#de-age

"PAAAAPAAAA!!!!"

Vale couldn't help but laugh when Pecco ran to him, his little face covered in snow. The neck of his jacket and the scarf around his neck was covered in white as well.

"Andrea threw the ball in my face!" he complained, his lip slightly shivering. The other boy audible cracking up in the background.

"Awe, poor bambino" he said, kneeling down and lifting him up. He hold him close and kissed his cheek. The skin was soft and cold on his lips.

When his face was next to Pecco's ear he whispered. "Okay, don't tell your dad but you need to stay low. Don't immediately jump back in the fight. Make a snow ball in secret. Then you call out for him and when he turns around you're going to throw it right in his face, understood?"

And with that the kids face lit up. He looked at Vale with a cheeky grin and nodded.

"But don't tell your dad!" he quickly added as he set him back down to which the small curly headed child just yelled "YEEEAAAAH!" as he ran off again.

"Good. Or else in spending christmas on the couch" he added silently to himself as he watched his kids play.

Migno, Franky and Pecco were busy doing a snowball fight. So far Pecco was definitely losing. Poor kid, getting tag teamed by the two. His face got completely washed.

After a few more minutes, Vale decided that if he didnt intervene Marc would give him the 'no fucking for a month' treatment. And he didn't want to risk that.

So he kneeled down, hearing his knees crack for a moment but uncaringly starting to scrape up a few snow balls.

As soon as he was ready, he throw the first one at his oldest sons back and giggled when he saw his confused expression as he turned around. Next was Migno.

"Come on!" he yelled with a smile "Or are you too afraid?" He throw one of the balls he had formed up, caught it and threw it up again. He grinned daringly.

It was when his 3 boys looked at each other with the same expression, a stern look they shared, before giving a small smile and a nod, that he knew he fucked up.

"GET HIM!" Migno screamed before they were running towards him, each a small bundle of snow in hand.

"Shi-" Was all he managed to say before the kids decided to shower him completely in snow. It was surprising how much impact the little bit of snow had that they managed to fit in their palm when they seemed to have a natural rotation system.

While the two 5 years old threw their snow rather uncoordinated, 7 year old Franky got some pretty good hits, right in the face. They also managed to silently work out a system in which one is always distracting Vale with new hits while the others starts scrambling snow together and then swap.

After a few minutes of that, while the adult barely manages to land a few good hits, he decided that this was not worth it.

"OKAY!" he screamed, lifting his hands up. "Okay! Okay! I surrender! Mercy! Mercy!" He was hit with another snowball right in the face.

Surprised he spit the snow out his mouth, looking at them with a faked angry expression when Franky screamed "Now we accept your surrender!" and his two brother started giggling.

He was glad to see them happy. It was a relief that they didn't understand the chaos that was the world around them. It was like the ranch was an invisible island for them to flee to, where none of them had to face any worries or consequences.

He remembered taking the boys on a little walk. Luca had been sitting on his shoulder, Cele on his hip and Pecco on his hand.

They were looking at the Christmas lights. It had been late evening. Marc and the rest of their little chaos gang were a little bit left behind since Bez and Franky had started a sword fight in the forest with sticks and refused to stop before one had won.

Andrea was cheering for them. Marc had stayed behind to make sure they didn't accidentally stabbed their own eyes out.

Luca was currently pointing at a particular house that was lighting up with lights in every color when they were approached by Isabella, an elderly woman.

"OH look at you, Vale!" she had laughed. "Being the caretaker of a few kids. Well, hello. Who are you, my little darling?" In that moment the older rider had felt a cold sweat run over his whole body.

If anyone else found out - He refused to think about it.

"Family" he had answered quickly. "They are part of mine and Marc's family-" which technically wasn't a lie but somehow they had managed to keep the fact that the whole academy had been de-aged a secret and he wouldn't break that now.

