Take Care of My Baby

Four

Castiel is reluctant to go home.

He manages to keep it off his mind while he sits with Dean at the edge of the water, while they share kisses and hesitant caresses. He doesn't think of it, much to his surprise, until Dean sighs heavily and says, "Think I gotta take you home, Cas."

"Okay," he whispers reluctantly, though he doesn't untangle himself from Dean's embrace.

"Wish this never had to end," the man murmurs, dropping his forehead against Cas's shoulder. Cas reaches up and places a comforting hand on the back of his neck without realizing it.

"We'll come out here again," he says softly, and it's not a question.

Dean groans at that and lifts his head, though he makes sure Cas's hand stays where it is. "That's something we gotta talk about, Cas."

"Hmm?"

"If people know, they'll..." Dean trails off, and Cas can feel the tightening of his jaw more than he can see it. "They'll hurt you, Cas. And I can't let anybody hurt you."

"Then no one has to know."

"Wish it didn't have to be like this. I fuckin' hate hiding things," Dean complains. He tightens his grip around Castiel's body. "Wish I could show you off to everybody and kiss you and let everyone know you're mine." Then, he pauses. "You are mine, right?"

Castiel huffs in amusement, bringing his hand up to tangle in Dean's hair. "Of course, Dean."

"Good." He pulls Castiel into a gentle, brief kiss. "I'll treat you so good, Cas, I promise. I won't ever let anyone hurt you."

Cas says nothing; he can't, really, because he doesn't know what to say. He just places a soft kiss on the top of Dean's head.

"It's late, Dean," he finally points out. It earns him a dejected huff, but they finally pull apart, and Dean leads them back to where he left the Coupe.

To say he starts to feel the effects of his nerves on the way home is something of an understatement. Sure, he starts to feel it, but it hits him like a train.

"Hey," Dean murmurs when he starts to notice Castiel's shifting. "It'll be okay."

"I hope so."

"Hell, Cas, you're an adult. What's the worst they can do, yell at you? Just tell them to fuck themselves."

Castiel shoots Dean a wide-eyed look. "I can't do that, Dean."

"Yeah? Why not?"

"I just... can't."

"Don't tell me you've never gotten in trouble before," Dean says incredulously. When Cas chooses not to answer him and instead looks out the window, his question is answered. "Seriously? You've never done anything wrong?"

"You say that as though it's impossible."

"I guess it's not impossible, but... shit, Cas, are you the second Jesus?"

The reaction startles a chuckle out of Cas, even though he feels as though his heart is thumping into overdrive. "That's very unlikely."

"Well I don't know how else you can go nineteen years without getting into trouble."

"My family... is different. My mother died after I was born, and my father immersed himself in his business to keep his mind off of it. I grew up under the care of my brothers, and I always felt as though I owed them my good behavior for taking our mother away," Castiel admits. He turns his face from Dean's concerned eyes, choosing instead to watch as he twists his fingers. He's never really told anyone that before, but the words slip out uninhibited, like he doesn't have a filter with Dean around.

"Woah."

"What?"

"That's... intense, man. It's not your fault, what happened to your mom," Dean tells him with infinite care in his voice.

"Try telling that to everyone else," Cas says softly. "Mother wasn't there because I was."

"Aw, Cas, don't say that," Dean murmurs with earnest sadness. "That ain't true. They can't blame you for somethin' like that." He reaches over and fumbles one of the blue eyed man's hands into his own.

"I'm sorry, Dean."

"Don't - don't you apologize. Let me tell you somethin', okay?" Dean squeezes Cas's hand. "You're great, Cas, just a real fine guy. You're smart, and you, you got the looks to top it off, too. And it sure as hell ain't your fault, what happened to your mom."

Castiel can feel warmth radiate through his chest at the sincerity of Dean's words. There have only been two people to speak to him in that way, but nobody outside of family. "Thank you," he says, his voice quiet.

"Just tellin' it like it is."

The rest of the ride is quiet, with Dean rubbing calming circles into Cas's hand. It's nice, Cas thinks, and he's kind of sad that the whole thing is about to come to an end.

