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Castiel was almost done cooking lunch for all three of them when he heard a loud bang and a breaking noise coming from the living room. He rushed to the room where the boys were.
“What happened?” He asked with a concerned expression as soon as he got in. He found the little ones looking at him with big panicky eyes. Dean was protectively in front of his brother and parts of a broken vase were right in front of him. Castiel checked both to ensure there were no cuts. After confirming no one had gotten hurt, Castiel asked: “Who did it?”.
Castiel had already warned them before to not play on that spot as the vase could fall. He had even moved most of their toys to the other side of the room and located the vase in the farthest place he could think of. It was in the living room because someone was supposed to pick it up during the afternoon. The vase was hunted and the men of letters were designing some kind of revolutionary method to get rid of ghosts or something. Thanks to some warding in the bunker, that spirit could not do anything to them, but it still needed to be accessible.
I should have brought it to the kitchen with me
, thought Castiel. He still felt frustrated as he had specifically told the brothers to be careful. There was no answer on their end. Castiel’s voice was firm when repeating the question: “Who did it?”. Guilty expressions were looking back at him. Sam opened his mouth and tried to say something but Dean spoke first.
“I did it.” Said Dean while hiding his brother behind him. He even seemed a little defiant. “I was playing and it fell.” Sam looked at his brother with a confused expression. Castiel took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and counted to three to regain composure. When he opened them back, he saw that Dean was crouching about to put his hands on the broken parts. Castiel felt absolute panic and rushed to stop the boy. He took him by the arm and moved it away from that spot.
“What are you doing??” Asked Castiel a little louder than he wanted.
“I broke it, I’ll clean it.” Said Dean while staring at Castiel. His fist was clenched. He seemed to be alert. His tone, more than sulky, was challenging Castiel. Castiel was shocked. So far, Dean always has been the noblest and most compliant child. He was sweet even when he was angry. Castiel just did not understand what could cause him to react that way. At any rate, first, he needed to get the boys out of harm’s way.
“No, you could get hurt. I’ll deal with you later. Both of you get to your rooms and don’t come here until I’m done cleaning. Also, no barefoot walking!”
“Okay, Cass.” Said Sammy softly almost tearing up. He had not seen Cass being so angry before. He then looked at his brother again. He did not understand why Dee would lie but he did not want Dee to get scolded because of him. Dean stared at Cass for some moments before taking his brother’s hand and taking him to his room. Dean helped his brother get in bed and was about to leave but Sam's voice stopped him.
“Dee, Cass is angry…”
“I know.”
“We should tell him the truth.”
“No.” Said Dean firmly. Sam only looked at him. “Sammy, promise me you won’t tell him.”
“But, Dee…” Sam hated lying. Lying was bad.
“Promise me, Sammy.” Said Dean while looking at his brother in his eyes. Sam slowly nodded still not convinced. If Dee asked him, he would do it. Dee always helped him, he could also help him. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.” Dean said and hugged his brother. Sam was even more confused, but he could still tell his brother was feeling sad. When Sammy felt sad, he would sometimes hug his brother. He decided to let Dee hug him as much as he needed. After releasing his brother, Sam spoke.
“Dee, could you take Squishy to your room? Sammy is sleeping with Snowball and cannot hug Squishy at the same time!” Squishy was Sam’s favorite plushie. Hugging Squishy always made Sam feel better. He hoped that Squishy could also make Dee feel better.
Dean was puzzled but he took the toy. He couldn’t say “no” to his younger brother.
Dean waited in the room anxiously. Castiel should be coming at any moment. Sammy was right, he had not seen Cass that angry before. He needed to ensure Sammy was left out of the problem. As long as he was the only one being punished, it was going to be ok.
After some minutes, Dean heard Cass knocking on his door. Dean left Squishy on the bed and went to open it. On the other side was Castiel. Castiel looked closely at Dean’s expression. Dean was almost glaring at him. Castiel got in and closed the door. He sat on Dean’s bed and locked eyes with Dean. After some moments, Castiel broke the silence.
“Do you want to tell me what happened out there?” Dean’s obstinate eyes did not back off at Castiel's authoritative tone.
“The vase broke.” Dean spoke matter-of-factly.
“How?”
“It fell.”
“I know it fell, Dean. Why did it fall? What were you doing?” Dean was treasuring his words like gold.
“Because we were playing tag and we knocked it off”
“You and your brother.”
“No, no... Sammy didn’t. It was me. I knocked it off.” Castiel looked at Dean suspiciously while trying to understand the reason behind Dean’s impudent tone. Dean assumed Castiel did not believe what he was saying. “I broke it. I swear Sammy did not do anything.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I didn’t listen and that’s why it fell. Punish me if you want, but don’t hurt Sammy.” Castiel frowned feeling complicated feelings inside him. The silence made Dean feel anxious. “He didn’t do anything...” He added. “Please.” He begged and the tears he had been trying to repress all this time started coming out. “Plea…” His sobs were loud and Castiel’s heart broke a little. He immediately embraced Dean. “Don’t… hurt Sammy, Cass, pwease don’t…” He placed his face on the crook of Castiel’s neck.
