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"Normally, I wouldn't show up for this sort of thing. Especially not this fucking early on a Saturday, but you know what they say." James sighed heavily and Castiel frowned slightly. "Happy wife, happy life."
Cas nodded, entirely unsure of how to reply. "Yes, I have heard that too."
"Which one's yours?" James asked. "Mine's currently about to cartwheel into that mirror there."
"Jack." Castiel said, not presently able to spot him in the studio.
"Oh. I could'a guessed." James huffed. "Kid's a dead ringer for you."
Castiel smiled easily at that. It was still nice to hear, even after all these years. "Thank you."
"He, uh, into ballet?" James leaned in, almost conspiratorially. "Or is this more somethin' you got sweet-talked into."
"Jack's very interested in ballet." Cas said, slightly exasperated. Jack was religious about the classes, to the point that there were more than a few memorable occasions where they negotiated carpooling mid-hunt. "I have to say, it was a little unexpected."
Both that Jack would be interested and that Dean would be as supportive as he was.
"I'll bet." James raised his hands, leaning back. "But, I mean, that's okay now right? All that, uh, positive masculinity and uh whatnot."
Castiel nodded, still faintly confused.
"Hey." Dean said, grabbing Cas' arm. He accepted a kiss from Cas and Cas noticed the way James' eye widened. "We better take our seats, thing's getting started."
"Dean, this is Stacy's dad, James."
James looked between them, opening and closing his mouth. Dean lifted his chin up once to acknowledge James, clearly distracted as he got Cas to follow him to the chairs at the back.
"You makin' friends with James? I thought you said he and Mandy were fucking obnoxious." Dean teased, voice low around the swarm of mothers they passed.
"That's not what I said," Castiel said, narrowing his eyes. "I said the way Amanda acts around you was fu--" Castiel cut himself off as a girl ran between them. He sighed deeply, following Dean to their seats.
Dean hummed, still entirely too pleased. "This mean I can say yes to their offer of brunch?"
"You guys are hosting brunch?" Sam wrinkled his nose, looking up from his phone.
"Shut up Sammy." Dean scoffed, slumping into his seat.
Sam smiled, adjusting his long legs uncomfortably. "You guys forgetting already about the satanic symbols on the wall?"
Cas winced, remembering the disaster with the guy who installed their fridge. "And all the weapons."
"And what the hell would you two even do during... brunch?" Sam asked and Dean rolled his eyes, throwing up his hands.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Eileen said, rushing over to them, a bouquet of flowers in hand. Sam got up to hug her. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Dean tried saying quickly.
"Dean wants to hold a brunch because James' wife has a crush on him."
Eileen stared at Cas' lips before grinning and making a face. "Oh I know, it's so creepy."
"Hey." Dean scowled at her. "If having a crush on me was creepy--"
"We wouldn't have all our monster friends?" Sam muttered right as Dean gestured to Cas.
"Shut up, bitch." Dean said while Eileen laughed.
Castiel smiled, glancing around at the noise as kids rehearsed, warmed up or just ran around. They definitely stood out, looming over most people and hidden at the back. Eileen was the flimsy bridge between them and the room of mostly normal moms.
Though Cas was often alarmed by some of the things he'd overheard them saying.
"Cas, back me up here." Dean was saying heatedly.
"About what?" Cas refocused on their bickering, taking the seat next to Dean.
"Man's an angel of the Lord Sam--"
Sam snorted irreverently. "He's exhibit A of the insanity that goes with liking you."
"You got some balls, with the kinds of--"
"Guys, guys." Eileen cut them off, and batted at Sam's arm. "You can argue about being freaks of nature later, I think it's about to start."
Dean closed his mouth, shaking his head as Jack's teacher took her place at the front. She smiled at them and Sam raised a hand in hello. She'd been generous enough to let Jack have free lessons after they cleared the studio of a poltergeist.
Cas tilted his head to try and spot Jack in the small crowd of dancers in the corridor.
"Rehearsing in the other room," Dean murmured, fingers on Cas' arm and Cas relaxed, listening to the small spiel.
"--thank you all for being here. Today's recital will be broken into three parts with the beginner students demonstrating the skills they've been working on and--"
Castiel fidgeted slightly, adjusting the phone in his hand.
