I should be working on the other two fics I have going right now (and I am!), but I found this prompt on Tumblr and this story was born.

Warnings: Fluff. Lots and lots of fluff. And slash.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters within.

Enjoy!

Castiel had known when he'd heard Anna's blue Prius pull into his driveway that she was going to pull something like this. He should have trusted his gut instinct and hid in the kitchen. She wouldn't be able to see him if he pressed up against the fridge (he'd learned pretty quickly how to hide from the view of the front window during last election season). She'd spotted him through the window before he could make a decision and waved, smiling brightly and herding her kids towards Cas's front door. Cas cursed under his breath and moved to let them in, pasting a smile on his face.

"Castiel!" Anna greeted him enthusiastically, bounding through the doorway to throw her arms around Cas's chest and hug him tightly. Cas tensed slightly, still unused to a gentle touch from any of his family besides maybe Balthazar. He relaxed in time to squeeze her quickly before she let go and beamed up at him. She readjusted collar of his shirt, her gaze flickering up to his messy dark hair. "Still struggling with the perpetual sex hair?" Her smile widened into a leer and she winked, glancing around the small condo suspiciously. "Or am I interrupting something?"

"Anna," Cas chided her, shooting a nervous look down at the toddlers clutching her hands on either side of her. Peter gazed up at him blankly and Andy was too focused of fitting her entire hand in her mouth to be really paying attention to her mother's language.

Anna waved his concern off irritably, rolling her eyes, and tugged the twins into the living room. "You're a prude, Castiel. You're never going to find someone if you keep acting like that."

"Acting like what?" Cas sighed, defeated. She had firmly inserted herself into the house; there was no longer a chance of escape. He tramped into the living room and stood in the doorway, watching her drop her duffel bag onto the floor and unzip it. She dug through the bag until she found a box of crayons and a stack of coloring books. She settled Peter and Andy on his worn braided carpet and straightened up to meet Cas's gaze seriously.

She put her hands on her hips and pursed her thin lips, regarding her baby brother for a few moments before replying carefully, "I just mean you are not easy to talk to sometimes. You're too uptight. You need to relax."

Cas wasn't sure if she expected him to throw himself at her feet in thanks for such a groundbreaking revelation, but she stood there and looked up at him pointedly, as if she expected some kind of response. He shrugged and dug his socked toe into the shag carpet, dropping his gaze to the ground. "It's none of your concern, Anna."

"Damn it, Cas, I swear you're a robot sometimes!" Chuck slammed his hands down on the kitchen table, shaking the chipped plates and mugs resting on the wooden surface. Cas flinched at the sound, shocked, and pushed his seat back a few inches, eyeing Chuck warily and perching on the edge of his chair, ready to bolt.

Chuck didn't seem to notice Cas's distress as he ranted on, "I just poured out my heart to you about this and all you can say is 'fine'? Do you really understand how nervous I am for you to meet my parents? This is a big step in our relationship, Cas, and if you're not sure about it, I don't know where this relationship is going."

"I didn't mean to upset you," Cas replied softly, his stomach sinking.

Chuck stared at him for a few moments, peering into his face as if he could see into Cas's mind and decipher what was going on in his head like he could with all the characters he wrote about. After a few moments, he shook his head and stood up, tugging his flannel robe around himself. "I've got to work on my manuscript. When you can say more than ten words in a row, come up and talk to me."

Cas watched him go helplessly, wanting to call him back but unsure of what to say. Of course he could talk, he liked to talk; he just wasn't used to it. He'd learned to keep his mouth shut fairly quickly when Michael had gone off the deep end and started dishing out beatings for every minor offence committed in that household. Cas had always considered himself to be better with actions than with words; words got tangled up en route from his brain to his mouth, and more often than not, he embarrassed himself when he tried to speak articulately.

Chuck had moved out two weeks later, unable to deal with Cas's lack of verbalization. Cas figured Chuck had originally seen him as a challenge; he'd been set on pulling Cas out of his shell and living happily ever after.

Needless to say, it hadn't worked. Chuck was a writer; he thrived on words and dialogue and language. Cas effectively starved him of that, seeing himself as unable to keep up with Chuck's gorgeous, flowing language and sentences, unable to compete with his vivid adjectives and colorful verbs.