"OH how lovely..." she smiled but then tilted her haid. Her eyes were locked on Luca who - with the curiosity of a 4 year old - returned her gaze. "Yes, now that you mention it... He does look excatly like your brother when he was young. He looks like Luca, down to every detail. And he used to sit on your shoulders during your walks too"

"Must be a family trait" he said. "But I am-" The little one started so Vale quickly made a move to indicate that he had to head home. "And you know - eh - genetics. Sometimes kids look very much alike. I see you around. I don't want the little ones in the cold for that long"

Before she - or worst one of the kids - could make another comment, he quickly continued.

"Papa, why didn't you tell her that Luca is Luca?" Cele asked, leaning his small head against his chest. He was tired from their long walk and blinked with heavy eyelids. He looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Or introduced us?" Pecco supplied.

"Yeah. Are we secret?" Luca asked and suddenly Vale felt very cornered. He wanted to say no but the answer was yes. He wanted to deny it and embrace them, prove them that he would never deny that they are his kids - even if there wasn't a biological connection.

"Of course not" he replied with a fake smile and guided them back home.

Home.

The ranch.

The place where it felt safe for them to just ran around and have fun like children were supposed to.

Franky was already riding. He had a small mini dirt bike. The first time he had seen it, he had screamed and jumped around like they had never seen before. He had jumped on Marc and Vale, hugged them, thanking them.

Watching his ride - even if it was barely more than 15km/h - nearly gave Vale a heart attack. He just wanted to run after him, holding him tight and safe to make sure he didn't fall and got hurt.

Marc looked more secure, but still had an anxious hint in his eyes. He had grabbed Vale's hand. "Don't worry" he whispered, kissing his cheeks. "He'll be safe"

He had squeezed his hand. Maybe as a reassurance. Maybe as a way to make sure that Vale wouldn't end up running after him.

After all Franky had already proven he had the talent to become a world champion and even a runner up for the motogp title.

Luca and Pecco were still on the mini bikes. It was slightly better to watch them drive their circles but still -

But now, they were just running around, in the snow, laughing and being happy. There was no danger around. They were safe. Safe and happy.

"Come on!" Vale decided and reached for his boys. "How about we go inside and check if we'll get you kids a hot chocolate. Does that sound good?" "YES!" they all screamed.

The older Italian couldn't help but smile as he watched them run over the large garden back towards the door. "I'll be first!" Migno screamed as they ran, but got quickly over taken by Franck who had the advantage of longer legs.

"WINNER!" he yelled with a triumphant smile. He wasn't far behind them so he quickly yelled "But im the only one with keys!"

He then unlocked the back down and watched as they put their shoes off - some more careful then others - and then moved on to the jackets.

Whiel Pecco and Franky hand them up, Andrea let his fall to the floor. He was already about to turn around when Vale gave him a scolding look.

"Andrea" he said. "What did you forgot?" "Eh..." helplessly he looked at Franco. Because - of course Franky would be able to help. And really, he leaned over and whispered "Hang our coats" "Hang ourself!" the other repeated louder and with a few more mistakes.

Vale stared at him for a split second. He didn't know if he should laugh out loud or not. He decided to smile and slowly point at his coat that had fallen of. "Hang our coats. If you're already repeating Franco, please do it correctly"

"Sorry" he muttered with a little eye roll. "Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Vale asked. "NO!" Migno screamed and started running, Pecco immediately close behind him. "Papa! We're baaaack!" he yelled. "Ey! Wait for me, I've got little legs"

Shaking his head, while Franco ran behind them and Vale followed his 3 boys in the direction of the kitchen.

He heard their mixed voiced before he even arrived and smiled.

He entered and a joyix feeling overcome him.

He saw Marc, standing with the back to him, working on something. Franky and Migno were standing next to him, touching his arm to show them how cold their hands had gotten.

Pecco had shuffled to the oven were a bunch of Christmas cookies were baking. He was holding his hands out, warming them, while Cele sat next to him. There was a little bit of flour left on the top of his nose and on his shirt.