As they approach his road, Cas's heart starts to beat so hard that he's pretty sure Dean will be able to feel its pulse. He almost misses it when Dean ask him, "You want me to drop you off at your house, or do you wanna walk back?"

"At my house is fine," he says quietly, because now it doesn't really matter. His family already knows that Dean picked him up, because he's sure that Gabriel couldn't have held them off forever. Perhaps Dean showing up will help the man save face in front of Cas's family. If anything, it'll save him a long walk.

Dean parks in front of Cas's house. The lights still shine in the living room, so they've waited up for him.

"I'm sorry for gettin' you in trouble, Cas," Dean sighs, running a hand through his hair.

"Please don't apologize. I had a wonderful time tonight," Cas says with a soft smile.

"Yeah?"

Castiel nods, then ducks his head in shy embarrassment. It's one of the most adorable things Dean has ever seen, and he can't help but tip the man's chin back up and press a gentle, brief kiss to his lips. When they pull apart, Dean takes a moment to simply admire Castiel's eyes, still so blue, even in the dark.

"If anything goes wrong, you just give me a call, and I'll come get you. 'Kay?"

Cas nods again. "Thank you. Goodnight, Dean."

"'Night, Cas."

The man ducks out of the car before he can think better of it and tell Dean to drive him off into the night. Rather, he hurries into the house.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" is the first thing he hears. It's Michael, self-proclaimed head of the family, sitting on the couch. Across from him in the armchair is Zachariah, and both of them are staring at Castiel with disdain.

"Uh," Castiel clears his throat, "No."

"It's one-thirty in the morning, Castiel."

"Okay."

"Okay? This is not okay, Castiel," Zachariah informs him, wearing that smile that thinly veils just how angry he is.

Michael folds his hands in his lap, nodding. "This Dean Winchester," he says the name as though it's a sin just to think it, "is dangerous. He has a bad reputation, Castiel. He's a racer, he smokes cigarettes, and he is going to do nothing but corrupt you."

"Dean isn't a bad person-"

"Do you see? He's already started to infect you, Castiel. Don't think we don't know about this boy. He's even rumored to be a..." here, Michael drops his voice, curls his lip, and hisses, "homosexual."

Castiel can feel his insides burning with indignation. He keeps his face devoid of the emotion, but there is no way he can let a slight like that slip under his radar. Not when it hits so close to home, both for himself and for Dean.

"Those are schoolyard rumors, Michael. I thought you better than this," he says, his voice low and controlled.

"Excuse me?" Michael stands up, a look of anger marring his face. "You're in no position to talk back to your elders."

"I'm merely stating a fact, Michael. Dean is not a bad person. He has a kind heart, and he's more worthy of my friendship than many other people in this town."

"He's a corrosive influence, Castiel, and I will not have you speaking to him!"

"I'm an adult; you can't prevent me from befriending him," Castiel states defiantly, his voice raised ever so slightly.

Michael steps forward until he's towering above Castiel, just a few steps apart. "As long as I pay for the roof above your head, you are to follow my rules. Do you understand?"

He says nothing in response; rather, Cas just stares down at the floorboards between them. He wants desperately to tell Michael off, to stand up for himself... but he can't. He knows he's the child of the family, and he can't bring himself to defy his elders, even though his insides are curling with anger.

"I said, do you understand?"

"Yes, Michael."

"Good. You are to come straight home after school, and you will not be leaving the house on the weekends. Not until you rid this boy from your life."

"Yes, Michael."

With nothing more to say about the matter, Castiel retreats to his bedroom.

__________

Dean is pissed on his way home. He doesn't realize it until he pulls into the driveway and reaches for a cigarette only to find that the pack has been emptied by his distracted fingers. Sure, he smokes in every mood, but chain smoking is something that doesn't happen until he reaches the point where his hands either need to be occupied by a cancer stick or by clocking someone.

Sam's still up when he gets inside - actually, it looks like he just dragged himself out of bed, which he probably did. He asks, "How did it go?"

"Great, Sammy. Went great," Dean sighs, flopping onto the couch.

"But...?" Sam prompts. He takes a seat across from his brother. It's a testament to how frustrated Dean is that he doesn't comment on Sam's tendency to "gossip like an old lady".