"Anyway," Anna's voice cut into Cas's train of thought, breaking his concentration and pulling him out of the memories of his miserably failed past relationship. He leaned against the doorframe, bracing his shoulder against the rough wood, and silently resigned himself to dealing with whatever drama was going on in her life currently. She tugged at the hem of her dark purple scrubs shirt and smiled at Cas innocently. Alarm bells went off in Cas's head; she wanted something from him. He hoped it wasn't money; he was barely scraping by right now, and if he had to fork over another paycheck to cover her kids' daycare bill, he'd have to go another month eating nothing but Ramen. "I need you to watch the kids for me for a few weeks. I have a conference in California and I can't find anywhere else for them to go. Please? I can't take them with me, and I really have no other options, please, Castiel, please, please, please…"

Cas rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers, feeling the beginnings of a headache in his lower skull. He sighed and nodded, agreeing reluctantly, "Yeah, Anna, that's fine, I guess..."

Anna perked up at once and bounded across the room to hug Cas again, squeezing him tightly around his slim waist. He rolled his eyes and patted her back awkwardly. Over her shoulder, he could see Peter attempting to shove a blue crayon up his nose.

This was shaping up to be a long day.

Cas allowed himself to be tugged towards the large brick school building by Peter, not that he had much of a choice in the first place; the kid had an iron grip on his hand. He doubted he could pull away if he wanted to. He shifted his other arm to hitch Andy up higher on his right hip. He wasn't sure how much longer he could carry her around like this; she was almost six now, and getting heavy. Her small fingers curled tightly into his shirt, stretching the soft fabric in their unrelenting grip. He stumbled over the curb and followed Peter towards the front door through the crowd of parents and kids in the front, looking around the crowded schoolyard curiously. He'd brought them to preschool more times than he could count, but this was the first time he'd been assigned to drop off duty for kindergarten. He dug his heels in to stop Peter for a moment, forcing the young boy to turn and look up at him so he could ask, "Peter, do you know where your mom usually drops you off?"

Peter shrugged and pointed over towards the playground where a group of kids that looked to be around his age was convening around one taller form. "Over there."

"Alright," Cas muttered, determinedly readjusting Andy and starting over towards the playground, Peter's hand still gripped in his own. He had to get home to put together some packets for his meeting at the town hall later, and he still hadn't managed to get his printer to work again after it had jammed last week. He was so single mindedly determined in making his way towards the class to drop off his nephew and niece that he didn't see the abandoned hula-hoop until he'd stepped on it. His foot slid forward and he was sent plunging towards the ground, his balance compromised. He yelped and automatically let go of Peter's hand before instinctively twisting his body to shield Andy from the fall, intending to land on his shoulder; the impact with the cold blacktop never came.

Strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back to his feet, righting his again easily before he could hit the ground. He stepped away from the large, warm hands on his waist, his face burning with embarrassment, and found himself looking up at the man who had been standing with the children before. The man's eyebrows drew together with concern and he offered Cas a hesitant smile, brushing a stray chocolate lock out of his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Cas nodded and reasserted his grip on Andy, holding her to him tightly and suddenly feeling a lot more vulnerable under this man's penetrating gaze. He shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat nervously. "I, uh…yes. Thank you. I didn't…I didn't see that there…"

"Yeah, the man grinned and glanced around the parking lot with a mixture of fondness and exasperation mingling of his handsome features. He pushed up the sleeves of his plaid button down, showing off his strong forearms, and returned his friendly, dark eyes to Castiel. "They leave their stuff all over. You've got to watch out for it."

"Yeah," Cas responded, his eyes flickering up to meet the other man's for a moment. He was met with a look of sincerity and warmth that made him suddenly feel slightly more relaxed; this guy wasn't ridiculing him, or making fun of him. He was just trying to have a conversation. Cas cleared his throat and added in what he hoped was a casual way, "I wasn't expecting to have to navigate a minefield when my sister asked me to drop them off today."

The man threw his head back and laughed, genuine and unguarded. His nose crinkled when he laughed; Cas felt the corners of his lips involuntarily twitch upwards. The man tilted his head to the side and smiled, laugh lines still lingering around the corners of his mouth and eyes. "Siblings, right? I get where you're coming from. Your Anna's brother?" Sam watched the smaller man closely, interested. He'd obviously had had a lot of interaction with these kids before, unless he had his own. He propped her on his hip with the ease of someone who had been doing the same thing for years, and Sam had seen the way he'd turned his body so he would get the brunt of the fall. Hopefully, that meant that he'd be dropping the kids off more often, Sam mused, allowing his gaze to flicker from Castiel's expressive, jaded blue eyes and run down his lithe frame. The man's hair was an absolute mess, a chaotic nest of ruffled, dark locks; Sam couldn't tell if it was styled that way or if he'd just rolled out of bed.

