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Jude stepped back and stared down at the blue and red costume laying across his bed with a long breath. Once again, his parents had bought him an outfit for Halloween. It was the same costume he wore every year, just in a bigger size. But as he blinked down at the stretchy fabric draped over his comforter, Jude didn't feel very confident about putting it on this time. Superman? Again? Ollie's school friends were going to make fun of him this year for sure...Jude had been trick-or-treating as Superman since he was three years old. The two years before that, he was a happy little bumble bee - Papa's idea, of course. But now, at age fifteen, Jude thought that wearing a Superman costume didn't seem very cool anymore. It was a kid thing, wasn't it? Only little boys wore superhero outfits. Teenagers dressed up like zombies and monsters and scared their friends. At least, the normal ones did. Dad and Pop would understand if he didn't wear the shiny red cape this year, right?With his heart full of confusing emotions, Jude swiped the blue and red costume from his bed and wandered across the hall to his cousin Jessie's room. Now-a-days, her purple walls were covered in girly posters; the kind with boy bands and famous actors. But some of her colorful artwork was hanging on the walls too; paintings of rainbows, moose, and angels. The air in her room wreaked of lady perfume. It made Jude scrunch his nose when he walked in to find Jessie standing in front of her full-length mirror on the wall. She was admiring the Halloween costume she had on a blue dress with a white apron that made her look like the girl from Alice in Wonderland but paused to glance up at him with a smile."Hiya, Jude," she grinned, swishing around the bottom of her dress, "What do you think?""It's nice," Jude mumbled.It was the truth. Jessie always looked nice in whatever she was wearing, even if it was sweatpants and a hoodie. She had such a pretty face, long blonde hair, and a lady-like figure. The only thing that Jude didn't like about Jessie's appearance was that she was now two inches taller than him. Uncle Sam said it was because of a growth spurt she had when she turned thirteen, but uncle Gabe said it was because she got moose-legs from her dad. Either way, Jude had to look up at his cousin when he talked to her. It wasn't much of a difference, but still. Jude was the boy. He wasn't supposed to be the short one..."I hope Ollie likes it too," Jessie mumbled, mostly to herself, before giving Jude a weird look and saying, "Why haven't you put your costume on yet? We're gonna be leaving soon."Jude glanced down at the fabric in his hand and shrugged. Part of him did want to put it on. He wanted to feel the cape whoosh at his back when he walked around like he did every year. But another part of him was worried. Their family wasn't going trick-or-treating this year. They were going to a Halloween party at Ollie's house instead. What would everyone at the party think if they saw him with red underwear on the outside? As if she could read his mind, Jessie strolled over to pat his shoulder - which made him kind of envious of her height because she didn't have to reach very far."Superman is a very handsome hero, you know," she smiled, "and I'm sure there will be lots of girls at the party who might need saving."That comment made Jude gulp and blush. Lots of girls? Oh boy, girls made him nervous. He liked looking at them, of course - especially on Halloween, when they were all dressed up - but talking to them was a different story. Plus, Ollie had three really pretty cousins who were supposed to be coming to the party. What if one of them told him he looked cute? Or worse, what if they told him he looked stupid?"I... I don't know," Jude muttered, fidgeting with the stretchy blue pants, "I'm gonna go find Dad."Dad would probably be able to help Jude make a decision. He was always the best with figuring out stuff. Jude waved at his lovely cousin before backing out of her sweet-smelling room to wander down the bunker hallway. He eventually came up to his uncles' room, where the door was open, and paused to glance inside.Sam and Gabe were playfully arguing in hushed voices - like they always did. Only this time, they were wearing weird costumes. Uncle Gabe had on a cool purple suit and top hat with candy sticking out of his pockets, which made him look exactly like Willy Wonka. He was in the middle of fixing uncle Sam's long hair, which was having trouble staying in place because of the huge set of fake antlers on his head. Sam was wearing a furry brown vest too, and a touch of black paint on his nose that made him look like a real moose. On the floor, their dog Dickie was watching them. His fur was painted orange and there was a tuft of green fabric on his head, and he was dressed in an Oompa-Loompa costume. Which, surprisingly, he seemed to really like."It's not gonna work, Gabe. It's leaning too far to one side," Sam said, trying to shoo Gabe's hands away."Oh, stop being such a big baby-moose," Gabe argued, "I'll just use a little magic and -""No! No magic, please. I don't want real antlers. It's bad enough you've got me wearing the fake ones. I look like Rudolph for Chuck's sake. It's Halloween, not Christmas," Sammy grumbled."Would you relax?" Gabe chuckled, "You're the hottest stud in the forest, kiddo! Everybody's gonna love it!""We don't even match," Sam pointed out, gesturing between them."That's not true. We've always matched, Sammy-boy. The moose and the candyman, remember?" uncle Gabe hummed, craning up toward the taller guy's face.Uncle Sammy actually smiled at Gabe's comment. Aww. Jude always liked when the adults looked at each other like that. It was so sweet. Like watching romantic couples on TV."Yeah. I guess," Sam murmured back.Jude turned away when they started kissing, wanting to avoid seeing the gross tongue thing they always did. To give them privacy, the teenager eventually continued his trek down the hallway in search of his parents. Dad and Papa were, as usual, hiding out in their own bedroom. Like Sam and Gabe, Dad and Papa had left their door open and Jude could hear their voices as he walked up. He tip-toed inside to watch his parents with a smile.Usually, Dad and Papa never dressed up for Halloween. They just wore their regular clothes when the family went trick-or-treating. But this year, since they were going to a party - and because Ms. Jane made it mandatory - Dad and Papa were both dressed up. They weren't exactly wearing full costumes, though. Dad had on a Batman t-shirt, black jeans and black boots, while Papa wore a blue Superman shirt, blue jeans, and blue tennis shoes. It wasn't very detailed, but it was enough to pass for a couples' costume and make them both look cute. And now, Dad was running his fingers through Papa's hair, trying his best to comb it to the side and make him really look like Clark Kent."I still don't understand how these outfits constitute as 'matching', Dean. They are not even the same color," Papa mumbled, glancing worriedly toward the mirror nearby."We match because of the superhero thing, babe. Don't worry. We're gonna blend right in. Besides, you look amazing in blue," Dad promised. After making sure Papa's hair was nice and neat, Dad looked up and noticed Jude standing by the door. He smiled that warm grin when they met eyes, but then it sort of faded when he glanced down to see the costume in Jude's hand."Hey, little man," Dad said, even though Jude wasn't little anymore, "What's up? Did it not fit?"Papa turned around and they both gave their teenage son confused faces. Jude glanced down at the clothes in his grasp and shrugged again, just like he did in Jessie's room."It... It probably fits, but..." Jude was unsure how to say it without sounding rude, "Dad, I'm too old for Superman, aren't I? I mean, I've been wearing the same Halloween costume for my whole life..."By the look of utter disappointment on their faces, Jude might as well have told his parents that he was secretly running an underground drug cartel. The sight of his parent's woeful eyes made his stomach hurt, but at least he was telling the truth. Papa was the first one to speak. He stepped forward - looking exactly like Clark Kent with his wavy dark hair - and tilted his head."That's not true, son," he mumbled, "When you were merely an infant, we dressed you as a bumble bee and ushered you around in a stroller decorated with leaves and flowers. As I recall, you enjoyed it very much."Jude could feel his own face turning red. Ugh, why did Papa always have to bring up embarrassing childhood memories? Thank goodness none of Ollie's cousins were there to hear that..."I know," Jude admitted, "But I'm fifteen now. And I don't think many other fifteen-year-olds wear Superman costumes..."Papa must have been confused - and a bit hurt - by what Jude said because he turned to look at Dad with large eyes. Dad sighed, but stepped close to rest a hand on Jude's shoulder. Jude actually liked feeling the weight and warmth of his Dad's fingers. The guy was always so gentle when they interacted with each other."Jude, you can be anything you want tonight," Dad calmly reminded with a nod, "If you don't want to wear a Superman costume, you don't have to... But don't feel like you shouldn't wear it just because of what other people think. That's called peer pressure and it's got no place in this bunker. You're free to be who you want to be. No matter how old you are. Okay?"Jude glanced between his parents and could practically feel the love and acceptance radiating from their eyes. Deep down, even though he didn't really want to admit it, Jude did want to wear the costume. He was just afraid of being picked on by all the other guys that were going to be at the party... But Dad was right. So what, if people thought it was stupid? Why should Jude break the tradition that he loved just because of other people's opinions? While Jude pondered all of this, Papa came even closer to stand next to Dad and give the teenager a loving smile."I would also like to add, son, that if you were to go as Superman, we would match perfectly," Papa murmured in his deep voice, sounding secretly excited as he gestured to the giant red 'S' on his chest.Jude couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. Man. His parents were so persuasive some times..."Alright," Jude finally gave in, lifting up from the doorway with a smile, "I'll go change.""Thatta boy," Dad winked, patting Jude's shoulder, "We'll meet you in the garage in ten, okay"Jude nodded - and took one more glance at his parents, standing so close in matching superhero logos with big grins - before turning to jog toward the nearest bathroom. For some reason, his chest felt all fluttery. It was probably because he was super excited to go to the party and have fun like real teenagers did. Once he dashed into the bathroom and shut the door, Jude slipped out of his jeans and plaid to toss on the stretchy outfit. His parents got the right size just like they did every year, because it slipped right on and covered his body perfectly.When he finished tugging the costume on and adjusted it into place, Jude paused to look at himself in the mirror. His face was the same it had always been; blue eyes like Papa's, spiky brown hair like Dad's. Plus, his pale face was completely dotted with freckles. But for the past few years, his jawline had been getting sharper. His Adam's apple had become more pronounced and he was slowly starting to get hair in weird places. His voice was even dropping low like his parents'. Sometimes, Jude felt like he was slowly morphing into a werewolf - but he knew better. It was only puberty, gradually turning him into an adult.Now, as he stood at the bathroom sink and blinked at his own reflection, Jude felt comfortable. In a Superman costume, none the less. The teenager reached back to ruffle the red cape dangling behind him, smirking the exact same way his Dad did. It was weird, how much he loved wearing this outfit. Ever since he was a kid, Jude always wanted to be like Superman; to be fearless, powerful, and fly around saving people."You can fly, too," Jude whispered, reciting what his father told him a long time ago.After quickly slipping on the boots, Jude jumped out of the bathroom and raced down the hall toward the garage, making his red cape wave in the air as he ran.The Winchesters all piled into the Impala, looking like some kind of weird carnival side-show because of the costumes they were wearing. Uncle Sam's big antlers kept bonking people in the head by accident, after which he said long strings of 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' In fact, he did it so much, Dad nick-named him 'The Apologizing Moose.' Jessie - dressed as Alice - put a wrist watch on the arm of her white bunny and brought it with her, which made her costume even more like the storybook it came from.Everyone was really excited to get to the party, especially when the Impala rolled up to Ollie's house and they could see the different colored lights flashing in the windows. There were cars parked all over the place. But of course, before Jude's dad let anyone out of the vehicle, he parked and turned around to look Jude and Jessie in the eye."Alright, kids," he began, "What's the -""It's the buddy system, uncle Dean. We've gone over this a million times. Can't we just go to the party? We know we have to stick together," Jessie huffed from the backseat.Jude watched his dad share a flat look with uncle Sam, who only shrugged."Okay," Dad started again, "That's true. But how do you know if a demon is around?""Say 'Cristo'," Jude answered quickly."If real ghouls and vampires start to attack the party, what should you do?" Sam asked."Start flying people to safety. As many as we can," Jessie answered."And if angels ambush you? How do you fight back?" Papa prompted."Use angel blades to defend ourselves," Jessie replied."But only stab someone if we have to," Jude added.All the adults in the car glanced at each other, probably to make sure there weren't any more scenarios to ask the kids about. After five years of learning about hunting and training with his parents, Jude felt pretty confident about his own skills. He could probably fight a monster if he had to. Although, he had never done anything like that in real life, yet. Not since Raphael..."Well, it sounds like you're prepared," Dad muttered, "Let's go."Everyone finally got out of the car in a rush - except for uncle Sam, who had to carefully maneuver his huge antlers through the door. The closer Jude got to Ollie's front door, the more the butterflies in his stomach fluttered. He couldn't wait to see his friend, dance to some music, and eat candy. Dad and Papa knocked politely on the front door - and it opened to show Ms. Jane, completely dolled up in a white dress and a weird black wig."Ah! Winchesters! Hola!" she sang, reaching out to hug each of them,"Welcome to the haunted house party! Come in, come in!"Ms. Jane - who was apparently dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein, as uncle Gabe pointed