twentysomething

I had to stop for the night--

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: eventual Dean/Cas, Sam/Jess

Summary: "Dean has always thought kids were great in an abstract kind of way- he enjoys monkeying around with them, and they- for who knows what reason- like him, but Madeline Meyer stole his heart on a rainy Friday afternoon when she solemnly marched over to him, plopped herself down next to him and told him that Miss Moore had told her that Dean knew why cars worked and she wanted to know, too."

Length: 2900 wordsish.

Warnings: KIDS. NANNYING. COUGAR JOKES. MICHAEL.

Notes: This is a series of shorts from both Dean and Cas's perspectives, revolving around Cas hiring Dean to be his au pair. YEAH. Also, apologies for abandoning you all for a few days, but I was in a coma related to turkey, so. With love for rageprufrock, always.

EDIT: NOW WITH ADDITIONAL BEING FINISHED. CHECK THE MANNY AU TAG.


Dean's not sure how he got here.

Okay, that's a lie- Dean had just quit (okay, been fired, maybe) his job at the auto shop and Sam had dropped that Jess had been looking for some help with the after-school program at the ridiculously expensive preschool she worked for- and that they'd pay and there you go.

Which is how he had met Madeline.

Dean has always thought kids were great in an abstract kind of way- he enjoys monkeying around with them, and they- for who knows what reason- like him, but Madeline Meyer stole his heart on a rainy Friday afternoon when she solemnly marched over to him, plopped herself down next to him and told him that Miss Moore had told her that Dean knew why cars worked and she wanted to know, too.

Dean can't draw very well, but he scribbles something that looks more or less like an engine on the chalkboard and explains combustion as simply as he can and ignores the smug look Jess gives him when he brings in a book he spent half and hour debating over in a Barnes and Noble for her that Monday. Madeline just stares up at Dean for a moment with huge blue eyes before thanking him seriously- taking his hand and making him read it to her.

Maddy tells Dean that she has a little sister named Isabelle and since she's turning five in two weeks, she's going to ask her daddy if Dean and Miss Moore can come to her party. She wanted her party to be firetruck themed, but her nanny had picked out princesses. Maddy is thoroughly horrified by this premise.

"Couldn't you ask her to change it?" Dean asks her with a little shrug. Maddy sighs.

"Miss Caroline says that every little girl wants to be a princess," Maddy says, with an almost philosophical shrug of her own. "But maybe next year I can get a firetruck party. Miss Caroline is going to leave in a month." Dean raises his eyebrows.

"Oh?" he asks, quietly pleased. The nanny sounds pretty crappy. Maddy nods.

"She's going to get married," Maddy explains. When the aforementioned "Miss Caroline" shows up to pick Maddy up, Dean can just barely see an extra car seat in the back of the SUV, another dark haired little girl strapped in. Miss Caroline can't be more than 24, and she looks like the kind of girl who would insist that every girl would want to be a princess. Dean instantly dislikes her.

"I know she's pretty or whatever, but please don't tell me you have the hots for the Meyers' nanny," Jess says, suddenly at his elbow. Dean rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, not at all," Dean agrees. Jess elbows him softly.

"So, are you ever going to play with the other kids, or- yeah, no, Maddy totally has you wrapped around her little finger, doesn't she?" Jess asks. Dean has the good grace to blush a little, because that's true- he's hired to play with all the kids, not just Maddy, but Jess just grins at him.

Even so, he's careful to pay attention to all the kids, not just Maddy- although, if he's honest with himself, Maddy does get more of his attention than anyone else. That being said, he's still a little surprised when one afternoon, rather than Miss Caroline- who, the more Maddy tells Dean about her, the more he really cannot stand her- a guy in a rumpled, expensive suit with a tiny little clone of Maddy propped on his hip comes to pick up Maddy.

Dean figures this has to be the elusive Mr. Meyer- who Maddy has told him is the best daddy on the planet, but is very busy owning a company- or something to that amount. That also being said, Dean hadn't expected him to be, well.

Hot.