"Castiel," Cas held out a hand for him to shake, supporting Andy's weight with one arm for a moment.

The man took his hand and shook it firmly; his hand was so large it could almost completely encase Cas's. He grinned and replied, "Sam Winchester."

The next week was surprisingly not as psychologically scarring as Castiel had expected. He'd managed to carefully navigate tantrums and tears (two things he couldn't handle at all), and Peter and Andy seemed to be adjusting fine to staying in Cas's spare bedroom. They babbled on and on at meals, and Cas could always hear feet pattering around in the small condo; it made the place feel a little more warm and alive. He felt less lonely when they were curled up on the couch next to him, arguing over what to watch on T.V. He'd never considered the option of having kids before, but he found himself thinking about maybe, someday in the future possibly wanting a few.

That idea hit a bump in the road on the second Monday he dropped them off at school. Cas set Andy down on the blacktop, loosening her grip on his baggy sweater. She immediately latched onto his leg, refusing to let go and pressing her face against his thigh. He put a hand in her hair and rubbed her scalp gently. "Why don't you go find your friends, sweetheart? I'll be back at three to pick you up."

Andy's lip began to tremble. Cas felt panic squeeze at his heart; he did not handle tears well. He always left that to Anna when she brought them over. He could feed them, play with them, and get them to school, but he could not do tantrums.

A wail slipped through Andy's lips and she collapsed onto the ground in a ball, sobbing and screaming something incoherently, still refusing to release her grip on Cas's leg. Cas dropped to his knees and slid his hands under her armpits, hauling her back to her feet and standing her up in front of him. He looked her in the eye and demanded firmly, "Andy, please stop crying."

She paused in her wails to stare at him in confusion for a few moments before returning to doubling over in breathless sobs and clinging to Cas's jacket, refusing to let go. Cas tried to pry her off of him again, unsuccessfully. She just wailed louder. He could feel the other parent's eyes on him, judging him; they probably thought he was some kind of unfit parent.

He felt a cold weight settle in his stomach at that thought; he pushed the feeling aside, resolving to examine it more closely later. Now wasn't the time to do any soul searching.

"Here," a familiar hand gripped Cas's arm and held him still while Sam broke Andy's death grip on his coat. Sam gripped Andy's shoulders and knelt down in front of her, perching on the balls of his feet and smiling reassuringly at her, showing off his dimples. "Why don't you and Castiel go over to the picnic tables and color for a little while before he goes? Alright?"

Sam pulled out a box of crayons and a some folded sheets of paper from his pockets, and Cas had to admit he was impressed; this guy was prepared. Sam handed the crayons to a still sniffling Andy and pushed the paper into Cas's hands. When he handed the paper over, he leaned closer to Castiel and whispered softly in his ear, "Go color with her for a few minutes. Other kid's will join in and then you can tell her goodbye. She'll take it better."

Cas nodded dumbly, trying hard to focus on the words the man was saying as opposed to his warm breath ghosting across Cas's neck when he spoke. Sam smelled like leather and sweet soap; Cas inhaled a little, trying to be subtle, reveling in the scent. He cleared his throat and nodded shortly before holding out his hand and leading Andy to one of the picnic tables.

Cas sat next to her for five minutes and made a weak attempt at drawing a horse before he stood up to attempt to leave again. At that point, other kids had gathered around and snatched up crayons; Andy was suitably distracted when Castiel told her he was leaving and that he'd be back at three.

Sam watched him slip away from the group and head towards his car. He reached over the kids and plucked the white paper Cas had been drawing on and looked down at the picture. He bit back a smile and ran his hand over the crudely drawn lines before folding it and sticking it in his back pocket. He clapped his hands together and smiled brightly, "Alright, everyone, let's get inside!"

When Castiel came back to pick the kids up that afternoon, no one was outside. That was unusual. He wandered in the front door of the school and paused by the main office, unsure of where to go. The school was huge; the entry way was three stories tall and Castiel could see the cafeteria and library through walls of windows on the two upper floors.