out - ushered them all into the house, where they were engulfed by loud music, creepy decorations, and the crowd of people. Most of them were Ollie's uncles, aunts, and cousins; Jude remembered them from birthday parties and holidays. But others were just grown-up friends. And they were all dressed up. From where Jude was standing, he could see three witches, two firefighters, a big t-rex and dozens of other strange costumes. There was only one other person dressed as a superhero, though; Ollie's aunt Rosie, who was a really tall Wonder Woman.From the Thompson's front door, Jude spotted Ollie's three really pretty cousins too. They were standing in a huddle by the coffee table across the room, holding red cups and chatting. One was dressed as a vampire, another was a cowgirl, and the last one was a black cat. Jude gulped as he bashfully stared at them from a distance, admiring their dark hair and long tan legs. Whoa. They were so nice to look at..."Jessie! Jude! I've been waiting for you guys all night!"Jude snapped his attention away from his friend's beautiful cousins to look at Ollie himself. He was wearing a baseball uniform, but it was all ripped up and oozing fake blood. His face and hands were painted green, as if he was a zombie baseball player. Ollie came rushing up to give Jude and Jessie each a hug to welcome them to the party."Hey, Ollie! Nice costume," Jessie complimented, even though she had probably already seen it in a dream."Thanks," he grinned, looking her up and down, "Wow, Jess. You are, like, really pretty."Jessie giggled and swished the bottom of her blue dress around, hugging her bunny like a shy little girl. Jude was expecting uncle Sam to barge in and ruin their conversation, because he was usually doing stuff like that when Ollie said something nice about Jessie. But the 'Apologizing Moose' only cleared his throat loudly and eyed Ollie from a distance, looking suspicious. Though Ollie seemed happy that the Winchesters had arrived at his house, Jude could tell that he was also kind of nervous. The red-haired zombie grabbed Jude by the arm and leaned close to whisper over the loud music."Hey, I need to talk to you in my room for a second," he said.Jude was a little concerned. What did his friend need to talk about? Was something wrong? Jude glanced back at his family, seeing that his parents and uncles were talking to Ms. Jane about the party and Jessie was starting to head toward a bowl of punch. They were distracted for the moment, so Jude turned to give his friend a nod.Jude followed Ollie through the house full of people to get to his room, which led straight by the coffee table where the three lovely ladies were standing. He couldn't help but glance at them when he walked by, and he briefly made eye-contact with the cowgirl - but her eyes dropped down to his costume and she immediately turned around to giggle with the rest of her cousins. Jude's heart hammered hard in his chest as he quickly brought his attention back to Ollie's uniform in front of him. Oh, no. They were laughing at his Superman costume. Just like he was afraid of... Though he was a bit upset about the girls in the living room, Jude tried to focus on his friend. Ollie pulled Jude into his room and turned on the light before shutting and locking the door behind him. Jude thought that was kind of weird. What was going on? Why was Ollie acting so strange?"Uh, what's going on?" Jude asked, finally able to talk at a reasonable level.Ollie glanced shamefully at Jude before going over to kneel by his bed and pull something out from underneath. It was a small black book bag that seemed kind of old. The straps were frayed and the zipper was bent. And when Ollie stood back up, he had a really embarrassed and worried look on his face."I need to ask you a favor... Well, two favors," Ollie eventually said, his voice kind of hoarse from where he'd been talking over the loud music."Favors?" Jude repeated, still lost.Ollie paused to glance around his room, as if he was making sure no one was watching even though they were alone, and sat the book bag down to zip it open. He pulled out a few magazines and held them out toward Jude - and Jude's heart nearly leaped into his throat when he saw the picture on the front. Holy crap! Those were naked ladies! Why did Ollie have magazines with naked ladies on them?!"Oh my God!" Jude breathed, instantly looking away in discomfort and embarrassment, "Wh - why do you have those?!"Jude had never fully looked at a woman's naked body before. Not because he didn't want to, but because uncle Sam kept a pretty tight lock on the bunker's wifi and it was almost impossible to search for it on the internet. Plus, Dad and Papa still treated him like a kid most of the time, so he knew he couldn't ask them for anything like that. It would be too weird. But now that Jude was literally standing in the same room with nude female pictures, he found that they made him feel strangely squishy. Especially since Ollie was holding them."My dad gave them to me when I went to his house over the weekend," Ollie explained.Jude, still avoiding the sight of the bare breasts on display in his friend's hand, understood what Ollie was talking about. When he was twelve, Ollie's parents finally split up. It was a really hard and messy divorce, especially for poor Ollie who was caught in the middle. It took Jude and Jess a really long time to help him understand that it wasn't his fault. Ms. Jane and Mr. Eddie just had lots of differences that they couldn't work out. And Ollie eventually became comfortable with the idea of his mom and dad being separated. Now, Ollie visited his dad on the weekends but stayed with his mom during the week.Still, Jude found it bizarre that Ollie's dad would just give him nude magazines. Why would he do that? Dad and Papa would never give Jude that kind of thing. At least, not until he was much older. Even then, it would be weird for everyone involved..."Dad says they're vintage, and that he wanted me to have them. But I can't keep them here. My mom might find them," Ollie said, waving the naked girls around, "So, c - can you take them to the bunker for me?""What?!" Jude gasped, feeling his heart pound again, "No way, dude! My dads would kill me if they ever found those in my room!""You don't have to put them in your room. The bunker has, like, a million rooms! Just stash it in one of them. Look," Ollie said, reaching over to pull open the book bag even more so that Jude could see down inside, "He gave me condoms and everything. If my mom finds this, she's gonna think I'm doing stuff and she'll get upset.""Well, why don't you just throw it away?" Jude suggested, feeling clammy."What? Throw naked girls in the trash? I can't do that, man! They're naked girls," Ollie emphasized, sounding like he had just heard the craziest idea ever, "Plus, I don't want to make my dad upset... I promise I'll take it back to my dad's house next weekend and stash it there, but I need a place to hide it for now. Please, Jude? Can you just hide this bag in the bunker for me? I'll do anything you want! Pleeeease?"Jude gulped again and reached up to run a shaky hand through his spiky hair. Ugh, why did Ollie have to do this to him? If Dad and Papa ever found that bag, Jude would be grounded forever! His parents would never look at him the same way again! Still, Ollie had that pleading look on his zombie-painted face. And it was only for one week, right? Jude could hide a small bag in the bunker for a week. It wasn't a big deal... was it?"Fine," Jude forced himself to say while rolling his eyes, "Just put those things away."Luckily, Ollie tossed the nude magazines back in the bag, finally ridding the room of the sinful pictures so that Jude could breathe evenly again. Once he zipped the bag, Ollie popped his head back up to give his friend a serious look."Oh yeah. There's, uh, one other thing I wanted to ask you," he said.Jude huffed a breath and briefly covered his face. Oh, for Dickie's sake. Was hiding pornography for Ollie not enough? What else did he want?"What?" Jude sighed, giving his friend a flat look.Ollie tossed the black bag to the side before talking. Underneath the Halloween makeup, his expression had turned softer."Well, my high school is having a dance in a few days, for a fundraiser or something, and I was thinking... maybe I could ask Jessie to come with me?" Ollie said it like a question, as if he was asking Jude for permission, "Do you think she would want to g - "Before Ollie could finish his question, there was a knock at the door. Jude's heart jumped into his throat again and he almost felt the urge to disappear from the room. Oh, no! Was that Ms. Jane? Was it Dad or Papa? Did they overhear them talking about nude magazines?! Jude and Ollie both looked at each other and scrambled at the foot of the bed, creating a barrier between the sinful book bag and the door."Uh, yeah?" Ollie called, trying to sound casual.The door opened - and Jessica's head of curly blonde hair popped inside. She stepped in and shut the door behind her, still holding her little white bunny and smiling brightly."Hey. What are you guys doing in here? The party is out there," she said, sounding genuinely confused.Ollie instantly spun to look at Jude, and Jude could tell that he was waiting for the answer to the question he asked before they were interrupted. Jude casually nodded and gestured toward his cousin, urging him to go for it. Though he seemed really nervous, Ollie scratched his messy orange hair and took a deep breath."J - Jessica?" he stuttered, fiddling with his own fingers, "Um... my school is doing this thing, it's really no big deal... It's, uh, it's kind of a d - dance. You know, where people, like, get all dressed up and the gym is all decorated? Like on movies? But it wouldn't be a movie. It would be real..."Jude physically cringed beside his friend, hiding his face so that Jessie wouldn't see the embarrassment on it. Wow. It turned out that Ollie was worse than Jude when it came to talking to girls..."Well, anyway," Ollie droned on, "Um, I was just wondering if... M - maybe you would like to come with me? As my date? Or not! N - not as my 'date' date. You know, just as friends. Whatever you want to call it. I just wanted to see if - ""Really?" Jessie interrupted.By the soft and sweet look on her face, Jude knew that Jessie had already agreed to go. But Ollie still seemed flustered and worried, and kept talking for some reason."Y - yeah," he nodded, making his orange hair bounce around, "We could, uh, get matching outfits and go as a couple - er, a couple of friends. It's totally not a date or anything... I mean, unless you want it to be, in which case I would be completely fine with it. But either way, I would just be happy to take you with me. So... yeah. D - do you want to go?"Jessie actually paused to giggle, holding her bunny up to her lips while she gave a tiny laugh. Ollie's nervousness must have been really funny to her. Jess's laughter slowly calmed down to a wide grin and she nodded gracefully."Yeah," she answered, curling some of her golden hair behind her ear, "Of course I'll go with you."Relief and happiness flooded Ollie's painted-green face. He took a deep breath and smiled like the world had been lifted off his shoulders."Awesome," he breathed.Jude felt kind of uncomfortable standing in the midst of Jessie and Ollie's warm stare. Did they even realize that he was still in the same room with them?"Should we get back to the party, now?" Jude loudly suggested.Ollie seemed to shake himself out of a daze before stepping forward."Uh, yeah. Let's go," he agreed.The red-haired zombie ushered Jessie out first - but lingered back to look at Jude and point toward the book bag on the bed. After Jude waved him off, Ollie held a thumbs up and mouthed the words 'thank you' as he quickly followed Jessie outside, leaving Jude in the room with the bag of naughty things. At first, Jude didn't even want to touch the bag. He didn't want to have anything to do with all the bad stuff inside... But it was a favor for a friend. And Jude wanted to be the best friend he could be.After taking a big breath, Jude picked up the book bag and slide it onto his back. He draped his red cape over it, which hid most of it from view. And though he still felt a little uneasy about the task of hiding it in the bunker, Jude knew he could do it. He could do anything.He was Superman.Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was pretty much stuck in Dean's head by the time he parked the Impala back inside her usual spot in the bunker garage. The song was practically on repeat at the party, and he found himself humming the stupid tune when everyone started getting out. Jane's Halloween party was awesome. Granted, Dean had never been to any other Halloween parties, so he had nothing to compare it to. But he had a great time dancing with Cas when no one was looking. Swaying was more like it. Poor Cas had no rhythm at all. Unless he was using it in the bedroom...Sammy, who had finally discarded those ridiculous antlers, slid out of the backseat to help his fifteen year old daughter exit the vehicle. Jessica was such a lady; delicately taking Sam's huge hand and stepping out of the car like a sophisticated princess. The top of her head was even with Sam's shoulder when she stood up straight. Man, when did she get so damn tall? So grown-up? Dean could tell that she and Jude both had a blast at Jane's house. Even though it was almost midnight, neither one of them seemed tired. The kids were wide awake and bouncing around while their dads - the human ones, anyway - were dragging behind them."Pop, did you see what Ollie's uncle Miguel was wearing?" Jess asked, leaning over to wrap an arm around Gabriel's short shoulder.Dean thought it was hilarious that Gabriel now had to look up at the child he gave birth to."I sure did, honeydew. What a copy-cat," the archangel grumbled, "It's okay, though. I was the best looking Willy Wonka there, right moose?"Behind them, Sam shuffled along with a smile."You always are," he uttered playfully, tossing a wink toward his husband for good measure.The three of them - followed by Dickie the tiny Oompa Loopa, who had apparently stolen a skeleton bone from Jane's decorations and was now carrying it around - all journeyed into the main part of the bunker. Dean lingered back to take Cas's hand, the same warm and soft fingers he had been clinging to for most of the night, and noticed their son walking ahead of them. Jude's head was down and his feet were moving fast - but the back of his cape was lifted up, like there was something underneath it."Hey, Jude," Dean called.Jude's feet hesitantly drew to a stop and he turned around to blink toward his parents with innocent blue eyes. Now that he could fully see him in the light, Dean spotted the black book bag straps around Jude's shoulders."Yeah?" the kid asked."What's the bag for?" Dean asked.Jude only took a second to look down and hook his thumbs around the straps. His head of spiky dark hair raised again and he shrugged."It's just some clothes and stuff I accidentally left at Ollie's