Mr. Meyer is clearly the girls' father- they have his dark, rumpled hair and clear blue eyes- and judging from the way Isabelle has her fingers tucked into the pocket of his suit, they both love him something crazy. Maddy's face lights up like Christmas and she chirps a delighted "Daddy!" as she runs to lock her arms around his knees. Dean doesn't expect it, but he's oddly gratified when, after a few moments of hushed conversation, Mr. Meyer is dragged to Dean.

"Daddy, this is Dean, he's my friend for after school." Maddy proclaims proudly. Mr. Meyer may look like a corporate drone, the knot in his tie stereotypically loose, but his eyes are bright and inquisitive.

"Hi, Mr. Meyer. It's been a pleasure to watch Maddy." Dean offers, sticking a hand out to shake. Mr. Meyer takes it, using the hand not keeping Isabelle up.

"Thank you, Dean," Mr. Meyer says- his voice is deeper than Dean would have expected.

"Like I said, she's great," Dean grins, ruffling her short curly hair. "And is this Isabelle?" Dean smiles a little wider when Isabelle waves a hand at him shyly.

"Say hello, Isabelle," Mr. Meyer requests gently.

"Hi," Isabelle offers, and she's just as impossibly adorable as Maddy. Dean abruptly wonders where their mother is.

"Madeline, do you want to introduce your sister to Miss Moore?" Mr. Meyer asks her. Maddy nods rapturously, taking Isabelle off in a hurry. He watches them run off together for a long moment before turning to Dean.

"I actually had something to ask you," Mr. Meyer prompts himself, like he's hesitating. "Madeline may have mentioned that she's turning five next week, she'd like you to come to her party. But I realize that this is your job, and I thought if she asked, you might have felt compelled to come." Dean shakes his head.

"It'd be great- I mean, if Maddy wants me there, I'll be there." Dean says with an easy shrug, like he didn't buy Maddy's present two days ago. Mr. Meyer tilts his head to the side, just a little, like a bird, considering Dean. It makes him a little uneasy in ways he really shouldn't analyze in a school with kids all around.

"You really like her, don't you?" Mr. Meyer asks, curiously- not like he can't believe anyone would like Maddy, but just like he thinks Dean is interesting, somehow.

"She's hard not to like, Mr. Meyer." Dean counters and Mr. Meyer smiles this little private smile.

"The party will be next weekend and- please, call me Castiel," he offers and Dean smiles back.

"I'll be there," Dean promises. Castiel stays for another few minutes, and after he takes the girls, Jess waggles her eyebrows at Dean. Dean's not sure what that means, but he doesn't stop smiling for the rest of the afternoon.

Maddy is thrilled and can't wait to show Dean her house and Dean is sort of terrified of having kids ever- because if they're half as tortuously adorable as she is, Dean is so screwed.

Dean also feels remarkably under-dressed in even one of his nicer pairs of jeans and a simple black t-shirt when he and Jess pull up to the Meyers' house- or really, mansion. He feels slightly better when Castiel answers the door- he'd half been expecting Alfred or some other British butler type- in a blue dress shirt and dark jeans and Dean bravely endeavors to ignore how great he looks.

"Jessica, Dean," Castiel says with the harried smile of a host who is supremely overwhelmed. "I'm very glad you could both come." Jess smiles sympathetically.

"You've got about twenty little girls in there going insane, don't you?" she asks. Castiel acknowledges the point with a rueful tilt of his head.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Castiel concedes. Dean can't help but smile as Cas runs his hands through his hair.

"Well, we'd better get in there, then," Dean offers. Cas frowns slightly.

"But, you're guests, not-" Castiel protests and Jess waves him off.

"Don't worry. Kids behave better with more adults around, we'll just stand there." she promises. As Castiel leads them into the house, Dean can see Miss Caroline's pink hand in the decorations everywhere, but when they get to all the girls, Maddy still looks happy enough in her princess dress- which is blue, at least.

"Dean!" Maddy cries with delight, launching herself at his knees. "You came! And you brought Miss Moore!" Maddy tugs him down and Dean obligingly leans over.