"Can I help you?"

Castiel whirled around and found himself face to face with an old woman sitting at her desk in the main office. She smiled at him politely and beckoned him inside. He hesitated, but stepped over the threshold of the office, cracking his knuckles nervously. "I, uh…I'm here to pick up Andy and Peter Novak. I'm Anna's younger brother, she's out of town, so I, uh, I've been…"

"Oh, yes, yes, you must be Castiel," she cut him off before he could continue. Castiel was grateful she had; he'd run out of things to say and been about to trail off uncertainly. "Mr. Winchester told me you'd be here. The children were all checked for lice today, and Andy and Peter are still in line. We're running behind. I apologize."

"No, that's…that's fine," Cas assured her, dropping his gaze to his battered sneakers. "Is…should I wait…here or outside, or..?"

"You can go down to the kindergarten room," the woman replied, pointing towards the hall to the left of the man entrance. "I believe Mr. Winchester wanted to speak with you."

Cas nodded and stepped out of the room, trying to keep from blushing. He rubbed his face with his hands as he strode down the hallway towards where the woman had directed him, irritated with himself for getting so flustered.

Again.

He came to a stop at the door at the end of the hall with paper letters that spelled KINDERGARTEN taped up on the metal door. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before he reached out to open the door. This was just Sam. Sam who said hi to him and smiled at him every morning; Sam who somehow already managed to make him feel safe enough to respond to questions with more than one word; Sam who he'd known for barely a week and still couldn't help but think about when he was lying awake at night alone in bed.

Cas pushed the door open and stepped into the room, letting it close on its own behind him. Sam was at his desk at the front of the room, his phone pressed to his ear and his feet kicked up on the desk. He noticed Cas come in and waved him further into the room, smiling and motioning that he'd only be a minute.

"Yeah," Sam said into the phone, pointing to a chair for Cas to pull up. He dropped his feet to the floor and leaned his elbows on the desk. "No, Dean, I'll call him next week. I will. I will!" Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Fine. Okay. Dean, I've gotta go. There's a parent here to see me." A strange, exasperated look crossed Sam's expression and he smiled a little bit. "Goodbye, Dean. Hey, be careful, okay? Alright…Bye." He ended the call and dropped the phone into the bag next to his desk, looking up to smile at Cas. "Hey, Castiel. How are you today?"

"Fine," Cas replied, fiddling with the hem of his oversized sweater. "Thank you for…for earlier this morning."

Sam shrugged and leaned back in his chair, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. The hem of his shirt hiked up, showing off a strip of smooth, bare skin. Cas politely pretended not to notice or stare too long. "You've just got to get them involved in something so they don't miss you too much. Kids don't really react well to words when they're upset like that; it's actions that really get through what you mean. They're too worked up to listen. I've been doing this a few years."

Cas ducked his head and tilted it to the side slightly. "I guess I've still got a lot to learn."

Sam sat up straight and blinked at Cas, a flash of excitement flickering in his dark hazel eyes. Here was his chance to oh-so-casually bring up what he'd wanted to talk about. "Don't say that, you're great with them. They love you." Cas shrugged and pursed his lips doubtfully, studying his open palms on his lap. Sam sucked in a deep breath and tried to make his voice neutral when he offered, "You're always welcome to help out here."

"With what?" Cas asked, glancing around the room. It was set up so the kids sat at long tables facing the chalkboard at the front of the room. There were waist high shelves lining the walls, filled with books, stacks of paper, and plastic bins. A bright red table was set up in the corner; Cas noticed upon further inspection that instead of a flat top, the top was a container filled with colored rice. There was a clander on the back wall and the room was papered with posters and pictures. Across the front of the room, above the chalkboard, the letters of the alphabet were taped up. Each intricate letter had an animal or an object that began with that letter somehow incorporated into the picture. Cas could see from where he sat that they were hand drawn; he wondered if Sam had made them.

Sam shrugged and leaned forward, watching Cas eagerly and begging him with his eyes to say yes. "Reading to the kids, helping run activities we do in class, crafts…anything."

"I'm not god at reading out loud," Cas said matter-of-factly, trying to quash the small amount of hope blooming in his chest. Sam wanted him around. He was encouraging him to stay. Cas could have the chance to spend more time with the kids (who he had found himself growing increasingly fond of), and he'd get to see Sam at least once a week; it was a win-win. He cleared his throat and looked down at his hands in his lap. "And I'm not creative."