house from the last time I stayed over. He gave it all back to me tonight," Jude explained.Dean was a professional liar and could tell that his son wasn't exactly telling the truth. But he still wanted to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. As much as Dean hated to admit it, Jude was getting older. He was bound to have secrets that he didn't want to share with his parents. Hell, for all Dean knew, that bag could be full of porn. How weird and awkward would it be if he forced the kid to show it to him? Especially in front of Cas? Ugh, Dean didn't want to open that can of worms. Not tonight..."Oh," he nodded with a calm smile, "Okay."Jude gave a quick smile and spun around just in time to hide the red tint flaring on his face. He walked away as fast as he could with his head down again, trying to escape the room in a rush. Yep. It was definitely porn. Jude's behavior confirmed it. Only a hormonal teenage boy carrying a secret stash of nudes would run out of his parent's sight that quickly. Dean knew it from personal experience.With Jude dashing ahead of them, Dean took his time wandering down the hall with his husband. Next to him, Cas seemed a little daze. The party must have given the angel some kind of buzz because he was smirking at nothing and playfully wiggling his fingers between Dean's."That was a very lovely celebration, Dean," Cas hummed,The angel looked so cute in his blue outfit. It made his black hair seem even darker, and made his sapphire eyes pop. Dean reached over to rake his free hand through the angel's soft strands again, feeling so grateful that he had a good time."Yeah, it was. I'm glad you had fun, baby," Dean agreed, "You wanna stop by the kitchen and grab a beer before bed?""Of course," Cas replied.The two of them made it to the control room, where Sam, Gabe, and Jess were trying to catch Dickie to get the bone out of his mouth, and paused to watch the commotion with joined hands. The dog clearly didn't want to remove the outfit or get rid of the bone he was carrying. He kept dodging everyone's hands, zooming from one side of the room to the other.But while everyone laughed at the mischievous dog, there was a knock on the bunker door.It was a weird kind of knock. A series of 'tappety-tap-tap's that Dean wasn't used to hearing. The Winchesters stopped to look at each other with suspicious glances, all wondering the same thing. Who was at the door? It was almost midnight. Why would they have a visitor now?"Maybe it's Jane," Sam blurted with a shrug."Might be a trick-or-treater," Gabriel suggested, sounding just as confused.Dean raised Cas's hand up to peck a quick kiss to the back of it before letting it go."I'll go check it out," he volunteered, "You guys stay here."As was the Winchester protocol, Dean grabbed a nearby pistol, made sure there was a bullet in the chamber, and tucked it into his waistband before heading up the stairs. It was midnight on Halloween, and he wasn't about to take any chances. Everyone else - except for Jude, who was probably hiding that book bag - watched him from the bottom of the spiral staircase with worried faces. When Dean reached the top, he took a second to brace himself before pulling the door open There was just enough light from the inside of the bunker to let Dean see the person standing on the doorstep. It was an young, average-looking guy. Maybe seventeen or eighteen years old, judging by the light stubble of facial hair on his chin and cheeks. He had sandy-blonde hair; the long, messy kind, like a grunge-rocker from the 90s. Hell, the dude even had a black guitar case slung on his back. There were cuts and rips all along his pale blue jeans, and the boots he had on had clearly seen better days. Where did he come from? And why was he here? Was this some kind of Halloween prank?Dean had never seen this person before in his life. And apparently, the guy had never seen him either. For a second, Dean and the grungy guy just glanced up and down as if they were sizing each other up. It got to the point that Dean was getting uncomfortable."Um," the oldest Winchester eventually spoke, "Can I help you?""I don't know, grandpa. You tell me," the guy spat.Dean was momentarily unable to function. Did... did that little asshole just call him 'grandpa'? To his face? Dean quickly snapped out of his shock and could feel anger taking its place. He stood up straight and narrowed his eyes, blocking the view of the bunker with his body. He was tempted to slam the door and walk away, but something told him this kid would just keep knocking until he came back. So why was he even here in the first place?"Start over," Dean almost growled, "Who the hell are you? What do you want?"At first, the guy scratched his arm and craned his neck, like he was trying to steal a peek inside the bunker. But Dean barred the guy from the sight of his home. He wasn't about to let the kid in until he got some answers. The grunge-wannabe eventually looked Dean in the eye again."You're one of those hunters, right? Winchesters or whatever?" he asked.Dean wasn't sure if he should answer truthfully. What if the guy had come here to kill him or something? Though it was against his better judgment, Dean forced a nod. The guy must have been looking forward to hearing that because a huge grin flashed on his face."I'm Clarence," he finally answered, sounding proud of himself, "My mom's name is Meg. And you're gonna help me find her."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Dean was so stunned and horrified by what the blonde kid on his doorstep said, that he almost didn't notice the guy slipping passed him. Dean's sight stayed fixed on the moving person, but the hunter's mind was elsewhere; racing with questions. Clarence? Meg? No. Hell no. That guy couldn't be Meg's kid. Demons couldn't have kids, could they? There was no way that grungy, rude, arrogant dick could be Meg's kid! Who was he really? And how did he know where the bunker was?!When he realized he was alone on the doorstep, Dean shook himself from his own daze to chase after the little blonde jerk, who was already half-way down the spiral staircase in the control room. The rest of Dean's family, with the exception of Jude, stood around below, watching the stranger barge into their home uninvited. Clarence - if that was even his real name - took a dramatic deep breath and looked around at everything and everyone as he wandered in, eying the Winchesters with hints of humor and interest on his face."This has to be the shittiest Halloween party I've ever seen," he called toward no one in particular.While Dean raced down the stairs, his family glanced amongst themselves as if they were too confused and surprised to say anything out loud. In the meantime, Clarence strolled around the control room like a hungry vulture, running his thin fingers along everything."Whoa. Check out the hardware. Outdated much?" he muttered to himself, shuffling over to press a few buttons on a control panel, "What does this thing do? Play Jukebox music or some shit?""Hey, don't touch that," Sam called, stomping over to slap the guy's hand away.Before anything else was said, Dean finally got to the bottom of the stairs and dashed over to grab the intruder by the shoulder. He swiftly shoved the kid up against the wall, making the big guitar case on his back 'thump' against the brick. Part of the reason Dean pinned him there was to stop him from going any further into the bunker, but he also pushed him against the wall so that he could hold the kid still and get a good look at him. Dark blonde hair, pale stubble around his mouth and on his sunken cheeks, greenish-brown eyes that looked bloodshot. The kid wreaked of musty clothes and some kind of incense. His mouth was open and his eyebrows were furrowed, like he didn't appreciate being thrown around. He didn't look anything like Meg! But, then again, Meg was a demon who could possess different people. How the hell was Dean supposed to know if he was telling the truth?"You've got five seconds to start explaining yourself," Dean warned, feeling the need to protect his family, "Tell me who you are, how you found this place, and why you're here.""Maybe you need to check your hearing aid, old man. I already told you," the kid huffed back.Clarence lifted Dean's arm off of him and tossed it away like it weighed nothing. Dean didn't let it show on his own face, but he was surprised at how strong the guy was. Maybe he really was a demon..."But I'll say it again for the Brady Bunch," Clarence allowed, walking around Dean to get to the center of the room and smile at the Winchesters, "Hi, everybody. Nice costumes.""Thanks, Junior," Gabe sneered, narrowing his golden eyes and crossing his arms, "And who are you supposed to be? A Nirvana reject? A lost boy? Homeless?"Clarence actually stopped to turn and give Gabriel a huge grin. It was a friendly grin; genuine, not sarcastic."You're good," the kid hummed, pointing at Gabe with a boney finger, "I like you."Gabriel only rolled his eyes, obviously irritated that the kid didn't realize that he was poking fun at him. Clarence's sight traveled from Gabriel to Jessica, who was standing nearby. Dean noticed that out of all the people in the room, Jessica seemed the most comfortable. Her arms were crossed too, but she seemed more annoyed than anything. Clarence's eyebrows lifted as he looked up and down the teenage girl in the blue dress. The kid's inappropriate stare made Sam lurch protectively in front of her, of course."My oh my. What long legs you have," Clarence hummed, ignoring Sam and pretending to straighten out his messy hair, "Hey there, gorgeous."Jessica blinked and forced a smile."Hi, Clare," she replied.Everyone in the room stared toward Jessica with wide eyes - even Clarence, whose hands dropped to his sides and stood with his mouth open. How did Jessica know his name? Obviously, Clarence didn't know her, because he looked too stunned to move. His bloodshot eyes squinted and he tilted his head a bit."H - have we met before?" he asked, sounding a little nervous."No. Not in person," Jessica answered.The teenage girl glanced toward her fathers and uncles and they all understood what she was trying to say. Jessica had seen Clare in a dream. But, if that was the case, why didn't she mention him before? It seemed like all the adults wanted answers, but they couldn't question her in front of their unwelcome guest."Are... are you a psychic or something?" Clarence asked, as if he was trying to figure her out."Angel, actually," she replied."Jessica," Sam hissed, spinning around to give his daughter a petrified look."It's alright, Dad. He's going to find out about us anyway," Jessie explained carefully, reaching up to pat Sammy's shoulder."Dad?" Clarence repeated, scoffing a little as he pointed toward Sam, "He's your dad? No wonder you've got such long legs, Barbie doll. This guy looks like he belongs on the National Geographic channel."Sam shot the mouthy kid a solid glare. Clearly, he didn't appreciate being made fun of, nor did he like the way Clarence was talking to and looking at his daughter."But you are an angel, I'll give you that," the kid purred, still batting his eyes at Jess, "Did it hurt when you fell from - ?""Don't," Sam cut him off, shaking his head as he slid even further in front of Jessie, "Don't even go there.""What? I'm just making polite conversation," Clarence insisted, even though he had a shit-eating grin on his face, "Geez, calm your tits, Bigfoot."The longer Dean stood in the corner, the more his blood boiled. He didn't like having a smart-mouth asshole in his home in the middle of the night, especially one that claimed to be the son of a demon he once knew. All he wanted was to get this person out of his house. Hoping to gain an ally in his husband, Dean's eyes flitted to Cas across the room, who was standing by the map table and blinking hard at the new person in wonder. The first time Cas spoke to him, his voice was calm and full of disbelief."You're a... demon," the blue-eyed angel stated.Clarence turned his attention to Cas as he sniffled and rubbed his nose with the end of his long shirt sleeve. The kid was wearing black and white plaid, but it was so worn and faded that it looked gray and was barely hanging together around his torso."Half, actually," Clarence corrected with a cocked eyebrow, "At least, that's what I've been told. Don't really know much about it, but I wanna learn more. In fact, that's why I'm... here..."When the kid trailed off, Dean followed Clarence's line of sight to see what had distracted him - and found Jude standing in the doorway, still wearing his Superman costume. And a very confused expression.The first thing Jude did when his family got back to the bunker was rush down the hall to toss away the black bag that Ollie put him in charge of. He wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible, especially after Dad almost caught him with it. Man, how weird and scary would it have been if Dad and Papa looked inside and saw all those naked ladies? Jude never wanted that to happen...Jude, of course, flew passed his own room to find somewhere else to hide it. He was going to take Ollie's advice and stow it in one of the other rooms of the bunker. Down one of the west corridors, there were a few storage rooms full of old documents and furniture that nobody visited, and the teenage boy decided to toss the bag in the first one he came to. All the stuff inside the room was covered in dust and cobwebs, where no one had used it in such a long time. Jude quickly slid the bag off his shoulders and walked toward one of the tables to put it down.Before he lifted his hands off the black fabric though, part of him actually felt the urge to open the bag and look down at the nude pictures again. He was all alone at the moment. No parents, no uncles, no cousins, no friends. It was just Jude and a bag full of naked ladies. His heart was beating hard and fast in his chest just thinking about the dirty stuff that was hidden just under his fingertips... but he forced himself to let go. It was really late and Jude knew his parents were going to start worrying if he wasn't in his bedroom. Besides, this book bag wasn't going anywhere for a while. He could always come back and steal a peek later. If he ever got up the courage.With a sigh and a gulp, Jude turned on his heel and exited the storage room. He made his way down the twists and turns of the long bunker corridors until he got to the hall where his own bedroom was. He expected to see Jessie in her room, but she was gone. In fact, it seemed like everybody was gone. Where did they go?"Hello?" Jude called.His voice echoed down the hall, but nobody answered him. Huh. Maybe they were all having a late night snack in the kitchen or something. Not wanting to miss a chance at munching on more candy, Jude wandered down the hall toward the kitchen. It wasn't until he heard some sounds to his left that he realized everyone was in the control room. He could hear Sam and Gabe's voices - and one he didn't recognize. Who was that? Did their family have a visitor? This late at night? Curious, Jude breezed