"Dean, is Miss Moore your girlfriend?" she whispers- although, clearly not quietly enough, since Jess snorts. Dean just shakes his head.

"I actually have a little brother, Maddy, and Miss Moore is his girlfriend." Dean explains. Jess nods.

"His brother is much cuter, Maddy," Jess adds. Dean laughs.

"Miss Moore is a big fat fibber. She just met Dean's brother first and now she has to deal with that." Dean teases but Maddy just nods seriously.






When Castiel cannot stand his job anymore, he rebels against his uncle and goes home to play with his children.

As far as rebellions go, it's remarkably tame, considering when Michael has enough of Uncle Zachariah's complaints he probably goes to Amsterdam to have sex with mysterious women and eat a lot of brownies, but it works for him.

And if there's the added benefit of Dean being there... well, that's neither here nor there.

When he walks in the living room, there's a familiar clutch at his heart that any parent is, well, not used to, but aware of, when you're struck by how perfect your children are. Isabelle is sprawled out on top of Dean's chest on the couch, both of them sound asleep. Madeline hisses a "shh" as him from where she's sitting on Dean's feet, watching cartoons on the lowest volume setting.

"It's nap time," Maddy whispers in explanation. Cas hums in agreement, watching the way Dean's breath ruffles Isabelle's hair and wondering how he's going to justify keeping Dean when the girls are grown.







Dean loves watching the girls on the playground. He’s had his suspicions about Miss Caroline and uncoordinated sports confirmed for him twentyfold- the first time Dean had loaded the girls into the car and set them loose, they’d stared at him for a good minute before Dean had cursed the spirit of Caroline Yeardley, nee Carter, for the thousandth time and tucked them both into a pair of swings and explained that the point was to defy gravity. He’d been delighted and vindicated by the way Maddy had destroyed all the other kids on the jungle gym after a week and Izzie had stared at Dean like he was crazy when he suggested she might want to try other things than just the swings.

So they spend every other afternoon at the playground and the girls get dusty and Dean finds woodchips in their shoes, always. He thinks it’s good from them- he’s probably encouraging their tomboy tendencies repressed under the iron fist of society’s expectations for freaking precious little girls, but he can’t help but think that it just means they’ll be completely unimpressed by boys and really, Dean wants that forever.

That being said, Dean is personally rendered extremely uncomfortable by everything else about the playground. Which- it’s sort of sad. Even a couple of years ago, there’s nothing Dean could have appreciated more than milfs and babysitters of all terminology and walks of life fake-subtly watching him and then coming over to make small talk about the girls.

Exhibit A.

“Your girls are so cute! Do they take after their mother?” The woman is maybe 35- maybe older with judicious botox- in a ruthlessly pink tracksuit. “They don’t look much like you.” Dean gets this a lot- the quick probe- are you married, are they yours? He just shakes his head.

“I’m their-“ Dean always trips over au pair and mentally shrugs. “Nanny. They actually look like their father.” The woman raises her perfectly manicured and largely drawn-in eyebrows.

“Aren’t you sweet, then?” she coos and Dean can see the word MANNY flashing over and over again directly above her head.

Thankfully, Maddy is viciously territorial when it comes to sharing Dean with women who aren’t her sister.

“Dean, Izzie and I want to fly high,” she demands, careening into his knees as she stares up at the desperate housewife balefully. Dean hides a smile as he swings Maddy on to his shoulders to her delighted shrieks.

“Gotta go,” he chirps easily to the lady cougar. He bounces Maddy carefully and she giggles.

“I got your back,” she recites, extremely pleased with herself. Dean bounces her again.

“You’re on my back, monkey,” he teases her and Maddy laughs.

“Exactly,” she agrees, easily and Izzie attaches herself to Dean’s leg.

“Sandwiches,” Izzie protests, clearly done with the playground for the day. Izzie decided- about a week ago- that she only eats tuna fish because she’s a shark. This mostly manifests in hundreds of tuna sandwiches. Dean went through a couple of months where he was convinced he was a car, so he can sympathize.