Marco was sitting opposite of Marc. He wore a Christmas head. He looked like he was in deep concentration. His forehead was laying in deep folds and his tongue was sticking out at one side.

Luca was sitting next to him, almost as focused. His head was tilted to the side and his nose was scrunched up. He wore the antlers of a reindeer. Something told Vale that it had been Cele and Marco who forced Luca to wear them.

"Papa!" Bez exclaimed when he looked up. He had a big grin on his face. It looked excatly like the one big Bez always had. "LOOK!" he said and showed him a cookie he had been decorating.

It was Christmas tree colored in yellow with edible pearls all over it. "That's your tree! Cause it's yellow" "Wow, thank you, Marco" he replied with a smile. "It's very nice"

With a satisfied smile he continued his work. There was a whole bunch of colored cookies already he noticed as he approached them.

It felt familiar. Domestic. It felt like the most perfect moment of home.

And to completely the moment he sneaked up behind Marc, pulling him close. He pressed himself against him, putting his head on his shoulder. He hugged him, refusing to let him go.

"I love you" he whispered and felt Marc's hand coming up to feel over his cold cheek. "Love you too" he replied.

He turned around on his arms to face him. Vale still hold him close but now he was able to look him in tbe eyes. For a moment they just looked at each other. Both clearly happy and in awe about their new life and situation with the kids.

Even if the little ones sometimes almost bought them to insanity and they had crashed on the couch in exhaustion, more than once, they were happy. They wouldn't trade it for anything.

Jem must have gone mad. That was the only other explanation. “James Carstairs, there better be a good explanation as to why you seemed to have kidnapped a child from the streets!”

“I did not! That is Will, Charlotte. Somehow, he got turned into a—a child while we were patrolling.”

“What do you mean?! Who did this to him?”

“I don’t know! I was not present at the moment. All I know is that I went to go find him and there he was!”

Charlotte held the boy at an arm's length and looked at his face. Sure enough, the little boy had eyes the color of blue glass. His unruly raven hair curled in a pile on top of his head. He stared at her and she knew.

“By the Angel!” Charlotte exclaimed.

The child—Will— giggled.

“Oh, Will. What happened to you?”

“Lottie, have you seen my—” Henry paused as he came into the threshold and looked at little Will. “Whose child is that?”

“Ours, apparently.”

Henry looked at her, confused. “What?”

“It’s Will.”

“Will? But Will is sixteen. Why is he so tiny?”

“That’s what we are trying to figure out.”

“Papa!” Will exclaimed, opening and closing his fists. 

Henry’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m not your father.” He said. Charlotte noted that he looked at her back, perhaps so horrified, he was hoping to hide from Will’s gaze by moving behind Charlotte.

“You’re not?” Will asked, his voice so small, Charlotte had to suppress the “aw” that was building up in her heart.

Henry seemed to think it was adorable too, and not nearly as frightening, because when he spoke again, it was softly. “No, I’m Henry.” 

Will nodded. “Papa.”

Henry shot a look at Charlotte. The want to coo at Will was short-lived. She was about to pull out her hair in stress of what to do.

“Here, Henry. Hold Will for a moment, would you?” She said, putting him in Henry’s arms. 

Henry looked tense for a moment, not knowing what to do, until Will wrapped his arms around his neck tightly. A small smile spread across Henry’s face.

“Who do we call?” Charlotte said, “what will the consul say? He’ll think we killed Will and tried to replace him with a Nephilim child. He won’t even try us with the mortal sword. This is so absurd, it wouldn’t be necessary.” 

“Charlotte, I still feel our Parabatai bond; it’s peculiar and faint, but it’s still there.”

“Is it still on him?” Charlotte asked. 

“I haven’t checked yet.” Jem said. “The first thing I did was come home, I–I didn’t know what else to do, Charlotte. I panicked!” 

“It’s alright, Jemmy.” Charlotte said, patting his shoulder, “we will figure it out and fix this.”

