughed when Dean lifted him and held him on one arm as Jack wrapped his small arms around Dean’s strong neck. “How’s your day been with daddy, huh?” He asked, his eyes gliding to Cas. He smiled that same, exhausted but satisfied smile.

Cas walked up to them and wrapped his arm around Dean’s waist, pulling close.

“Hey,” Dean said softly and maneuvered his head around Jack so he could give Cas a kiss. Cas smiled when Jack protested.

“Yes, Bubba, I missed you too.” Dean chuckled at Jack, then leaned in to kiss Cas once more, until Jack started pulling at Dean’s shirt for attention.

Cas stayed close to him, head pressed on his husband’s shoulder. He knew that Dean always tried to be safe—he knew that Dean did everything to get home every single day, but it didn’t keep him from worrying. 

Having him here, the familiar scent of leather and gunpowder and a hint of the cologne he’d put on that morning, just for Cas, was enough to soothe his nerves. Jack didn’t seem to notice, he was just happy to get attention as he babbled about the Disney movie he’d watched with Cas.

“It did get a bit late, though,” Cas pointed out. “But you know how he is. There’s only one person who can bring him to bed and read him a book.”

“Is ‘cos of- da voices!” Jack managed, which got Dean chuckling again. Cas saw him struggling with keeping Jack on his arm in the same position and wondered if he’d pulled a muscle.

“Daddy’s right, though, Bubba, it’s very late—you wanna go look for your foxes?” As soon as he put Jack down, the toddler started hobbling back to the living room to find his stuffed animals. Cas took the opportunity to pull up Dean’s sleeve and inspect the wound he’d seen. It was less severe as he’d feared, but he still bit his lip.

“Are you alright?” He asked, knowing that Dean would answer with honesty if he heard the concern in Cas’ voice. Dean lifted Cas’ chin with his finger and pressed their foreheads together.

“I’m home,” he told his husband and kissed him softly. “That means I’m more than alright. It’s just a small cut, Cas, nothing more. Sam already looked at it.”  

Cas was sure to give it another look tomorrow, but he could see how tired Dean was, and he trusted that Sam wouldn’t have left it unattended. “How was Jack?” Dean asked.

“Great. He didn’t even complain eating his veggies this evening.”

“Well, as long as he does it, I won’t have to.”

Cas shot a glare at Dean, who only grinned as he took off his shoes.

They heard Jack stumbling around in the living room, looking for his stuffies.

“Come on, Dean. I’ll make you some dinner while you bring him to bed.”

Dean soon caught up with Jack, who had already found two of the three foxes he always had in bed with him and which he dragged through the entire house. Dean’s legs ached, his arms ached—everything ached, but he’d been looking forward to coming home to this and it made him feel better. 

Jack had grabbed his hand and took him along to the other rooms, searching the last fox. They eventually found it in Cas’ study room and they went back to the kitchen to say goodnight to Cas. Jack hugged his father close, babbling something Dean couldn’t hear, but Cas smiled and brushed Jack’s hair out of his face, then kissed him goodnight.

Once in Jack’s bedroom, Dean turned on the night light beside the bed as Jack crawled into the small tent in the corner to find the book he wanted Dean to read. Of course, he picked the one Dean had already read about a million times. It would probably give Dean nightmares at some point, but Jack couldn’t get enough of it.

“You sure?” Dean asked, but he already knew the answer. Pacifier in his mouth, Jack held out the book to Dean with pleading eyes. “Alright, better hop in bed.” He took the book and let Jack climb in bed. Dean lay down next to him, tried to settle in the small space and started to read. Jack squealed and giggled at the funny voices Dean used for the different characters, asking him to redo the pages he loved most. As Dean continued to read, Jack trailed his finger over Dean’s arm, his fingers, then his face, his freckles, the small scar on his forehead. Dean tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t help smiling.

When he finished the story, Jack sighed in relief. It would never stop to amaze Dean how kids could worry so much about a story they already knew would finish well. He reluctantly got up—despite the small space, the bed was comfortable for his aching muscles, and he put the book away.

He tucked Jack in carefully and kissed the young boy’s forehead.

“Angels are watching over you,” he whispered to him. Jack muttered something back that sounded like “you too”. Dean told him goodnight one more time, as was routine, and quietly left the room, night light still on.

Cas was just finished with Dean’s food when Dean got back into the kitchen. He sat at the table and Cas put his food down, then pulled up a chair to sit with him. Cas was only wearing Dean’s old shirt and boxers. Giving Jack a bath had soaked his other clothes. Dean ate quickly and Cas watched him with a smile. 

They didn’t have to speak much, just sitting together was enough for now. Dean offered Cas a piece of his bread, which he took just so he had something to do. Tomorrow was Saturday, meaning Dean would stay at home. He seemed like he needed it.

“Alright,” Cas said once Dean’s plate was empty. “It’s time for you to go to bed, too.”

Dean smirked.

“Hey, I ate my veggies.”

Cas rolled his eyes but smiled as he saw Dean’s cheeky grin, the one that got him into so much trouble. They locked the doors and turned off the lights, then finally got to their own beds.

When Dean was sitting on the edge, Cas sat behind him and gently massaged his shoulders. They were stiff as always, and one massage wouldn’t fix it, but Dean seemed to relax. He leaned into it, humming with closed eyes. Cas continued like that for a while, trying to find the knots and trying to rub them out. Despite how tired they both were, Cas took his time and Dean didn’t seem to mind.

Once Cas was finished, they got into bed together, and Dean pulled Cas close.

“Missed you.” He muttered, eyes already closed.

“Missed you too.” Cas trailed his hand over Dean’s chest, feeling peaceful, warm. He shifted even closer, resting his head on Dean’s chest. Dean hummed approvingly, and Cas finally drifted off to sleep as he felt Dean’s arms tighten around him.