“Well, what do we say ladies? Home? Sandwiches?” Dean asks, automatically reaching down so Izzie will take his hand rather than live like a barnacle on his limbs. He glances back to see the pink tracksuit holding court with her baby blue and eggplant compatriots ruefully. He’d feel bad, but he feels hunted every time someone sidles up to him on the playground.

After all, Dean muses, cutting the requested PB&J and tuna into imprecise triangles, he’s got bigger fish to fry than the overly made-up predators of the playground. His phone chimes with a new text.

How was the playground? Cas sends. Dean fights the unbidden smile that he can feel turning up the corners of his mouth.

we should take you with us sometime Dean writes back. Maybe then Pink Tracksuit would be able to figure it out.





Castiel would like to pretend he's not... waiting up for Dean.

But he's sitting in the wing chair that has a clear view of the door with barely one light on and a book he's not reading and there just isn't any other explanation for his behavior.

He must also be falling asleep, because the next thing he knows, the door is creaking shut and Dean is slipping into the light.

"Cas?" he ventures quietly, poking his head into the library door. "What are you still doing up?" Castiel blinks his eyes rapidly, trying to focus.

"I must have nodded off," he mumbles, which is technically the truth. Dean smiles slightly, leaning against the door frame.

"Mm, it looks like your night was better than mine," Dean says, sounding rueful and amused. Castiel blinks some more, this time in surprise, rather than sleep muzziness.

"So your... date... you found it unsatisfactory?" he asks, trying not to sound, well, pleased. Dean shrugs loosely.

"He ordered a veggie burger, Cas. I only put up with that if I have to." Dean replies with a grin. Castiel feels the corners of his mouth pulling up absently, because Dean's quirks never fail to be endearing.

"Well, then. I take it that there won't be a second date?" Castiel prompts. Subtlety has never exactly been his strong point, and this is proven by the quick, sharp look Dean gives him.

"I don't know, maybe it was a fluke," Dean suggests, walking into the room proper. "I don't have a lot of other offers." Dean stops, directly in front of Castiel.

Castiel is holding his breath and he doesn't really know why.

"Or do I?" Dean asks, perching on the arm of the chair, so close that Castiel can feel the cold still on him from outside.

"I find that hard to believe," Castiel mumbles, because Dean is perfect. Castiel is certain strangers on the street ask Dean to marry them. Dean smiles, slow and so, so inviting.

"I'm sort of picky. I have someone in mind, you know." Dean explains, his hand resting only a fraction of an inch away from Castiel's thigh.

"Oh?" Cas finds himself asking, distracted by how thick Dean's eyelashes are. Dean nods, his mouth pursed slightly.

"Well, he's tall, and he has great hands," Dean starts, and Castiel can't stop his eyes from flicking down to his hands, dormant in his lap- wondering what Dean looks for in hands. "He's got dark hair and blue eyes. He's got two perfect girls and I'd really like to kiss him, right now."

Castiel's head snaps up and Dean smiles lopsidedly at him before he leans in and kisses Castiel soundly.

He'd be lying if he hadn't thought about this a thousand times, how Dean has a mouth meant for kissing, how he wants to kiss Dean until his mouth is red and wet and bruised and too distracting to be left alone. Which is why he finds himself curling his fingers into Dean's shirt, pulling him closer until Dean slides into the seat with him, a solid warm weight against Castiel's side and it's better, it's so much better than he imagined.

"Oh," Castiel murmurs as they break apart for air, mouths still brushing against each other, palms running over Dean's chest. Dean grins wildly.

"I've had to stop myself from doing that every day," Dean whispers. Castiel kisses him again, quick and light, because he can.

"I would hate to deny you anything," Castiel says and Dean laughs, careless and pleased and Castiel wants that laugh all the time.

"Well, you can start here," Dean purrs and leans in to kiss him again.

The last linear, cognizant thought in Castiel's mind is that Michael is never going to let him live this down.