up the few stairs that led to the control room, feeling his red cape swishing at his back.There was a new person in the bunker, Jude discovered as he walked inside. Some guy was standing in the middle of the room, twirling around to look at the Winchester family, who were all surrounding him in a loose circle. Jude studied the new person as he paused in the doorway. The man seemed kind of young, closer to Jude and Jessie's age than their parents. His hair was shaggy and messy, like he hadn't combed it in a long time. His clothes seemed really old and worn out, and there was a guitar case on his back. Whoa. Did he play the guitar? Why was he in the bunker? Who was he?"You're a... demon," Papa said flatly.Jude gulped and stared harder at the new guy. Holy crap. He really was a demon. Jude could tell because he had the same type of aura as uncle Crowley; a darker kind of presence, different than the angels. The blonde guy turned around to look at Papa as he sniffled and rubbed his nose with the end of his long shirt sleeve."Half, actually," he corrected, making a weird face, "At least, that's what I've been told. Don't really know much about it, but I wanna learn more. In fact, that's why I'm... here..."Jude realized that the new guy was looking directly at him when his voice faded away and he could feel embarrassment sweeping across his own face. Oh, no. Jude hated being the center of attention. Why was the new guy giving him that strange look? The man raised a hand up to pluck at his guitar case strap as he started walking toward Jude."I didn't know Superman had so many freckles," the guy murmured, his greenish-brown eyes probing Jude's entire face, "What's your name, pretty boy? Is it really Clark Kent?""It's Jude," Jude corrected, offended by the term 'pretty boy.'The blonde guy smiled and snapped his fingers together as if he had just remembered something."Like the Beatles' song," he grinned, swaying around on his feet a little bit, "Naaa, na, na, na-na-na-na... Hey Jude..."Jude gulped and forced a nod. He was still unsure of who this new person was and why he was acting so bizarrely. Although, he did seem to have a nice singing voice... Dad must not have liked all the attention that the new guy was giving Jude though, because he stomped across the room and grabbed the guy by the shoulder."Alright. Enough with the meet and greet," Dad barked, sounding really upset, "I'm giving you one last chance. Start telling us what the hell you're doing here before I toss you out on your scrawny ass."Jude could tell from the tone of his father's voice that he meant business. Luckily, the new guy seemed to take Dad's threat to heart because he carefully shrugged out from under Dad's grip and held both of his hands up in surrender."Slow your roll, Batman. There's no need for violence," he grumbled, "I came here for help, not harm.""Help with what?" Uncle Sam spoke up from across the room.Before he answered, the blonde guy wandered back toward the middle of the room. His eyes were moving around a lot, like he was looking for something."Finding my mom," he replied, spinning around in slow circles to search every table, "I heard you guys were the best hunters in the world, so I figured you could find her the quickest... Where's all the candy?""Uh, candy?" uncle Gabe replied."Yeah. It's Halloween. Don't you guys give out candy? Or food or something? Where's the kitchen? I'm starving," the blonde guy mumbled.Everyone else in the room shared glances and Jude felt extremely lost. Who was this person? Why did he want the Winchesters to find his mom? Was she lost or something? And, wow, he was being extremely rude about it; forcing himself into the bunker and searching for food without permission."You're not getting anything until you give us some answers," Dad spat. The blonde guy sighed and dramatically dropped his shoulders, acting like a giant child. For a second, he seemed too proud to comply with Dad's orders. He just kicked at the floor and pouted, clinging to the guitar case strap across his thin chest. But after a minute or so of silence, he eventually backed up to lean against the map table."Fine," he huffed, raising his head to glance at everyone around the room, "My name's Clarence. I'm from Chicago. I've been looking for you guys for years, because I need you to find my mom. I'm pretty sure you already know her. Her name's Meg.""Meg?" uncle Sam repeated, sounding shocked, "The demon Meg?""She's your mother?" Papa stated quietly."Geez, are you people def or something? Do I need to use sign language?" Clarence groaned, "Yeah. For the last time. She's. My. Mom.""When was the last time you saw her?" Dad asked, his tone still unfriendly."Hmm. Let's see. Today is Halloween, so... Never," Clarence said with a shrug, "I don't know where she is because I've never actually seen her before. We were separated when I was born."Everyone in the control room glanced amongst themselves again. Jude could tell that the adults were trying to communicate with each other without talking, using their eyes to send messages. It wasn't long before someone spoke up again."Let's start at the beginning. What happened, exactly?" uncle Sam asked."Shit, I don't know. I was just a baby, duh," Clarence said, rolling his eyes.Dad and uncle Sam's tight glares must have been enough to make Clarence continue, because he looked between them and took a deep, bracing breath. He hopped up to sit on the map table, letting his heavy boots dangle over the floor."Fine. If you really need my whole life story, here it is," he started, clearing his throat, "Once upon a time, there was a little baby boy who washed up on the bank of The Chicago River. He was freezing cold and barely alive, wrapped up in his mom's leather jacket. If he had stayed in the water any longer, he would have died. But just before he kicked the tiny bucket, he was saved by a witch who came to fetch some water -""A witch?" Dad interrupted, "She have a name?""Uh, I think it was Julie who found me. Might have been Sarah, because she was always the one doing errands," Clarence answered, sounding honest, "One of them plucked me out. There were seven of them. Witches, I mean. They were a coven who set up shop along the river. Had a nice big house where they all lived together. And they took me in when they found me."Jude stood by his Papa and listened closely to Clarence's story. He was actually really intrigued by everything he was hearing. It was interesting to hear about other peoples' lives, since he spent most of his own in the bunker..."Did they know your mom?" uncle Sam asked."No," Clarence answered, "but they did know that I was part demon. They could tell as soon as they first picked me up, or so they told me.""Then how do you know that Meg is your mom?" Dad asked, sounding suspicious.Clarence paused to give Jude's Dad a pair of narrowed eyes, like he was annoyed at being interrupted so much. But the blonde guy eventually hopped back off the table and lifted his guitar case over his head to take it off. Jude noticed that his dad reached toward his own belt when Clarence started to open his guitar case, as if he thought the guy was going to pull out a weapon or something.In the meantime, Jude craned his own neck to see the inside of the guitar case for himself. There was a real guitar inside; the tan, glossy, acoustic kind. But there was other stuff too; pictures taped all along the red-fabric lining and small packages. Everyone watched as Clarence lifted up his guitar to take out something from underneath. He turned around to hold up an old, wrinkled leather jacket. The leather was a very dark purple, almost black, and seemed to have a feminine design. Dad, Papa, and uncle Sam must have recognized it because all of their mouths fell open in surprise."This is the jacket they found me in," Clarence explained, reaching into the pocket to take out an old piece of paper, "and this was in the pocket."Dad carefully took the piece of paper from Clarence and everyone else in the room instantly moved closer to look at it with him. Jude pressed as close to his father's shoulder as possible so that he could see the writing. The paper itself seemed very old and warped, like it had been wet at some point and dried a certain way. There was a large ink blot at the top, as if something had been scribbled out, but most of the words were still visible.
Clarence,
I'm sorry we couldn't be together. I wish things were different... I just want you to know that I love you. More than anything. And I hope we see each other again some day.
Meg
Jude read the hand-written note a few times and could practically feel the love oozing off the page. Aww. It sounded like Clarence's mom really loved him. What happened to her? Why couldn't they be together? After a few seconds, Clarence carefully yanked the paper out of Dad's hand and folded it back up. There was a softer look on his stubbly face now, like seeing the note made him feel better."See?" he asked, raising his head with a smile, "I've gotta find her. She wants to find me, too.""What about your adoptive coven of magical moms? Why don't they help you?" uncle Gabe asked."They tried," Clarence answered with a nod, "But, uh... They can't help me now. They're all dead."The control room filled with somber silence again. Dead? All seven witches that raised Clarence were dead? Jude's heart wrenched a bit inside his chest. That was so sad. Poor Clarence didn't have any family at all. Jude couldn't imagine how hard his own life would be if he didn't have his family..."What happened?" Jessie timidly asked from behind uncle Sam's arm.Clarence finished putting the note back inside the jacket pocket and laying the leather jacket back inside his guitar case with his instrument before answering her question."Arson," the guy mumbled, snapping his case closed and slowly turning around with a shrug, "One day, when I was about eight years old, I walked down to play at the river for a few hours. Like I always did. And when I came back, the place was an inferno. All the girls were trapped inside, but I couldn't get to them. Firemen showed up and they wouldn't let me near the flames. The place burnt to the ground right in front of me... Turned out some teenage kid had been going around burning down buildings for fun. They caught him and arrested him, but it didn't change the fact that I was an orphan again..."Jude could feel his heart surging with pain. The lingering sorrow hidden in Clarence's voice was enough to let everyone know that he was telling the truth. Oh man, that was awful."They tried to put me in the system after that, but I ran away," Clarence admitted, "I've lived on the streets of Chicago for most of my life. Learned lots of handy skills. How to steal cars, get food, pick locks, hide from cops... You know. A classic case of survival of the fittest."Jude shook his head a bit. Clarence was obviously being sarcastic. Being without a home or a family was not a very good way to grow up..."And how did you find us?" Papa stepped forward to ask."Ah! There's the million dollar question," Clarence smirked as he paused to raise his guitar case strap back over his torso, "A few years ago, I ran into a guy - literally ran into him, because I was being chased by an angry shop owner who saw me 'lifting some chips - and I guess he could tell that I was a demon, because he helped me get away. And then flashed his black eyes to prove we were alike.""He was a demon too," uncle Sammy assumed."No, he had a bad case of glaucoma," Clarence grumbled sarcastically, "Of course he was a demon, idiot. I asked him if he knew my mom, Meg, and he said he remembered her, but he didn't know where she was. Luckily, he told me about some guys that knew how to find people. 'Best hunters in the world,' he called you. So, after looking around town, talking to a few deadbeats, getting some info, and scraping up some money, I hitchhiked my way to Kansas... And now, here I am. Hanging out in your underground hunting lodge, shooting the shit."At the conclusion of Clarence's story, everybody else appeared to be equally stumped. Did all of that stuff really happen to him? His slight accent, leather jacket, personal note, and demonic aura all seemed to confirm his story. But how were the Winchesters supposed to help him find his mother? Did Dad and Papa really know her? Jude had never even heard them say the name Meg before. Who was she?During the silence that followed, Clarence eventually leaned forward and started to shuffle through the room. He walked right passed Dad and Papa and headed straight for Jude. Once he realized that he was in Clarence's direct line, Jude took a cautious step back, unsure what the man was planning to do. But Clarence only paused to lean close, bringing his forest-like eyes and smirking mouth close."Hey. Judy. You seem like a nice guy. Can you point me in the direction of the kitchen?" he asked.Jude felt anger flare up in his stomach. 