"But his family's a bunch of dicks."

"Yeah? What happened?"

Dean shrugs. "Ah, nothin'. I was stupid and showed up at his house to pick him up, and his family's gonna be pissed."

"He's nineteen. Not a whole lot they can do about it."

"Yeah, but..." Dean sighs and rubs his face with his hands, frustrated. "He's still the 'baby' of the family. I guess they don't let him get away with a whole lot."

"Ah."

"It's just... it's fuckin' dumb, y'know? That he's over there takin' the heat for some stupid shit that I did. He doesn't deserve that." Dean shakes his head and lets it drop against the arm of the couch. "Kid thinks his family hates him, and they treat him like he ain't nothin'."

"That's no good," Sam murmurs, but there's a hint of a smile in his voice. Dean might not be great with picking up subtle cues, but he hears that one loud and clear.

"The fuck are you smilin' 'bout, Sammy?"

"Ah, it's nothin'," he huffs, amused. "Just, here's the big, bad Dean Winchester, having emotions and caring about someone."

"You bitch when I don't tell you anything, and then you make fun of me when I do," Dean points out, but he's smiling, too.

"Don't go getting all upset about it. I'm just sayin'," the younger man laughs. "It's just, Cas must be real important to you if you're caring about him that much. Usually you'd think it's funny that someone's family's so uptight about them."

"Yeah..." Dean trails off. A soft smile plays at his lips, and he can't deny that the blue-eyed man has thoroughly captivated him. Dean doesn't feel the need to prove that he's tough in front of Cas like he does in front of the rest of the world. He doesn't need to be rude, and he doesn't need to show off. He never thought the day would come.

Sam startles him back into the real world with, "Hey, but there's something else I wanna talk to you about, too."

"Shoot."

"Me and Jess..." Sam trails off, adjusting in his seat like he always does when he's about to unload something important. "We're talking about moving in together."

"No shit?" Dean grins, sitting up a little on the couch.

"Yeah, yeah. Hell, we've been going steady for almost two years now."

"Man. Hard to think it's been that long," Dean murmurs. He still remembers Sam coming home from high school, his eyes moony as he brought up the girl he met in his advanced placement government class, how she had the prettiest smile and was even nice to Sam.

"I know, man."

"Well, congratulations!" he says with a face-splitting smile. "You got a place in mind?"

"Yeah, there's... well, y'know that apartment building that we always pass on the way to the university? They've got some places there that are real cheap, and it's not too far away from home."

"That's... I'm real happy for you, Sammy," Dean smiles.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You'll be okay without me here, right?" Sam asks, and his smile starts to fade. "I mean, I'll still come see you all the time, and I'll call you every day, and-"

"Sammy, calm down. I'll be fine. You just go live your life, okay? And don't you worry about me," Dean says.

"I know, but I'll do it anyway."

"I'm twenty-two, man, I think I'll be okay."

Sam just shrugs, looking down at the leg of the couch with a sheepish expression on his face. "It might not be for a while, anyway. We gotta convince her parents to let her come stay with me out of wedlock."

Dean rolls his eyes. "You might need some luck with that one."

"Yeah, but it'll be worth it."

"Man," the older Winchester says, shaking his head. "You're growin' up on me, Sammy."

"Aw, shut up," he laughs, and Dean joins him. After a moment, Sam gets up and whacks Dean's boot. "Go to bed, Dean. You got work in the mornin', and I don't wanna have to hear you bitch about how your back hurts in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go in a minute."

"You better. G'night, Dean."

"'Night, Sammy."

Dean lays there for a few moments, just staring a the ceiling. He's always known that the day would come when Sam would leave the house, but now that it's upon him, it feels... weird. He doesn't want Sam to go out of his own selfish desire to not be alone. Sam's been there with him for eighteen years, and he doesn't know what life will be like without his stupidly tall presence hanging around. But he won't say anything; Sam's got a life to live, and Dean knows better than to assume that they'd be living together forever.

He drags himself to his bedroom before he passes out, an unfamiliar emotion sitting heavily in his chest.