Charlotte turned to Henry and Will. The latter was snuggled up against Henry’s shoulder and sucking his thumb, perfectly content to stay there for the rest of the day. 

Charlotte walked towards them and moved his thumb and pulled his shirt down just enough to see the edges of where his parabatai rune began. 

“He still has his runes.” Henry said.

Charlotte shook her head. “He has only his Parabatai and Clairvoyance rune. Whatever dark magic he’s under cannot break something as sacred and powerful as a shadowhunter’s first rune nor the Parabatai rune. Which is a relief for when we manage to change him back.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to change him back?” Jem said, a worried expression on his face as he looked at his parabatai. 

Charlotte put her arms around him. “Of course we will, Jem. Don’t you fret.”

…

“He’s much more pleasant when he can’t talk much.” Sophie said, side-eyeing Will as he padded around the room. He stopped in front of her and offered her the cog Henry had given him to keep him entertained. Sophie took it hesitantly, and Will tottered away, in search of something else. 

“He’s definitely more affectionate.”

“Well,” Jem said, “the innocence of childhood.”

“Right,” Sophie said slowly, looking around the room, before turning back around, saying she had work to attend to, but that she’d come back if her help was necessary.

Jem began reading the book in his lap, but he found that he was reading without processing the words, and he kept having to read the same paragraph over and over again. No matter how many times he read it, all he could think about was how the last time he checked his parabatai rune, it seemed to be getting lighter; a dark gray instead of it’s normal, stark black. He hadn’t told Charlotte yet, though.

Speaking of Charlotte, she was speaking, now. “It would need to be a trusted warlock.” she said, before she was interrupted by a tugging on her dress. She froze and turned her gaze downward to find Will, his blue eyes wide open, staring up at her. He put his hands up and Charlotte sighed as she bent down and picked him up. “As I was saying,” she continued. “A trusted warlock would be necessary. I don’t want to know what would happen if the Clave were to find out about our…situation.”

With Will’s head rested on Charlotte’s collarbone and his fingers playing with her necklace, Jem realized two things. The first was that Charlotte looked like the symbol of empowerment; she was a defender of the fact that just because women were mothers, it didn’t mean they were any less capable of leading a group of people, nor that they are, by any means, weaker. The second was that Charlotte was less of an older sister and more of a mother than any of them had thought. The same went for Henry. No matter how old they thought they were, they all still relied on Henry and Charlotte, and they needed them more than they cared to admit. 

“Who can we trust?”

“That is the question of the century, Jem.” Charlotte sighed. 

“I can’t imagine Ragnor Fell would say anything to the Clave. We could ask him.” Henry suggested.

“Except he never seems to be available.” Charlotte said.

It’s true; even Jem knew that Ragnor wasn’t very keen on assisting the Branwells for matters that he wasn’t forced to do. 

“However,” Charlotte continued. “I will send a message to him regardless, as it won’t hurt to try, and there is nobody else I could think that wouldn’t report to the Clave.”

“It's a good thing that the only thing Ragnor hates more than us is the Clave.”

Henry frowned, “Ragnor hates us?”

“No, darling, he just hates helping us with our problems.”

Henry’s frown deepened, like the idea of not wanting to help people confused him greatly. 

“Miss!” Sophie exclaimed, coming into the room, a little bit breathless, suggesting that she had sprinted there. 

“Sophie, what’s the matter?”

“The Consul,” she gasped, “he’s here!”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. “By the Angel!” She thrusted Will into Henry’s arms. “Hide him!” 

She followed Sophie out of the room, putting on a mask of cool calmness. “And don’t look suspicious.”

She closed the door behind her and Henry whirled to face Jem. “Where do we put him?!” He asked.

Jem shrugged, and looked around the room frantically. 

“You two are hopeless.” Jessamine said with cool indifference, as she slipped off her glove and examined her fingernails.