'Judy'? Ugh, he hated being called that. Judy was a girl's name."It's Jude," the teenager sternly corrected."Whatever," Clarence hissed, his smile disappearing, "Just show me where the food is. Come on, man. I haven't eaten in two days."At first, Jude was just going to stand there defiantly and refuse to help the rude jerk. But looking at Clarence's dirty face - and seeing just how sunken in his cheeks were, and how pale his skin was - made him reconsider. Jude glanced toward his Dad instead, who hesitantly forced a nod, giving him the okay to take Clarence to the kitchen. Jude relaxed the muscles in his jaw when he brought his sight back to the demonic guy in front of him."Fine," he agreed soberly, "Follow me."The giddiness that flashed on Clarence's face made Jude feel strangely uncomfortable. When he turned around to start leading the way, Jude could almost hear Clarence humming the melody of 'Hey Jude' behind him as they walked.Sam tried to keep a vigilant watch on the half-demon kid as he and Dean stood in the kitchen doorway, staring at the rest of their family, who were getting a late night snack with their new visitor. Sammy knew that his brother was feeling the same way he did about 'Clarence.' There was no way the guy was really Meg's kid. He may have had her jacket and a handwritten note, sure, but that didn't mean he was physically related to her. Hell, Sam was pretty sure that it wasn't possible for demons to have kids... But, then again, there was a time he didn't think it was possible for angels to have them either...Inside the kitchen, Clarence was sitting at the table, in the process of devouring an entire cheese pizza by himself. Gabriel and Cas were standing at the counter off to the side with Jess and Jude, watching the stranger eat their food. Clarence didn't have any manners at all. He chewed with his mouth open, burped loudly without covering his mouth, and used his shirt sleeve as a napkin. A lot of the kid's story didn't seem believable, but the part about growing up on the street must have been true at least."I don't buy it," Dean eventually leaned over to whisper.Sam made sure that everyone else inside was distracted before turning to face his brother."I don't either," he admitted, "So, what should we do? How do we fact check this guy? Should we break out a lie detector or something?""I've got a better idea, actually," Dean said, pausing to take out his phone, "I say we get Crowley's ass down here. Ask him if Meg is still on his pay role. At least he'll give us a straight answer about this kid."Sam nodded instantly."Sounds good to me," he agreed.While Dean dialed the king of Hell's number on his phone, Sam took the time to glance back at his family again. For the most part, they were all actually skeptical about Clarence; keeping him at a distance, but watching him closely. Everyone except for Jessica, that is. Sam's daughter seemed indifferent to the fact that there was a stranger in their home. She smiled and waved at Clarence whenever he looked at her, and it was starting to make Sam uncomfortable. Jessica said that she knew him already, but how? Was it in a dream?"Jess," Sam blurted.Most of the people in the area looked to Sam when he spoke, including his daughter."Come here for a second," he beckoned sweetly.Jessica immediately sat down the apple she had been chewing on and walked toward Sam, with Gabriel right behind her. As soon as his little family was all together out in the hallway, Sam tugged them close to whisper."You said you knew that guy," Sam reminded quietly, staring down at his baby girl's precious face, "Did you have a dream about him, or -?""Yeah," Jessica admitted, "I've had a few dreams about him, actually. But," She paused to steal a glance at the guy in the kitchen and scrunch her tiny nose, "He seems... different. When I saw him, his hair was shorter and he wasn't so bony. I think I've seen him a little older.""Older?" Gabe repeated, "Ah, great. How long are we gonna be stuck with this moron?""I'm not exactly sure. But I think it'll be a really long time," Jessica answered carefully.A long time? Why would this kid be part of their lives for so long? There was no reason for him to be in so many of Jessica's dreams... unless the unthinkable happened..."J - Jessica," Sam squeaked in fear, taking both of her dainty hands in his own and blinking down into her eyes with acute worry, "Please, please, please tell me that you are not going to end up in a relationship with that arrogant jerk."Jessie huffed a sigh and rolled her eyes."No, Dad. I'm not," she answered flatly.Sam breathed with relief after that. Phew! He was so glad his baby bunny wasn't going to have to deal with boys anytime soon... Unfortunately, as soon as this thought crossed Sam's mind, Jessica's expression seemed to shift. A cautious hopefulness filled her eyes and her hands squeezed Sam's a little tighter."But, speaking of relationships," she whispered, glancing between her parents, "Um... Tonight Ollie sorta-kinda asked me to go to a dance with him.""What?" Sam breathed in horror, his heart filling with dread."What?" Gabriel gasped in excitement, grinning from ear-to-ear, "No way! That's awesome, baby rabbit! When do you get to go?""This weekend," Jess answered, letting go of Sam's hands to grab her Papa's shoulders, "It's going to be at his high school, and I get to wear a fancy dress and everything!"Gabriel and Jessica both squealed with delight and hugged each other, acting like a couple of teenage girls. Meanwhile, Sam was frozen in shock next to them, watching the red danger lights flash in his mind. A dance? With a boy? With Oliver? The kid who was destined to put his mouth on Sam's baby girl?! Nooo!"B - but," Sam stuttered, trying to find his voice, "He - He can't! He didn't even ask me first!""Oh, don't you start that protective-moose stuff, Sammy-boy," Gabe shot, turning to wag a disapproving finger at his husband."But he didn't!" Sam pointed out, "Oliver can't just take her without my permission! She's my daughter! Our daughter," he quickly corrected, seeing Gabe's eyes narrow, "I don't think it's very safe for -"Sam's statement was cut short when a puff of black smoke filled the hallway. He, Gabe, and Jess all turned to see Crowley, Bobby, and Rowena appear near Dean next to them. Sam was sort of surprised to see them all, since it was almost one o'clock in the morning. Why were they all still awake? As soon as he arrived, Crowley waltzed up to Dean with a severe look on his face."You interrupt me on All Hallows Eve, the busiest night of my entire year, and ask me to come to your underground bunker just to ask me a question in person?" he growled, his eyes narrowed into slits, "If I weren't wed to your handsome uncle, you would be a splattering of red guts on the floor right now.""Easy with that mouth, darlin'," Bobby warned softly behind him.Though he was clearly perturbed, Crowley exhaled roughly and relaxed his posture."What do you want, Winchester? Hurry up. I don't have all bloody night," he asked instead."I just want to know if you've seen Meg lately," Dean simply explained."Meg?" Crowley spat, "That grievous, disloyal, insubordinate quim that disobeyed my orders and abandoned rank during the apocalypse? No. I haven't seen that whore in ages. Why do you ask?""Because there's a kid here who is claiming to be her son," Dean answered, "and he's trying to find her. Says he's never seen her before because she left him when he was a baby."A slight hint of astonishment flashed in Crowley's dark eyes and Bobby and Rowena both glanced at each other in surprise. "Show him to me," Crowley demanded.Dean gestured toward the kitchen and Crowley set his eyes on the guy inside. Sam, along with everyone else, watched curiously as Crowley swept his way toward the kitchen table where Clarence was sitting. The kid lifted his head, but didn't stop eating. He chewed sloppily on his slice of pizza and blinked up at the demon king with indifference."Uh," Clarence eventually mumbled with his mouth full of food, "You want something, pal?"Instead of speaking, Crowley grabbed Clarence's arm – and the air in the room changed. The lights flickered and loose papers ruffled around. Crowley's eyes had turned completely black, and so had Clarence's. The kid was rightfully shocked and confused by whatever the king of Hell was doing to him, because he tried to yank his arm free."Hey!" the kid barked, his voice dropping low and sounding demonic, "Let go!"Crowley didn't let go right away. He kept holding on to Clarence's arm and staring at him with jet-black eyes, using some invisible force to accomplish whatever he was trying to do. But his grip eventually loosened and Clarence finally pulled himself away. The lights came back on and both demons' eyes faded back into their usual shades of brown and green. The Winchesters were all staring at Crowley, wondering what he was doing. The king of Hell slowly turned around to look at Dean again and give him a woeful frown."It's a boy," he sighed.Sam felt his own limbs get a little heavy all the sudden. Oh, great. It was true. Meg's biological kid was actually sitting in the bunker. This was the weirdest Halloween ever."What about his father?" Dean asked, not caring who heard him."His paternal side is human, that much I know for sure," Crowley answered, turning back around to give Clarence a studious glance, "but I couldn't tell you who.""What the hell did you just do to me?!" Clarence barked, still rubbing his arm, "Who are you?!""I'm the person your mother used to work for," Crowley answered, "How old are you, boy?"Clarence's glare lightened up a little bit when he heard that Meg used to be affiliated with Crowley."... Seventeen," the kid slowly answered."Seventeen years," Crowley repeated, flashing his sight back to Dean, "That's how long it's been since she last stepped foot in Hell."Sam shared another look with his older brother and could see that he was just as curious. What happened? Did Meg leave Hell and fall in love with some human guy? No, that didn't sound like her. Besides, she would have kept her child if that was the case. Not abandoned him with a note along a river bank..."Do you know where she is?" Clarence asked, sounding genuinely hopeful."I haven't the slightest idea," Crowley answered, looking back to the kid at the table, "but now that you've returned this matter to my attention, I'm going to make finding her my first priority.""Now, Fergus," Rowena cooed in her rich accent, gliding into the kitchen with her arms folded and her face harboring a motherly scowl, "Don't be rooting your snout into this lad's business if yer planning to do something wretched to his mother."Crowley's glare turned defensive when his eyes jumped to the red-haired witch."Oh, keep your blasted words to yourself, woman," he groaned, obviously pissed that his mom had caught onto his plan Rowena crept further into the room, rounding Crowley and stopping by the table to appraise the blonde teenage boy sitting there. Her eyes danced up and down his clothes and ratty hair and her expression grew tight with judgment. Clarence seemed to search her back as he continued to cater to his arm."Ya've got spunk, wee lamb. I'll give you that," the witch purred, "But tell me... How long have you been on the Poppies?"Clarence's head tilted down with a glare, like he was pissed about being caught doing something bad. But Sam was confused. Poppies? What the hell did flowers have to do with anything? Maybe it was a witchcraft thing. Everyone in the kitchen was quiet, waiting on Clarence to answer the question."My whole damn life," the kid spat angrily, "Why, bitch? You got a problem with that?"Sam nearly cringed at the sound of Clarence's acidic tone. That was so rude! Sam half expected Rowena to do something awful to the kid; turn him into an actual lamb with a spell or something. But the witch simply spun to look back at Bobby and Crowley with a smirk."I like him," she admitted with a giggle."Er, I hate to interrupt your moment with the demon child," Gabriel spoke up, "but what's this about poppies?""It's none of your damn business!" Clarence barked, jutting up from the table to stand.But as much as the kid tried to keep it a secret, Rowena seemed equally eager to explain."I believe the modern term is Opium," the witch said, "Someone must have been heavy-handed with the seeds when they were carrying the boy. Long term use is clear in the poor lad's features.""Carrying him?" Dean breathed, "You mean... Meg was on Opium when she was pregnant with the kid?""Shut the hell up!"The sound - and force - of Clarence's shout was so intense that it made the lights flicker again. Every person turned to look at the guy, who was huffing deep breaths with his fists drawn at his sides. His eyes had turned jet-black again and were glaring toward the cluster of people in the doorway from underneath a few pieces of his stringy blonde hair."None of that shit matters," he boomed, "I don't care what you say about her. She's my mother and you're going to help me find her.""You know there's a chance that she's already dead, yes?" Crowley sneered.The black faded away from Clarence's eyes, revealing the pain-riddled green orbs hidden beneath. The kid gulped, seeming desperate to cling to hope."If that's the case, then you'll help me find out what happened to her," he barked, "I came here for answers and I'm not leaving without them."Dean actually let out a fake, high-pitched chuckle nearby."Uh, I've got news for you, kid. You aren't staying here," the oldest Winchester instantly denied."Oh, yeah?" Clarence said, cocking his head to the side as he slid away from the table, "What are you going to do? Kick me out? Sure. Go right ahead... If you do, I'll just let all my friends know where this bunker is. I'm sure lots of folks would pay a pretty price to know where you are. It's a sweet place you've got. It would be an awful shame to see it cave in with everybody inside. But hey, I'll do what I have to do."Sam gulped and swiveled his head around to look at his brother, knowing that threat would turn him into a tornado of rage and fury. But Dean only glared at the kid in front of him, seeming too shocked to even say a word. Clarence's smirk widened as he shuffled up to the group at the door."Yeah. That's what I thought," he hissed with a nod, sliding his way passed Dean, "I'll go pick a room. Let me know when you get a lead on finding my mom."Sam could almost feel the raw anger surging from his brother's eyes. Dean was giving the kid a death glare when he walked by, and he even reached out to grab the back of the kid's guitar case - but Bobby stopped him."Let it go, son," the old man pleaded, taking Dean's arm, "He's just tryin' to get you riled up.""Get that asshole the hell out of here!" Dean shouted at Crowley.Even at Dean's lethal yell, Crowley's calm composure remained the same."Actually, I think it's for the best that he stays with you," the demon king challenged carefully, "You're the Winchesters. You'll be able to handle him better than anyone else could. Besides, we'll need him close when we find Meg.""What? You're actually going to look for that broad?" Gabriel asked, sounding surprised, "Her son was born addicted to drugs! She doesn't sound much like 'mommy' material.""No. But she does owe me some souls," Crowley purred, his eyes flitting to every face around him, "I'll tell you what. You boys keep the child here for a few days and I'll locate his mother for you. When I find her, we can reunite them and get both of them out of our hair... Deal?"Dean seemed a little hesitant to let the mouthy demon-boy stay in the bunker. And Sam was too. He didn't want that jerk loitering around his teenage daughter. But after sighing angrily and cursing under his breath, Dean seemed to give in."Whatever," he allowed, "Just make it fast. I don't want that kid here much longer."Sam swallowed harshly as he spared a glance at his daughter next to him. Uh oh. Dean wasn't going to be very happy when he found out about Jessie's dreams...