"--intermediates will be performing a group dance from Giselle--"
"--and then lastly we're going to have two duets and one solo from Miranda who has recently progressed to pointe."
Cas clapped along with the rest of the parents, amused to see some extremely small dancers with one gangly pre-teen take the floor for the first part.
"I'm confused," Cas confessed quietly, glancing over at them. "Is this a dance?"
"These are the fundamental movements you have to learn." Dean interjected before Sam could, elbow on his knee, hand covering part of his mouth as he observed with great interest. "Plie, etendre, relever, sauter, glisser, you know." He waved his other hand. "Shut up."
Castiel stared at him, rather impressed considering the last thing his husband had said in French was ménage à trois.
Cas shot Sam a look over Dean's head and Sam mouthed back, I know.
Eileen was filming these parts too, eyes softened. Sam smiled at her, his attention entirely off the recital.
"I didn't realize you were such a fan." Cas leaned down to murmur as they clapped when the beginners were done. It was remarkable that they could still surprise each other.
"I'm not," Dean said flatly, glaring at him when Cas smiled. "Dude, I--it-- I'll show you Black Swan when we get home."
"Not this again," Sam muttered.
"I love Black Swan." Eileen gushed, leaning across his lap. "Cas you have to watch it, it's all about being crazy about the things you love. About art and genius. It's like Whiplash, have you seen Whiplash?"
"No, and I'll watch anything as long as Clint Eastwood isn't in it." Castiel agreed.
"I want a divorce," Dean informed him, which made Cas roll his eyes.
"Guys." Sam tilted up his chin.
Jack was there. Cas smiled as Jack scanned the crowd, beaming when he spotted them. He waved and the four of them waved back, both Sam and Cas digging out their phones.
Castiel liked the music most, he decided as it started. It was indescribably beautiful.
The group dance was fairly well done, the kids in more symbolic costumes than anything. Castiel was sure there was a plot of some kind, but he just let himself enjoy the look of slight concentration on Jack's face and the obvious care the kids put in.
The older dancers had much articulated moves than the slightly puzzled shuffles the younger ones made, and Castiel was impressed by the flurry of coordinated movement, the way the space was created and swallowed up as they went.
Jack had progressed fast, Castiel realized proudly, noting the deliberate motions, and how well he matched the others. But then, he'd taken to the sparring techniques he and Dean taught him fast too.
It was strange, this feeling. Cas had dreaded for a long time that Jack would be treated differently, that he'd struggle or grow disillusioned like so many of the angels he'd known.
But he was fine, just another one of the kids practicing and now lining up to bow out.
All four of them clapped hard, and Cas wondered how statistically improbable their family was. How ridiculous that three hunters and an angel, and the many things Jack was, could be here, unthreatened, for no real, grandiose reason at all.
Jack smiled brightly at them, ushered off with the rest of the kids for the costume changes for the solos and duets.
"Aw, he did so well." Eileen declared. "I really liked the little jumps, the, uh--"
"Sissone." Dean supplied gruffly and Eileen bit down on her smile.
"What did you think?" Cas asked Dean, though he knew Dean had been transfixed.
"He's God." Dean replied, just to be obnoxious. He smirked at Cas' expression.
Cas shook his head and Eileen chuckled.
"How long's he been taking classes, Cas?"
Cas frowned a little as he thought about it. "Not long. I mean... it's definitely been at least a year." Right as he said it, it struck him. A year. Jack had been in school here for two, they'd had the house for about that long.
And while their new routine had its challenges and issues, Cas loved it. Loved the expectedness of Jack being home after school and having to go in the morning, even as Dean grumbled and complained and made breakfast for them all.
He liked their lower-stakes hunts, enjoyed their downtime even more. Dean worked on cars, Jack often at his heels, rattling off parts and handing him tools. Cas forced all of them onto hikes, or just into the city itself.
He liked watching movies with Dean, liked fighting about the music, and the furniture, and being annoyed when Dean inevitably invited people over.
Unless it was Sam and Eileen, who lived close enough that they spent most of their days together, even though Eileen and Sam hunted more than Cas had expected. But even their lives were getting tied down here, as Sam moonlighted in between at the Faculty of Law at the university nearby and Eileen went all over town following her eclectic set of hobbies.