“What about here?” Henry asked, sitting Will down on a bookshelf. Will giggled, falling off. Henry let out a yell and caught him before he could hit the ground. 

“Yes, Mr. Consul, right this way.” Charlotte was saying.

Henry’s eyes widened in panic. As the doors opened, he quickly hid Will behind he’s back. 

“He’s right here.” Charlotte said, gesturing to Henry.

“Mr. Branwell,” Consul Wayland said. “I have to speak with you on matters concerning…” he frowned at the outstretched hand Henry hadn’t shaken yet and then he squinted his eyes. “Is that a child behind you?”

The residents of the London Institute held their breaths (well, except for Jessamine, of course) before Henry finally spoke.

“Er—yes. We’re playing hide-and-seek.”

“Hide-and-seek.”

“Why yes, it’s a game played by children for entertainment in which—”

“Yes, Mr. Branwell, I know what hide-and-seek is.” Said the Consul, annoyed. “Anyway, there is an issue with a group of werewolves from Bath, who are migrating to London and you’d do well to keep an eye on them in the next few weeks.”

“And why would we do that? Surely they haven’t done anything wrong in Bath.” Charlotte said. 

The Consul ignored her. “It is of utmost importance you report any strange behaviors.”

“My wife asked you a question, Consul Wayland. I should think it’s important and that it should be answered.”

“Did she now?” The Consul asked, unenthusiastically.

“As a matter of fact, she did.”

“It’s alright, Henry. We’ll look into it, Consul Wayland. Thank you for the personal message.” Charlotte said, diplomatically, leading him away from the library and out the door.

The Consul paused. “Who’s child even is that?”

“A Nephilim family from Idris needed someone to watch over one of their children while they attended a funeral.” Henry said, without skipping a beat.

“Yes. Henry and I agreed to watch over this little one for the afternoon.” Charlotte said sadly. “It was the least we could do.”

“Oh, which family?”

“The Cartwrights.” Henry said.

 “Oh. Well, best wishes.”

“Thank you very much.” Charlotte said. “Sophie will see you out.”

The Consul nodded and turned back around, striding out of the room with Sophie in tow.

Jem released the breath he had been holding in since Sophie brought the message about the Consul’s arrival.

“Why the Cartwrights?” he asked.

Charlotte took a fussing Will from Henry’s arms and smoothed down his hair. “Oh, yes! Henry darling that was brilliant! The Cartwrights have so many children that nobody can keep track of each one. And there actually is a funeral being held today, though I don’t suppose the Consul will look into whether they are actually there or not.”

Jem raised his eyebrows before asking, “Well, what now?”

“We keep working.” Charlotte said with a sigh.

...

Tagging: 

@autumnangel20 @tsccreatorsnet @atla-lok143 @hitheresomeoneusingthus @rinadragomir @youngreckless @julemmaes @cupcakesandkittens @no-scones-allowed @fictionally-fantastic @stxr-thxif @itsdaughterofthemoon @dustandshadowsworld @jordeliasupremacy @cordelia-cardale @celias 

Like last night, Dean opened his mouth as if to speak before angrily shutting it when nothing came out. Instead, he pointed to the cereal and then Sammy, shaking his head.

“...Sam cannot eat this?”

Dean nodded, relieved that the angel seemed to understand him.

“What can Sam eat?”

Dean wasn’t sure how to tell Castiel what was needed, but luckily the angel came up with an idea before he could become frustrated again.

“Would a pen and paper help?” At Dean’s relieved nod, Castiel disappeared for a moment, causing Dean’s jaw to drop again, before he returned with said items. Dean was once again staring at Castiel in wonder as he took the pen and paper and gently put Sammy down behind him before shuffling onto his knees. He hadn’t had a chance to write much in preschool, but he thought he could convey what Sammy needed well enough.