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Clarence must have had a pretty boring first night in the bunker, because everything was quiet the next morning.Jessica half expected to be woken up by the sound of fighting or things being broken, but she was surprised to find silence when morning came. After peeking out from her room to see that the coast was clear, Jessica changed out of her pajamas and walked out in search of her family, just to make sure everyone was okay. She found most of them in the kitchen, like she did everyday. Only this time, her dad, cousin, and uncles were all sitting at the table, casting awkward glances toward the new guy, who was perched at the island in the middle of the room by himself.In the back of her mind, Jessie knew that it wasn't very fair to call Clarence 'the new guy.' He might have been new to everyone else, but Jess had seen Clare in at least five separate dreams over the past few years and he felt sort of like a friend already. As she told her dad the night before, Clare looked different in her premonitions than he did at the current moment. Right now, he looked absolutely sick; so thin, frail, and dirty that she barely recognized him. The Clarence she knew was much healthier. In her visions, he was actually quite handsome; always wearing clean clothes, a nice hair cut, perky eyes, and a sweet, honest smile... After so many years of seeing the future, Jessie was getting pretty good at predicting it. And when it came to Clarence, she knew that something was bound to change him for the better. Something was going to fix him. Save him.And if she had to take a guess at what it was, Jessica would bet on it being her cousin Jude.She saw Clarence and Jude together so much in her dreams - always smiling, and joking, and flirting - she figured they had to be really close. But as with most of her visions, Jessie knew it would be best to keep the information to herself. Telling people about their own future tended to do more harm than good. Jess learned that a long time ago. Unless it was something major, her future-dreams stayed locked in the vault of her mind where they belonged. Besides, it was much more fun to watch things play out when everyone else was completely clueless..."Good morning," Jessica sang to everyone as she pranced toward the fridge.A few lazy 'hey's and 'morning's came from her family at the table, but Clarence raised his head from his own plate of pancakes to look her up and down with a filthy smirk."Lookin' good today, Barbie," he purred in a gross tone, "Did you have to pour yourself into those jeans?"Jessica merely rolled her eyes at Clarence's question. Ugh, she couldn't wait for him to grow into the man he was going to be. His younger self was much more disgusting. As if on cue, Dad grabbed the salt shaker from the table and tossed it across the room at Clare, bonking him on the head and spraying salt everywhere. The blonde guy rubbed the spot on the side of his blonde noggin and turned to give Dad a glare."Ow," he groaned, "What the hell, man?""Keep it up and I'll get the holy water," Dad promised boldly.Clare opened his hands and shrugged as if he didn't understand why Jessie's dad was so annoyed with the flirtatious talk. Fortunately, Jess had gotten used to her Dad's over-protectiveness and was able to wave it off. The teenage girl grabbed a grapefruit and settled into a seat across from Clare at the island with a warm smile."Don't worry, Clare. You'll learn eventually," she informed with a shrug.Clarence seemed really happy that Jessica had chosen to sit with him, because he straightened up in his chair and made eye-contact with her."Hey. Good thing you're here. I've been meaning to ask you something," he started with a devilish smirk, "Where's your mom, huh? Does she live somewhere in this bunker, too? I'd love to meet her and thank her for giving you that amazing ass...""Holy water!" Dad barked from the table, lurching up from the table with a spoon strangled in his fist.Clarence flinched back with a grin, like he was prepared to take all the wrath Jessica's dad was going to throw at him. But Jessica knew that Clare was just saying those suggestive things to get her dad angry. Making people angry seemed to be his favorite pastime. Jessie ignored the purring tone of Clare's question but decided to answer him anyway."I don't have a mom. I have a Papa," she said calmly."A papa? You mean that giant, spoon-wielding maniac over there?" Clare asked, nodding toward Dad, who was huffing and puffing next to uncle Dean."No, that's my dad," she pointed out, "I have a papa, too. And he's -""The greatest archangel that ever existed."Clarence gasped and jumped when Papa appeared next to the island to finish Jessie's sentence. Jess only giggled at her Papa's entrance, enjoying the look of pure shock that flashed on Clare's face. As always, Papa seemed pretty proud of himself for being able to show off his grace to someone new. He smirked and locked his golden eyes on Clare as he leaned both elbows on the table. But Clare just blinked at him in surprise."You're... an archangel?" Clarence repeated, sounding unconvinced."Now who needs the hearing aid?" Papa scoffed, “Yep. You're looking at an archangel, Clare-bear. And this baby-bunny is my little girl."Jessie smiled brightly when her Papa reached over to squeeze her shoulders with a sideways hug. She loved hearing the affection in his voice when he reminded people that she belonged to him. At the island, Clare's eyes bounced back and forth between Jess and her Papa like he was comparing their matching golden hair and pouted lips."Huh," Clarence eventually breathed, "So, you're her real dad?""I have two real dads. I came from both of them," Jessica explained as plainly as she could.Again, Clarence seemed suspicious. He leaned back in his seat to look at Dad across the room - who was still glaring at him with a spoon in hand - before looking back to Jessie and her Papa. He must have been able to see the resemblance Jess shared with both of her parents because he let out a soft chuckle."You... you guys actually screwed each other?" Clarence blurted, looking between Jessie's parents."Correction: We screw each other all the time," Papa answered, raising his left hand and wiggling his fingers to make his wedding ring sparkle in the light, "and before you go and say something you'll regret, you should know that this bunker has two same-sex couples, an entire arsenal of weapons, and zero tolerance for bigotry. Plus, a nice little room built specifically for torture. So if I were you, I'd think long and hard before saying something stupid. Pissing off a Winchester is a terrible idea. Trust me on this one, kid. Keep your judgment to yourself."Clarence seemed to swallow whatever he had been planning to say because his throat quivered and he looked away. Under the few strings of his long hair, Clare's bloodshot eyes wandered all the way over to the kitchen table, where uncle Dean, uncle Cassie, and Jude were all staring back at him. Clare studied the three of them for a second, circling their faces with scrutiny."That's how you came into the world too, huh, Judy?" he asked, nodding toward Dean and Cas, "Those two dudes screwed each other to make you?""It's Jude," Jude grumbled again, glaring a bit."I'll take that as a yes," Clare smirked, spinning in his seat to see him better, "So, which daddy did you get your amazing ass from? Lemme guess. It was Mr. Suit-N-Tie, wasn't it? That trench coat makes it hard to tell, though. Why don't the three of you stand up and bend over so I can compare?"Uncle Cas looked utterly appalled by Clare's rude suggestion, mouth open and eyes large. Jude's face turned cherry-red around his blue eyes, making his freckles blend into his rosy cheeks. But uncle Dean slammed his mug of coffee down with a huff of rage, making some of it spill out. He lunged up from the table and dug around in his pocket while he stomped toward the exit."I'm calling Crowley," he mentioned to Cas as he pulled out his cell phone.But just as he was about to dial the number on his phone, uncle Dean stopped abruptly. It seemed like he halted to keep from running into someone in the kitchen doorway. Jessica leaned up in her seat and peered over Clarence's shoulder to see who was there."Won't do any good to call that piglet, love. He and Robert are far too busy looking for that satanic mistress to answer," Aunt Rowena told uncle Dean as she swept passed him.Jessica gasped at the unexpected sight of her favorite - and only - aunt. Rowena was back in the bunker! When did she get there? Did she stay the night or something?"Hey, Aunt Rowena!" Jess smiled at her with a wave.The joy that lit up Rowena's pretty face made Jessie feel so warm and loved. Rowena's make-up and red hair was always so perfect, made even better by the slender black and white dress she was wearing today."Hello, sweet cherub," she hummed back, prancing over to give Jessie a gentle hug.Jess wrapped both arms around Rowena's slim waist and sighed happily. There was always something so wonderful about having another girl around. Across the island, Clarence shook his head with a scowl."You again," he grumbled, jabbing his food with a fork, "Can't you find some other hole to crawl into?"Rowena's smile faded into a stern, motherly face when she brought her sight down to Clarence."You didn't pay much attention to that Northern coven when they taught you manners, did you, boy?" she mused, her eyebrows lifting, "Such a shame you've forgotten basic lessons. Perhaps we'll have to start your education over, hmm?"A hint of surprise rose on Clarence's face, but it seemed like he was trying his best to hide it."How did you know about -?""I know everything, lamb. One of the perks of being a mother," she said, batting her eyelashes for added effect before turning her attention back to Jess, "and speaking of mother time, I hope you're ready to go, lass.""Huh?" Jessie replied.It wasn't very often that Jessica was caught off guard. She was usually 'in the loop' about things that were going to happen, but not this time. Aunt Rowena and Papa made eye contact and winked at each other."You've got an appointment this morning, honeydew," Papa explained, "with Ms. Jane. At her store. She, Rowena, your Dad, and I are gonna help you pick out a dress for the dance this weekend."Goosebumps sprang up all along Jessie's skin and she gasped out loud. What?! They were taking her to pick out a dress for the dance?! All of them together?! No way! She never thought they would do it so soon! The teenage girl quickly hopped out of her seat and reached over to wrap her short Papa into a giant hug, wanting to show her appreciation and affection."Papa, you're the best!" Jess nearly squealed, breathing in the sweet smell of his hair."I know," Papa grinned proudly before glancing toward Dad, "Moosie, put the spoon down and get over here."At first, Dad looked totally stunned. His face had gone a little pale and there was a hint of disbelief on his face. He eventually tossed the spoon on the table and shuffled across the room to meet the rest of his family, but Jessie could tell that he was hesitant about it. Did Dad not know about the dress appointment either?As soon as the four of them were in a close cluster, Papa wrapped one arm around Dad's waist and the other around aunt Rowena's before flying out of the bunker. Jess already had her arms around his shoulders, so she was able to fly with them. Their small group landed on the sidewalk in front of Ms. Jane's store in Lebanon, where they were bathed in warm morning sunshine. Jessie blinked a few times to adjust her eyes to the bright light, but giggled when she caught sight of the store to her left. Lots of mannequins wearing dresses and suits were in the front windows, sweetly beckoning people in with stylish designs. Just seeing the shimmering fabrics made Jessie excited. She couldn't wait to try some dresses on!"Oi, Gabriel," Aunt Rowena mumbled, straightening out her clothes and giving Papa a smirk, "If you had held me any tighter, I would have dripped out of your hands like wax from a burning candle."Papa chuckled, but Dad shook his head in annoyance."Wouldn't be the first time I've made somebody drip. Eh, Sammy?" Papa winked up at Dad as he reached back and smacked his butt.While aunt Rowena and her parents joked around, Jessie caught sight of someone rushing up to the glass door of the clothing store. Ms. Jane's big brown eyes were the first thing Jess noticed. They had such a strong resemblance to Ollie's that Jessie couldn't look away once she saw them. Ms. Jane scurried outside to meet them with a large welcoming smile."Ah! Guapa!" she sang, holding both arms out to Jessie, "It's so good to see you this morning!"Jessie instantly embraced Ms. Jane with a huge smile of her own. Jess loved Ollie's mom! She was the sweetest person, always making sure everyone was happy. When Ollie played baseball, she gave out snacks to everyone at the games. If Jess and Jude ever mentioned going somewhere when she was around, like the movies, Ms. Jane always offered to take them in her silver car. And on a few occasions, she had even sneaked a few new clothes to Jess; always in secret and with a wink, which made Jessie feel extra special... After giving Jess a tight squeeze, Ms. Jane backed up so that they could look at each other properly again."When Oliver told me that he asked you to the dance, I almost melted," she hummed, looking so happy, "You two are going to have so much fun this weekend! And today, we're gonna find the perfect dress for you, sweetheart. Come, come. Everyone, follow me."Of course, everyone did what Ms. Jane said and followed her into the store. There weren't many other people inside - because it was still pretty early in the morning - but Jessie didn't mind at all. She was getting to hang out with both of her favorite ladies and her parents! This was going to be awesome! Behind her, Aunt Rowena gracefully breezed into the store and looked around, carefully appraising the clothes as if she was judging every single stitch for all its worth. In the meantime, Dad and Papa were whispering to each other near the door. Jess was only able to steal a small glance at them, and notice that it looked like they were arguing in hisses, before Ms. Jane gently tugged her toward the fitting rooms."I hope you don't mind," Ms. Jane started, pulling a rack close, "but I went ahead and picked out a few gowns for you, Jess. I know how much you love color, so I gathered the most colorful designs that we carry. In your size, of course."Ms. Jane gestured to the rack with four or five dresses hanging from it and the sight nearly took Jessie's breath away. Holy cow! Ms. Jane wasn't lying when she mentioned color. It was like a rainbow explosion! Each dress had a different hue, cut, and style, but they were all equally beautiful. How was Jess supposed to decide on just one?"Excellent choices, Jane," Aunt Rowena complimented, reaching out to pick up a particular dress, "This one looks similar to something I wore on my date with James Dean. Terribly handsome fellow, he was. But his walnuts didn't hang far from the tree, if you know what I mean."Ms. Jane gave aunt Rowena a smile, but Jessie could tell that she was confused. Wanting to spare everyone from the awkwardness of having to explain Rowena's comment, Jessie lifted a few dresses off the rack and draped them over her arm."Can I try them on?" she asked."Of course," Ms. Jane said, shaking herself out of a daze to open the fitting room door, "If you need any help, just let me know, okay?""Okay," Jess agreed.She happily skipped inside the tiny room with a hand full of dresses and closed the door. While she tugged off her shirt and jeans, Jessie peeked out through the thin crack between the door and the wall to see her parents. Dad and Papa were still loitering pretty far away, hovering close to a table with socks and whispering in upset voices. What was going on? Were they arguing about Clarence or something? Though she knew it was kind of rude, Jessie focused her energy and used some of her grace to listen to her dads' conversation." - can't even afford it, Gabriel. This is ridiculous," Dad grumbled quietly in the distance."Sam, you're talking about our daughter's first dance," Papa replied, sounding appalled, "I don't care how much it costs, we're getting her a dress! Geez, what is your problem? You're freaking out worse than when