Claire and Kaia dropped by when they could and Cas always went overboard for their stays. He loved having everyone in one place. In their home.
Cas' first and only home.
It always felt like a handful of cherished days Cas could remember from the Bunker had expanded, and become the theme of his whole life.
A strange of peace, where Cas and Dean still fought, but it was easier to make up now, when Cas' big mistake was bringing home the wrong thing or Dean snapped at him over nothing before following him through the garden to apologize.
Or they wasted away hours, tangled up in each other, when Dean would finally be secure enough to half mumble something serious, and swear Cas to secrecy never to bring it up again.
Cas swallowed, fidgeting with his sleeves.
He didn't remember ever feeling this good, seeing Dean and Sam smile that much.
Dean smoothly put his arm around behind Cas, squeezing his side and pulling Cas closer. He had an uncanny knack for reading Cas. Always had.
Cas grabbed his hand, both of them chuckling slightly as Jack took the stage again.
Even with parental blinders on, Cas had to admit that Jack, being one of the only boys, got a lot more parts than he should've. The girls were a lot better, especially Miranda, who was one of the only dancers that performed at a level Cas could recognize from his pop culture crash course.
Sam kept opening his phone any second that Jack wasn't there, but Eileen was just as invested as Dean was.
"It's like a language in of itself." Eileen explained during a pause, having swapped places with Sam at some point. "And I always wanted to be a ballerina when I was little."
"Really?" Cas asked.
"Sure I did. Little girl's dream you know, tutus and pretty shoes."
Dean made an unintelligible sound into his hand while Cas nodded, their conversation interrupted as the teacher came back out.
She thanked them for their time and support, and gave some details on classes and the next recital, but Cas tuned it out as the kids flooded back into the room.
Jack made a beeline for them, and Cas smiled as he got there, hugging him.
"You did really well." Cas said and Eileen jumped in next, making Jack beam when she handed him flowers and ruffled his hair.
"Thank you! You liked it?" Jack asked the rest of them unnecessarily.
"Of course we did." Sam confirmed, stretching a little. "I really liked the last one that you did, when you spun Miranda around."
"That took us four classes to learn." Jack said excitedly. "And Miranda kept falling and then I dropped her one time."
Dean snickered lightly and Jack focused on him, hugging him.
"Thank you for helping me practise."
Dean tipped his head down, patting Jack on the back. "Yeah, alright. It was all you buddy."
Cas was completely and utterly charmed.
"Stop." Dean warned him as Jack pulled away.
"No, Dean come on, I'm curious too." Sam teased and Dean gave him a look that promised violence. "What exactly did you guys practice?"
"Sam, unless you think it's been too long since your hair was pink, shut up."
"Are you gonna continue with this?" Eileen asked Jack, partially signing some of it.
"I don't know." Jack said. "Maybe."
"Whatever you want to do is okay," Cas said.
"Okay, but I don't want to go on pointe." Jack said.
"I don't think guys do pointe." Sam ran a hand through his hair, like he was reassuring himself it was still normal.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Sam frowned slightly. "Never heard of it."
"Oh good. Because it hurts a lot, Miranda uses a lot of bandages." Jack turned to wave at someone who called his name.
"Bye Jack, I'll see you." Miranda said, winking at him as she pushed open the door.
"Bye." Jack waved, and then another girl called out to him.
Dean raised his eyebrows at Cas. "Look at him, a chip off the old block."
"Uh-huh." Cas rolled his eyes and to his horror, spotted Amanda waving at him, clearly about to make her way over.
Sam checked his watch. "I think Eileen and I need to get going, but--"
"We'll all go." Cas said immediately, practically already dragging Dean and Jack out. "Come on Jack, we'll celebrate at home."
Dean snickered as he turned his head. "Oh Cas, she really looks she has something to say."
"We're not having brunch with them." Cas said and Dean laughed, opening the car quickly.
They were screeching out of the parking lot when Amanda got out of the doors and Cas breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Hey it's Stacy's mom!"
"Yes." Castiel said darkly, watching Jack wave at her through the window.
"Can she come over sometimes? She's one of my best friends." Jack reported and Castiel groaned.