"Castiel Novak, you cannot tell me you're not creative after I saw the picture you drew of that pony this morning," Sam pointed an accusatory finger at him, the corner of his lips curled up in a lopsided smile. His hair fell into his eyes and his nose crinkled with suppressed laughter. Cas felt his resolve weaken a little. "Just give it a try. It'd be great to have some help around here once in a while."

Cas sighed and rolled his eyes, looking away from Sam's hopeful face and gazing out the window. "I guess once in a while can't really hurt."

Two months later, 'once in a while' has become once or twice a week and occasionally on weekends if there was a lot of preparation for a craft involved. That particular Saturday, Sam and Cas were alone in the classroom, curling ribbon and cutting out tags in the shape of Christmas trees for the gifts the kids would be making for their parents later that week. Castiel had somehow been stuck with cutting out the tags, a task that he was struggling with miserably. Sam glanced over and snorted when he saw the mangled mess of green paper in Cas's hands. Cas glared at him and tossed the paper into the recycling bin; it was beyond saving.

"I warned you I wasn't good at this," Cas snapped, picking up a fresh sheet of paper to start over.

Sam just smiled, showing off his dimples, and returned his gaze to the scissors and ribbon in his hands. Cas watched him for a few moments, enthralled with how easily Sam worked. He deftly ran the scissors over the ribbon, his calloused fingers holding it perfectly steady, and smoothly cut the newly curled ribbon off the spool. His hair fell around his face in a soft curtain of chocolate locks, and his sleeves were rolled up to reveal his strong forearms. Cas opened his mouth to speak, but froze. What was he supposed to say?

I think you're beautiful?

I really like you?

Are you busy tonight?

It would probably come out as a flustered "You really like I'm beautiful tonight busy", and then he'd have to splutter and stutter and try to explain himself and just make it worse with every word, and there was nothing he hated more than the feeling he was digging himself into a hole that he couldn't get out of. He remembered the look Michael had gotten on his face whenever Cas had attempted falteringly to make a point, or speak up, or offer an opinion; when he thought of the dead look in his brother's eyes, he shuddered involuntarily. His throat felt completely dry; he couldn't talk if he wanted to.

"Hey, Cas?" Sam's voice broke into his thoughts and Cas found himself looking into the same concerned eyes he had almost three months ago. Sam tilted his head to the side and asked softly, "What's up?"

It's actions that really get through what you mean

Cas stared at Sam for a moment before pushing himself forward and sealing his lips over Sam's. He expected Sam to freeze or push him away within a matter of seconds, shocked and appalled with Cas's advances. He was surprised when he felt one of Sam's arms wind around his waist to pull him closer, so he was practically straddling Sam's lap, and Sam's other hand moved to spread open on the small of his back to support him. Cas allowed his hands to wander up the back of Sam's neck and into his hair, twining his fingers through the thick, soft locks.

He felt Sam smile against his mouth; when Sam spoke, his lips moving against Cas's as he formed the words. "I guess this means I don't have to coerce you into volunteering to see you anymore."

"I'll still help out," Cas laughed softly, ducking his head and pressing his forehead against Sam's so he could meet Sam's fond gaze. Cas felt his smiled widen slightly and a warm, content feeling pooled in his chest. "If you want."

"Yeah," Sam pressed his lips briefly to Cas's and smiled at him gently. He gripped Cas's hands in his own, twining their fingers together and squeezing tightly. Cas pressed a hesitant kiss to Sam's cheek and Sam felt a blush rising up the back of his neck. He cleared his throat and added, "That would be great."

Cas smiled at him and ducked his head shyly. "As long as we don't let my sister find out about this. Not that I'm ashamed, she just…she is inordinately interested in my love life."

Sam threw his head back and laughed, honest and open and every bit as beautiful as the first day they'd met on the playground and he'd somehow managed to catch Cas before he could fall.

That's it! Just a one-shot. I hope you liked it.

Please tell me what you thought if you have a second! I really appreciate it:)

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: This will no longer be a one shot. It will be a series of one shot-type things in this verse because I like it. I tried to resist it, but I can't help myself.

Next installment: Sam and Cas are considering having kids of their own, x amount of years later. The way they find the kids they adopt is not at all the way the expected to.