she had her first period.""Oh my God," Dad groaned, closing his eyes and shaking his head, "Why do you have to bring that up?!""Because you went moose-shit over it, remember?" Papa breathed, hands on his hips, "You acted like a giant spaz for five days straight. You were so worried that she was going to bleed to death or turn into some menstruating-angel-werewolf-monster -""She's the first angel to ever have a period, Gabe! I didn't know how it would effect her grace!" Dad interrupted." - that you didn't even notice how upset you made her," Papa continued, talking over Dad with a stern face, "Sam, you're a great dad. But you need to loosen up on the protectiveness. Jessica isn't a baby anymore. She's growing up. You've gotta give her some space and let her be who she is, man.""I... I know," Dad huffed, turning his head away, "but what if... What if something happens at that dance and we're not there, huh? Do you really think Oliver could save Jess from an angel attack?""No. Jessica can save herself," Papa pointed out, "She's smart, Sam. Just like you. And she's fast, just like me. We raised her to the best of our ability. Our rabbit is gonna be fine. Stop worrying, okay? Just enjoy this moment while you can, because it won't be long before you wish you could have it back."Before Dad could argue anymore, Papa turned and walked away, probably heading over to be with Jane and Rowena. Jessie kept her eyes on her Dad through the tiny gap, watching his expression fill with anxiety and worry as he fiddled with the socks on the table nearby. For most of her life, Jess thought that her Dad's protectiveness was really sweet. It was nice to be looked after and cared for, especially when she was a little girl. But now that she was getting older, it seemed like Dad had trouble letting Jess do the simplest things on her own. Why did he want to keep her young forever?A gentle knock at the fitting room door made Jessie flinch out of her thoughts."Jessica, dear? Is everything alright in there? Any mishaps?" Aunt Rowena asked."Uh, n - no, I'm good," Jess stuttered, glancing down at her underwear, "Just getting changed.""Alright. Be sure to show us the gown you've picked, darling. We all want to bathe you in praise," the witch hummed.When the footsteps moved away from the door, Jessica realized that she'd been standing in the same spot for five minutes. Whoa, she really needed to get moving on picking a dress, otherwise the adults were going to get suspicious. After shaking away thoughts and worries about her parents, Jessica turned her attention to the dresses hanging on the hook in front of her. She pulled the first few off and looked at them, admiring their sparkly designs and wavy fabrics. Ms. Jane did a great job gathering them because Jessica loved them all... but there was one dress that stood out from the rest. It reminded her of a baby doll dress, because it stopped short at the knees. The top part was purple, with thin shoulder straps and a heart-shaped neckline. A white ribbon circled the waist, but the bottom was made entirely out of rainbow fabric; swirls of every color that seemed to dance in the breeze. This was the one. Jessica could feel it in her bubbly stomach.Jess laid the others down so that she could put that one on. And from the moment she stepped into her dress, she felt lighter than a feather. The soft fabric hugged her every curve as she slipped it up and zipped the back. And when she looked at herself in the full-length mirror, Jessica nearly laughed with joy. Wow, this dress was so pretty! The purple at the top made her blonde hair extra golden and made her eyes pop. Ollie was going to love it for sure... With her heart beating a little faster, Jessie tip-toed to the door and pulled it open.When she finally stepped out into the store again, Jess was met with loud gasps. Ms. Jane and Aunt Rowena were both clutching their chests and blinking at her with soft smiles. Papa gasped too and his golden eyes were so big - and watery. And Dad, who had finally wandered over to be with the group, looked absolutely speechless. He quickly leaned over to hold onto a clothing rack and gulped, acting like he might fall over."Oh, Jess," Ms. Jane finally muttered, "You're so beautiful.""Thank you," Jessie smiled, feeling her face grow a little warm with bashfulness."Not a single girl in this world can hold a candle to your beauty, cherub," Aunt Rowena nodded, looking like she might shed a tear.Jess let out a tiny giggle and swished the bottom of her rainbow dress around, making the colors sway and blend around her knees."Thanks," she mumbled again.When he seemed to get a hold of himself, Papa nearly sprinted across the store to hug Jessica. The teenager braced herself and giggled when her short Papa lifted her up to spin her around just like he did when she was little."My baby girl is going to her first dance ever!" Papa sang to everyone in the store, "And she's gonna be the prettiest angel there!""Papa, I'm gonna be the only angel there," Jessie laughed into his ear, clinging to his shoulders.Papa kept spinning around in circles for a second - which reminded Jess of something Dickie would do when he played with his moose - but he eventually sat her back on her feet and kissed her forehead. Both of them beamed at each other before turning to look at Dad together. He was still holding onto the clothing rack with a death grip, but when he and Jessie met eyes, his hand finally let go. Dad coughed and stood up, curling some of his long hair behind his ear as he closed the distance to Jess and Papa. His arms opened and Jessica stepped into his embrace, feeling his strong hands circle her back."You're beautiful, Jess," Dad whispered against the top of her head, "and I love you."Jessica tightened her grip on her dad, hugging him hard enough to feel his heart beat."I love you too, Dad," she replied.Jude took a deep breath as he eyed the black bag sitting on the dusty table. He was all alone again, standing in the old storage room with Ollie's bag of sinful things. After Jess and her dads left, Jude figured it was a good time to slip out of the kitchen and sneak through the bunker corridors to get here. But he hadn't moved from the doorway. He was frozen in one spot, unable to make his feet move any further inside the room.The black bag had been on Jude's mind for most of the night. Partly because he was worried that someone - the new guy, for example - might find it and get him in trouble. But the biggest reason Jude couldn't get the bag out of his head was because he knew what was inside. That single glance he stole at the naked ladies in Ollie's room was sort of bothering him... and making him want to look again to figure out why.But even though it was in his presence, Jude had a hard time making himself get closer. Oh man, why was a picture of a nude woman so intimidating? Why did it make him so nervous and afraid? 'Don't be such a baby, Jude,' the teenager thought to himself, 'They're just naked ladies. Be professional. Pretend that it's art.'"Art," he muttered out loud with a nod.Yeah. He could totally pretend that it was just art. There was nothing wrong with looking at art of naked ladies, was there? People did it all the time in museums. Though his hands were shaky and his heart was beating fast, Jude forced himself to walk over and grab the bag. He slowly pulled the zipper open and cringed at the tiny sound it made. He didn't want anyone to know what he was doing. The anxious teenager glanced at the doorway behind him to make sure no one was there before looking down inside the bag.The only source of illumination was the light from the corridor outside, so Jude could barely see the cover of the first magazine. But when he bowed his head to focus his sight, he spotted the topless woman looking back at him. The timid glance he stole at her body - so curvy, plump, and naked - made his entire body react. Something weird was happening to him. Sweat broke out across his forehead, he could feel his heart hammering in his throat, and his pants were getting tighter. Jude was actually afraid of what was happening to him. Why was he responding this way? He wasn't doing it on purpose. His body was freaking out on its own for some reason.The storage room door squeaked open a little further and Jude gasped.The teenager spun around instantly to hide the black bag, terrified that someone had caught him looking at inappropriate things. But, luckily, it was only Dickie. The dog stared up at Jude from the floor and wagged his tail with a grin. He gave a questioning bark too, which made Jude exhale with relief. Oh, thank goodness! The black bag was still a secret."Hey, Dickie," Jude muttered, shooing the dog out with his hands, "Let's go."Luckily, Dickie obeyed him and followed him back out into the hallway. Jude firmly closed the door behind him when he left, making sure that not even the dog could get back inside. The teenager tried to catch his breath and calm down as he made his way back through the bunker. Whoa, that was so scary. What if that had been Dad or Papa instead of Dickie? Jude looked down at the brown and white Jack Russell Terrier prancing next to him and smiled a little, feeling so grateful that dogs couldn't talk.Since Jessie was busy with her dads somewhere, Jude figured that he would hang out in his own room for a while - and maybe figure out why those naked ladies made him feel so weird. But when he rounded the doorway and walked into his room, he found the new guy standing on his bed.Clarence, as he called himself, luckily didn't have any shoes on, but his gross feet were planted on Jude's fresh blankets. The guy was casually eating a bowl of cereal and staring at the map hanging behind Jude's bed, and the sight made Jude's skin crawl. What did that jerk think he was doing?! Didn't he have any respect for strangers' stuff?!"Hey!" Jude called, rushing in to stand by his own bed, "Get off!"Clarence took another bite and slowly crunched the cereal in his mouth without even looking at Jude. His green-ish brown, bloodshot eyes stayed fixed on the colorful map from under his mop of grungy blonde hair. Ugh, it looked like he hadn't taken a shower in a long time. Jude could only imagine how bad his bed was gonna smell from Clarence's bare feet standing on it..."The hell is this?" the guy asked calmly with a mouth full of food, pointing at the map with his spoon, "You really been to all these places, Jay-bird?"A strange jolt rushed through the bottom of Jude's stomach. Jay-bird? No one had ever called him that before. Not even uncle Gabe, who was the king of nicknames..."Yes," Jude answered, "My dads made that for me. Would you please get off my bed?""Your dads?" Clarence repeated with a grin. He shook his head and took another bite before looking at Jude and saying, "I seriously can't believe you were made by two dudes. Like, how does that even happen? Did they have unprotected anal sex? Did you grow inside one of their colons and bust out of their stomach or something? That's some straight up 'Alien' shit right there.""I don't know!" Jude barked, even though Papa had told him how it happened a long time ago, "Would you just get off my bed?!""Why?" Clarence challenged, raising an eyebrow, "You aren't using it right now. Relax, Judy. I'm not hurting it."Hearing Clarence call him a girl's name again made anger flare in Jude's chest. He reached out and pushed Clarence's hip, making the guy finally stumble off the bed and catch himself on the bookshelf. In the process, Clarence dropped his bowl of cereal and spilled milk everywhere. Jude gasped when he saw the white fluid soaking into his fresh superhero sheets. No! Those were just washed! Now they were going to have to be washed again! On the other side of the room, Clarence stood up straight and looked at the mess, but his expression didn't change. He only shook his head and met eyes with Jude over the ruined sheets."That was your fault," he accused dryly.Jude's mouth fell open in disgust and rage."No, it wasn't! You're not supposed to take food out of the kitchen, and you're not supposed to stand on someone else's bed!" he yelled back.Clarence reached up and wiggled a finger in his ear, pretending that Jude's shouting hurt his eardrums, but shrugged it off and started walking away."Whatever you say, Superman," he muttered on the way out.Jude glared after him but eventually returned his sight back to his ruined bed. The bowl and spoon were both face down, laying among the scattered cereal bits and puddles of milk. With a angry huff, Jude started gathering the fabric; pulling the superhero sheets off the corners and piling it all in the center of his bed. But as he came around to reach the other side, Jude heard Dickie growl and he looked up to see that Clarence had gone into Jessie's room across the hall - and he was opening her top drawer."Hey!" Jude called, abandoning his bed so that he could run into Jessie's room, "Don't go through her stuff!"Jude made it there just in time to slam Jess's drawer shut before Clarence's wandering fingers could get to the clothes inside. On the floor, Dickie was frozen in a protective stance, guarding the front of Jessie's dresser. Clarence eyed Jude and the dog and raised both hands in surrender, backing up with a confused face."Whoa, dude. It was just a panty raid. What is your problem?" he asked as if it was no big deal."Get out of this room," Jude demanded, pointing toward the door, "Right now!"Clarence huffed a bit like he was planning to be difficult, but eventually started to walk away."Fine," he allowed, letting a huge smirk spread across his face as he passed by Jude, "I'll just go through your panties..."Jude didn't fully comprehend what Clarence said because he was solely focused on getting the guy out of his cousin's room. When they were both in the hall with Dickie at their feet, Jude shut Jessica's bedroom door, hoping to spare her personal belongings from Clarence's crude behavior. It wasn't until he turned around and saw Clarence back in his own room that Jude realized what the guy said. Clarence really was going through Jude's underwear drawer; reaching down inside to swirl his hand in the sea of slinky garments. By the time Jude made in to the dresser, Clarence had already taken a pair of Jude's boxers out and was holding the blue fabric to his nose, sniffing it like it was a bouquet of flowers."Mmm," Clarence breathed with a smile, "The sweet smell of virginity..."Jude could feel his face burning with heat when he reached up to yank his private clothes back from the half-demon. Though he was embarrassed, part of him wondered - Did virginity really have a scent? Could Clarence actually smell it on Jude's clothes? Or was he just being a jerk?"Please get out," Jude begged for the millionth time.But, of course, Clarence didn't get out. He just turned his attention to something else, which happened to be the photo frame on top of the dresser. It was a picture of Jude and both of his dads at Christmas from a few years before. Clarence picked it up to look at it, accidentally smudging the glass with his boney fingers. Jude huffed a breath of