Dean clumsily gripped the pen and wrote out a list of things that Sammy could eat, like ‘4MooLa’ and ‘MaSH FrooT’. Castiel looked the list over for a moment before nodding and disappearing again. He reappeared with a bundle of bananas and set them on the table in front of Dean. Dean was about to ask what he was doing when the angel suddenly brought his fist down onto the bananas, bursting some of the peels and spraying the three of them with bits of banana. Sammy squealed and gleefully waved his hands in the air. Dean stared at the mess and started giggling. It was quiet, more breathy and barely a laugh compared to how he used to sound, but it was the first real noise Dean had made in a while, and he liked it. He looked up at Castiel, a smile stretching across his face as he continued to quietly giggle.

Castiel wasn’t sure what was so funny—he had done as Dean asked, hadn’t he?—but any confusion was wiped away when Dean smiled up at him. Even if Dean was laughing at him, Castiel didn’t care. This was the first noise Dean had made since he heard the boy’s prayer, and Dean looked so happy.

Dean reached for one of the spoons Castiel had brought over for cereal and dug through the peels for some mashed banana. It was a grown-up spoon, but Dean thought he could just put a little food on the spoon for Sammy to eat. There wasn’t much, as a lot of the mashed bananas had ended up splattered on the three, but there were still some solid bananas left. He raised his fist over the bananas but hesitated and looked over at Castiel. At the angel’s nod, he slammed his fist down onto the bananas and burst into another fit of breathy giggles. He repeated the action until the bananas were mashed enough and began to feed Sammy again. Once Sammy seemed satisfied, Dean set down the spoon and looked up at Castiel again.

Castiel stared back, unsure of what Dean wanted. Seeing this, Dean reached out for the box of cereal and held it out to Castiel while looking at it and then his bowl. Castiel took the cereal and glanced at the bowl. “You want me to pour the cereal?”

Dean nodded and watched as Castiel did so. The angel also poured the milk, which Dean was thankful for. He didn’t think he would have been able to lift it. Dean smiled in thanks at Castiel and picked up his grown-up spoon to eat. Dean still had trouble using it, even though he had been forced to use one for the past few weeks, and made a bit of a mess, but the angel didn’t seem to mind. When he finished, he looked up at the angel, unsure of what to do next.

Castiel mirrored him. What was one supposed to do with children?

Dean broke eye contact and pulled Sammy back into his lap. He stared down at his brother as he pet the baby’s hair. While he was glad to be away from that weird lady, he didn’t really want to be here either. The angel looked just as lost as Dean sometimes. He didn’t think Castiel had ever taken care of a kid before. Daddy wasn’t that great either—always reading or drinking that nasty drink that made him smell bad and cry—but at least Daddy was familiar. Daddy had toys and TV and small books that Dean could read in a somewhat warm motel room or the car. The place they were in now was cold, freezing his bare feet, and it didn’t really look like kids were supposed to be here.

“Would you like to watch TV?” Castiel asked. Dean glanced up through his bangs and nodded.

Dean carefully slid off the chair and followed after Castiel with Sammy in his arms. The angel led him to another room that looked lived in, but this one had a TV.

Dean stared at the TV—or what he thought was a TV. It was the thinnest one he had ever seen, but it had the biggest screen he had ever seen. It also didn’t have any dials or buttons like TVs usually did. Dean turned to stare at the angel with his jaw dropped before setting Sammy on the bed and running over to inspect the TV. There seemed to be a few buttons across the side, so Dean pressed the one that said ‘Power’. He backed up to look at the screen and gaped. The picture was so clear! He turned and scrambled onto the bed, never taking his eyes off the screen. He held up Sammy and pointed at the TV excitedly, grinning.

Look, Sammy! Look at the TV!

He felt the bed dip beside him and beamed up at Castiel. The angel’s lips twitched into a smile before he looked back up to find something for Dean to watch. Dean’s eyes widened when something called ‘Netflix’ came up and showed more TV shows and movies than Dean had ever seen! Dean leaned forward, awestruck.

Angels had such cool things!