“What are you talking about, sweetheart? I’m not hurting anyone!” Castiel talked while trying to comfort the dejected boy. He hugged him tightly and rubbed his back.
“But you … are angry… and the vase… I…” He wasn’t making much sense but it was enough for Castiel to understand what was happening.
“Baby, I’m not hurting Sammy or you. I would never do that.” Tiny whimpers kept coming from Dean’s mouth. “Yes, I was a little upset because you did not listen to what I told you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll harm you. The only reason why I got so frustrated is because it could have been dangerous.” The weeping got so bad, Castiel got worried Dean could hyperventilate. “Baby, it’s okay. You are fine. Take deep breaths for me, please?” Castiel moved back and placed Dean on his lap so that Dean could look at Castiel’s face. Castiel started exaggerating his inhaling and exhaling actions. Dean slowly started imitating him until his loud sobs became quite sniffles. Castiel took one of the handkerchiefs on the nightstand and covered his nose with it so that Dean could blow. Dean complied and then laid his head on Castiel’s chest.
“Listen to me, Dean. I’d never hurt you guys. Never. I won’t allow anything to happen to you or your brother, so you don’t need to get all defensive about it. It’s a promise. You are my boys, I just want to see you happy.” Dean’s energy seemed to have left his body and he was just quietly listening to Castiel’s voice. “I still don’t get why you would think I would hurt Sammy…” He said to himself and was a little surprised when Dean decided to answer.
“‘cause before… when Sammy or I broke somethin… he would…” Dean started saying in a quiet voice and, as the tears came back, he once again hid his face in Castiel’s chest. This time the only indication of his weeping was the movement of his shoulders. No sound came out.
“‘He’? As in…” For Castiel, everything made sense at that moment. He rubbed his boy’s back and said softly: “Baby, whatever used to happen before, won’t happen ever again. I’ll make sure of that. You are safe. Your brother is safe. He cannot hurt you anymore.” He gave Dean a little kiss on his forehead. “I love both of you with all my heart.”
After realizing how distressed Dean had been feeling before and understanding why he had reacted the way he did, Castiel was not going to scold him for breaking the vase. He would give the broken pieces to the men of letters. They were annoying people either way, he did not care whether they needed it in good condition.
Once Dean calmed down a little, Castiel spoke again: “Now promise me you will listen to my advice and don’t do what I warn you not to do. The rules are there for your own good, baby. For you and Sammy to not get hurt. Do you understand that?” Dean looked at Castiel and slowly nodded.
“Yes, Cass.”
“Ok, so it’s a promise?”
“I promise, Cass.”
“That’s my good boy. Now, are you hungry? Lunch is ready. You can even eat some pie for dessert.” Dean still looked gloomy, but Cas knew once Dean ate some pie, he would feel way better. He helped Dean out of his lap and offered him his hand. Dean took it. They went to Sam’s room to get him as well. As soon as Sam saw his older brother with red eyes and a downcast expression, he got concerned. He looked at Castiel and tilted his head. He looked similar to a puppy. Then, instead of taking the hand Castiel was offering him, he went to his brother’s side and took Dean’s other hand. Castiel didn’t mind at all. He was aware of the strong bond the brothers had.
Once they got to the table, Sam sat beside Dean and even gave him some of his apple slices, something that would never happen in normal circumstances. Castiel could not help but follow Sam on spoiling Dean. Dean was always so playful that, seeing him in low spirits caused heartache. He almost spoon-fed him all his lunch and did not make a big deal when he did not finish all his vegetables. He was going to indulge him a little, just that day.
After lunch, they decided to watch a movie which, unsurprisingly, was picked by Dean. Before getting on the couch, Sam told them he needed to get something from his room. When he was back, he had Squisky with him. He made Dean hold it before getting in a comfy position himself. Dean obediently held the plushie tightly. Finally, the three of them sat on the couch. Dean was in Castiel’s lap and Sam was leaning on Castiel’s shoulder. After some minutes, Dean fell asleep, and Sam spoke in a low voice as if telling a secret:
“Cass, Sammy broke it. ‘t was an accident. Please don’t be mad at Dee.” Castiel looked at Sam’s eyes, then looked at Dean’s sleeping face. “Sorry.” Added Sam with a guilty face. Castiel sighed and rubbed the younger brother’s hair.
“It’s okay. I’m not mad. Please be careful next time.”
“Yes, Cass.” Castiel kissed his forehead.
In the background, he could hear the dialogue from The Lion King. He could smell the subtle jasmine fragrance from their boys’ shampoo. Their quiet breaths were a soothing lullaby in Castiel’s ears. He felt warm inside. It felt like home.