Finding something to watch took a while (Castiel kept trying to play adult stuff) until a cartoon Dean had never seen before was chosen. Dean’s eyes were glued to the screen, mesmerized by how different it looked compared to the cartoons he usually watched. When the first episode ended, he excitedly turned to the angel and beamed. He wanted to thank the angel and ask where he had gotten the TV from, but he knew that if his words got caught in his throat again he would probably cry, and he didn’t want to ruin his good mood. Instead, he wrapped his arms around as much of the angel’s middle as he could. He felt Castiel stiffen for a moment before relaxing and resting his hand on Dean’s head. Dean smiled up at the angel again and turned back to the TV, ready to start the next episode.

__________

They stopped after a few more episodes for lunch. Castiel left again to get more food for Sam, and they had a repeat of the morning, much to Dean’s delight. Castiel made a sandwich for Dean, and Dean ate the whole thing, even though he didn’t like the crusts. Mommy used to cut the crusts off for him, but ever since she went away, Daddy made sure he ate the whole thing because he said that it was a waste of food if he didn’t.

Dean was also given a big boy cup filled with water. While Dean was thrilled that the angel thought he was big enough for one, his happiness was quickly dashed when he spilled a bunch of water on himself (the cup was heavy!). He looked up at Castiel with a trembling lip.

Castiel panicked. “It is all right, Dean.” He patted the boy’s head awkwardly. He looked between Dean and Sam, who was starting to whine as he needed another change. His shoulders slumped. “I suppose I should take you shopping. I am not equipped with what you need.” He wished adult Sam or Dean were here—they would know what to do.

Castiel took them in his car. Dean frowned from the backseat as he held Sammy. Dean wasn’t supposed to sit in the car without his booster seat, and Sammy definitely wasn’t supposed to be in it without his car seat. He also didn’t have any shoes or socks. He wasn’t supposed to go to stores without shoes or socks. Even Sammy didn’t go to the store without socks.

When they arrived—at a Walmart, Dean noted—Castiel picked both Sammy and him up. When he looked up at the angel curiously, Castiel answered. “You are barefoot, Dean. There is broken glass, and the ground will be rough on your feet. I do not want you to get hurt.”

Dean nodded and wrapped his arms around the angel’s neck, resting his head on Castiel’s shoulder. When they got inside, Castiel set Dean down and grabbed a cart. As he put Sam in the seat, he felt Dean grip his coat.

He made his way to the clothing section first and quickly got lost in a sea of clothes. Dean just stared up at the angel, waiting for him to do something. Castiel looked around. Where was he supposed to start?

“Can I help you, sir?”

Castiel turned around and sighed in relief at the sight of a female worker. He nodded. “Yes, I need help finding clothes for these two.” He gestured to the two boys.

The woman glanced down and narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the sight of the little boy in damp pajamas and no shoes. Dean, not liking the stare, hid behind the angel’s legs.

Luckily, Castiel had gotten better at reading expressions, and he knew this woman did not like what she saw. He knew he needed to ease her lest she call the police and complicate everything.

He still wasn’t a great liar, so he decided to just go with the truth. “Their mother perished in a fire recently along with the house.” He didn’t even have a chance to say anything else before the employee interrupted him.

“Oh, you poor thing! And you need to replace the things you lost, right?” The woman began to sort through the children’s clothes. “I’m guessing Mom was the one who did all the shopping?” Castiel nodded as she held up a few shirts. “Let me just check to see what size he is. Can you come here, sweetie?” She smiled at Dean.

Dean looked up at Castiel, who nodded reassuringly. Dean hesitantly moved from behind the angel’s legs and approached the lady, who beamed at him. Dean hunched in on himself.

“That’s a good boy! Can you tell me your name, sweetie?” Dean shook his head, so the woman looked up at Castiel.

“His name is Dean. He...hasn’t spoken.”

Her eyes crinkled with sympathy. She looked back at Dean. “Well, Dean, my name is Natalie. Do you mind if I just hold these up to you to see if they fit?” Dean hesitated for a moment before nodding, causing the woman to smile again. “Thank you, Dean! This will be really helpful!”

Dean stood still as she held up shirts to his chest. When that was done, the woman grabbed some pants and held those up to him as well. Once she got the right sizes, Natalie flitted around the children’s section to grab some clothes and offered them to Castiel. Castiel took them gratefully. There were about seven shirts and pairs of pants, and she had thrown in some socks and underwear.

“I figured a week’s worth of clothes is a good place to start. Let me grab some clothes for the other little guy and then we can see about getting them some shoes.”

When Natalie came back, she had the same amount of outfits for Sammy, plus pajamas for him and Dean. Next, she took them to the shoe section, where she measured Dean and Sammy’s feet and got out a few pairs of shoes. She opened the bag of socks and slid a pair onto Dean’s feet. Next, she took the lid off of one the boxes and held it out to Dean.

“Now, Dean, these shoes are really special. Do you wanna know why?” When Dean nodded, she leaned in closer and whispered conspiratorially. “They light up when you walk. Wanna see?”

Dean nodded rapidly, so Natalie took out the shoes and slid them onto his feet. When they were strapped on, she leaned back and grinned. “Alright! Try it out, kiddo!”

Dean eagerly began stomping his feet. He gasped in delight as they lit up and grinned up at Castiel, who smiled back. While Dean continued to jump around, Natalie slid a pair of shoes onto Sammy’s feet. Satisfied, she held out the two boxes to Castiel.

“They can keep the shoes on, just let them know and they’ll ring up the boxes.”

“Thank you.” Castiel took the boxes and added them to the cart.

Natalie then took them to the baby supplies and piled his cart with baby bottles, diapers, sippy cups, and baby food. She looked disapprovingly at Castiel when Dean pointed to the booster seat and car seat until he mentioned that the mother’s car had been in the garage and had burned with the house. She grabbed a high chair and a crib, though Castiel didn’t think he’d be using it. Dean didn’t seem to want to sleep without Sam, and Castiel wouldn’t be the one to make him. They also made a trip to the toy aisle, where Dean ran around trying to figure out what he wanted. He settled on crayons and some Hot Wheels and picked out a few things for Sammy. Once that was done, Natalie turned and smiled at Castiel.

“That should be everything you need for now. If you need anything else, feel free to come back and ask for me. I’ll be happy to help!”

Castiel tipped his head at her. “Thank you again, Natalie. I do not know what I would have done without you.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” Natalie bent down and smiled at Dean, ruffling his hair. “Goodbye, Dean! I hope to see you again soon!”

Dean nodded. He opened his mouth, wanting to say thank you. He tried so hard, wanting to please the nice lady, but all that came out was a wheeze. Tears burned in Dean’s eyes, and he wiped at them quickly, not wanting to cry in front of Natalie.

“Oh, sweetie.” She rested her hands on his shoulders. She thought about how she could cheer him up when an idea popped into her head. “Hey, Dean. Have you ever heard of sign language?” Dean shook his head, so she continued. “Well, it’s a language used by people who can’t speak like you. They use their hands to talk instead of their voices. I don’t know a lot, but I do know how to say thank you. Would you like to see?”

Dean stared at her in awe. She could teach him how to say stuff without using his words? Dean nodded eagerly. He was desperate to be able to say anything. Just knowing how to say thank you would mean the world to him.

Natalie beamed. “Alright. Bring your hand to your chin like this—” She showed Dean, who copied her. “—and then bring it down like this.” Dean did so. “And that’s it! That’s how you say thank you in sign language.”

Dean’s eyes lit up, and he rapidly did as she had shown him. Natalie laughed and stood with a “There you go!”. She looked to Castiel, who looked at her with such relief it was heartbreaking.

“Thank you.” He said.

She nodded. “No problem. I know I’d be real upset if no one could understand me. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for a child.”