irritation, feeling more and more upset the longer he watched Clarence play with his stuff. Geez, what was wrong with this guy? Did he have ADHD or something?"Man, you look just like them. Especially this one," Clarence mentioned, pointing to Dad, "You've got his big lips. And all those freckles. Is he the one you came out of?"Clarence's rude questions were really starting to get on Jude's nerves. Jude didn't want to talk to this person if he was going to be a jerk. The teenager turned to the side and pointed at the open doorway, wanting so badly for the guy to just leave."Out," Jude said again."What's your deal? I'm just trying to get to know -""Out," Jude interrupted sternly.He was trying his best to use the same voice his Dad used when he meant business. Jude yanked the picture out of Clarence's hand too, wanting to leave him with no reason to stay. A slight glare appeared on Clarence's stubbly face as if he was judging Jude in his mind. But Jude didn't care. He just wanted to be left alone. Clarence didn't move from the spot he was standing in so Jude moved around him, shoving passed so that he could put the picture back on his dresser."You're different than I thought you'd be," Clarence hissed behind him, sounding disappointed, "You're too soft... Just an innocent kid... I guess you have your faggot parents to thank for that - "From the moment he heard the word 'faggot,' Jude wasn't in control of his own body. His grace appeared on its own, lighting up his skin and eyes with an electric shade of blueish-white, and he immediately spun around to deliver a vicious right hook to Clarence's face. It wasn't until he heard and felt the crack of bone under his knuckles that Jude snapped back into awareness. His grace returned to its harbored state but the damage was done. Jude had punched Clarence so hard in the face that he broke the guy's nose. And maybe some of his cheekbones, too."Ahh!" Clarence groaned, covering his face with both hands and leaning over Jude's bed, "Holy shit!"Jude's rage instantly shifted into panic. Oh no! He couldn't believe he did that! Jude had never punched anyone in his whole life! Blood was pouring out from under Clarence's nose, painting the ruined bed sheets with shiny red fluid. The sight of it made Jude's heart race inside his chest."I - I'm sorry," Jude squeaked, still shocked that his own hands could have done something so mean.To Jude's astonishment, a little bit of laughter echoed out from beyond Clarence's hands. The half-demon carefully stood up and dropped his arms, revealing that his broken and bloody face was adorned with a wild grin."There it is!" he chuckled, his teeth red with blood, "I knew it! I knew you had fire in you, Superman! You're not just a scared little boy! You do have balls! ... Ow, my face..."When Clarence winced and bowed his head into his hands again, Jude reached out and grabbed the guy's arm. He couldn't stand looking at the mess he made. With a touch of his grace, Jude was able to heal Clarence's broken bones and stop the bleeding. Apparently, Clarence had never been healed so quickly before because he let out a breathless 'whoa' and felt around his face as if it was something brand new.Seeing the fresh blood on his bed made Jude gulp and feel strangely queasy. Did Clarence do that on purpose? Did he really want Jude to punch him? Was he trying to see how strong Jude really was by getting him to fight? Why didn't he just ask to see his grace or something instead of insulting Jude's parents like that?! At this point, Jude didn't care whether Clarence was in his room or not. He just needed to get away from him. Without looking up, Jude gathered the rest of his bedclothes and stomped out of his room, leaving the demon behind.Jude's heart thumped hard in his chest the whole way to the laundry room. He could barely see over top of his wet, bloody sheets, but he wandered in the general direction anyway, too lost in thought to care about running into walls. Part of him was so mad at Clarence for saying that awful word; for getting Jude mad and making him punch him in the face. But at the same time, Jude was also shocked and impressed with his own abilities. He had no idea that he could hit someone so powerfully; that he had fire down in his soul that he could actually put to use. Years of hunter's training with Dad couldn't even bring that kind of heat out of Jude... but Clarence did it with one word...When he came into the laundry room, Jude dropped his bedclothes and realized that Papa was already there. He was wearing his usual coat and tie, quietly folding clothes by the dryer. Confusion and anger must have lingered on Jude's face from the thing with Clarence because Papa instantly sat down the basket he was holding so that he could walk over and touch Jude's shoulder."Son? Is everything alright?" he asked, his voice so low and sweet.At first, Jude bowed his head and kicked at the floor. He didn't really want to bring up what just happened. But he knew that Papa and Dad would find out eventually. They always did."No," Jude admitted.Papa's head lowered and worry crept into his features."What's the matter?" he prompted.Jude swallowed a gulp and looked around. How in the world was he supposed to sum up everything that was going on? From the anxiety with the black bag, to everything that just happened with that half-demon guy in his room, Jude wasn't sure what was going on with him. His emotions were a mess... but so far, they all kept fading back into one feeling. What was that feeling? Why was it so powerful? It was like being hurt and healed at the same time."Clarence," Jude forced out, feeling his stomach tighten awkwardly, "He... He makes me feel like I'm on fire..."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Castiel exhaled slowly as he stared up at the flat ceiling above him. He was laying in his and Dean's comfortable bed, on his back with one hand cast limply on his own stomach. The angel was completely naked beneath the thin sheet draped over his lower half... as was his husband, whose head was bobbing slowly over Castiel's pelvis.In his peripheral vision, Cas could see their shared blanket moving along with Dean's movements. By this point in their ten-year marriage - which felt like much longer, considering how committed they had been to each other since before Jude was born - giving each other physical pleasure had become second nature. Castiel had to admit that Dean was especially talented at catering to his erotic needs. The man knew how much the angel adored the feeling of a wet tongue curved around his hardening shaft. Dean's firm hand, tight and calloused, was gripping the base of Castiel's member while his puckered lips and flicking tongue glided sloppily up and down the length of it, coaxing blood to fill the veins and pump it to life. Oh, having Dean's perfect mouth wrapped around Cas's growing erection was such a divine experience. He loved making love to Dean...But, unfortunately, Castiel's mind was far away.Though his body and soul yearned to succumb to his husband's pleasureful affection, the angel found his thoughts tangled in a web of anxiety and concern. The earlier encounter he had with their son in the laundry room was at the center of his pestering storm of emotions. When Jude came in and dropped his ruined bedclothes on the floor, Castiel realized that he had never witnessed his child in such a state of displacement. The look on his face was one that Castiel couldn't find the words to describe. And the strangled sentence that Jude muttered was even more perplexing. "Clarence... he makes me feel like I'm on fire." What did that mean? Surely, that half-demon boy didn't actually set Jude on fire. It was a metaphor for something... but what?"Mmmph."Castiel's sight flashed down toward his own hips when he felt Dean's low hum vibrate around his shaft. The organ wasn't as hard as it needed to be; only rigid enough to form a slight curve in Dean's hand. But Dean was doing everything he could to bring Castiel to a full erection. The man's mouth, glistening with hot saliva, slipped off and he lowered his head further down to lick Castiel's scrotum. His tongue traveled all over the soft sack, coating it with wetness before taking a large portion inside his mouth. He gently sucked at the testicle pressing against the thin layer of skin, prodding it with his tongue and making chills echo up Castiel's entire body. Ah, that felt so good. Castiel blinked at Dean's emerald eyes that were staring up at him from under the sheet and he felt the urge to reach down and touch Dean's face; to encourage him to keep going with a meaningful gesture... but the sight of Dean's freckled cheeks reminded Castiel of their son. And the cycle of worried thoughts continued.The angel sighed once more and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling again. Ever since Clarence forced his way into the bunker the night before, Jude seemed very unlike himself. He was always running off and trying to spend time by himself, as if he didn't want to talk to anyone. But why? Did Clarence make him feel uncomfortable? What if the half-demon boy made a threat to Jude? Or insulted him in some way? Castiel didn't agree with Crowley's decision to leave Clarence in the bunker. This was the Winchester's home, not a daycare center for unruly teenage demons. There was no reason for him to be here, especially if he was going to make Jude uncomfortable."Dean," Castiel said quietly, not wanting to disturb the sensual atmosphere of their bedroom."Mmm," Dean hummed back, opening his mouth to let Castiel's scrotum fall out so that he could look up with a proud smirk, "What is it, babe? Balls too sensitive tonight?""I don't approve of that demon-child being in the bunker," Cas stated flatly.By the look of irritation and disgust on Dean's face, Castiel might as well have kneed him in the stomach or something. Dean let out an elongated breath, but kept a tight grip on Castiel's semi-erect member. The angel expected his husband to be upset about the seemingly pointless interruption of their intimate time, but surprisingly, Dean replied in a respectful manner."I don't like it either, Cas. The kid's an asshole. Emphasis on the ass," he muttered gruffly, "but he's got nowhere else to stay. As soon as Crowley finds Meg, he's out of here. Don't worry about it."Though he wanted to obey Dean's words, Castiel found that he couldn't stop worrying about it. While Dean shifted around in the bed to grab a nearby bottle of lubricant, Cas tilted his head back on the pillow to glare upward yet again. His eyes were fixed on the gray surface above him but his mind was reeling on the memory of Jude being so distraught. Castiel wanted his son to be happy always; to smile and laugh and feel comfortable in his own home. But how could Jude do those things if a stranger was going around threatening to set him on fire?"Jude said that Clarence made him feel like he was on fire," Castiel reminded, "What do you suppose that means?" Dean paused to bend one of Cas's legs so that he could gain access to the angel's backside. Castiel felt one of Dean's wet fingers slide between his cheeks and start circling the ring of muscle, prodding it loose with careful precision."He probably did something that pissed Jude off, Cas," Dean answered, blinking up at the angel while stroking Castiel's shaft with one hand and penetrating his tight hole with the other, "Haven't you ever been so mad at someone that you felt like you could explode into a ball of fire? That's all it is. Relax, baby. It's normal for teenage boys to fight. Hell, when I was growing up, all I did was try to prove my strength... Now, would you lay your pretty head back and let me suck your dick?"Castiel gulped and felt his heart begin to pound; half from emotion and half from the feeling of Dean's mouth returning to his erection. Dean had a very good point. Perhaps this was merely a phase that all young men went through during puberty. Jude was bound to come into contact with someone that he disliked while his hormones were adjusting to his rapid growth... Still, Castiel had scrutinized the expression on his son's face in the laundry room and there was more than just hatred harbored in his blue eyes. There was something else, too. A sort of caring undertone. And Jude's voice was so soft when he said that sentence, as if he was muttering it from the depths of his subconscious...While Castiel pondered on these things - and Dean thrust another finger inside his ring of clenching muscle - the angel slid his hand along his own abdomen. His fingertips eventually found the tiny grove of scar tissue at the top of his stomach and traced the jagged line. Memories of Jude's birth resurfaced in Castiel's thoughts and an ache formed in his chest. Jude was such a sweet child; so innocent and loving. And Castiel did not want some rude, demonic entity with a grudge to change his son's compassionate nature."Dean, I don't want our son to be around that arrogant demon," Castiel blurted, unable to hold his thoughts inside.A short but forceful huff flew from Dean's mouth."That's it," he grumbled under his breath.The man suddenly crawled up to his knees and shoved Castiel's legs apart, making the angel gasp and open his eyes wider. Dean scooped both of his hands under Cas's lower back and slid him upward on the bed, putting his body closer to the headboard. And with a quick adjustment, Dean reached down to guide his own throbbing member into Castiel's hole. The sensation of Dean's solid, hot erection sliding in fast and stretching his wet entrance to maximum capacity made Cas grip the bedsheets and toss his head back."Ahh!" the angel gasped, shocked and aroused by his husband's unexpected entry.Above him, Dean's smirk grew across his lovely face like wildfire. His hips began to thrust like a jack hammer, sliding in and out of Castiel's body so quickly and forcefully that the angel could barely breathe. Oh, Dean's large erection felt so amazing; reaching so far inside Cas that he could almost feel it caressing the inside of his stomach. The man's scrotum slapped against the angel's backside with every thrust, reminding him of the precious seed stored there; the same seed that he was undoubtedly going to release inside Castiel at any moment. And the mere thought of Dean ejaculating inside him made another moan escape Cas's panting mouth."Gnah! D - Dean!" Castiel whined in a throaty gasp.His hands soon let go of the sheets and found their way around Dean's neck and shoulders, where his fingertips pressed into the man's moist flesh. Dean's grin shined even brighter as he lowered his head down to capture Castiel's mouth with an airy kiss. The angel briefly closed his eyes and welcomed the soft lips and wiggling tongue that greeted him, wanting to show his appreciation for the sudden euphoria of being penetrated. Castiel didn't realize how much he wanted Dean inside him until the man was already there, pounding away like an animal in rut."D - do I have your attention now?" Dean pulled back to pant against Cas's open lips."Yes," Castiel moaned, nodding feverishly as he clawed at Dean's back, "Yes, Dean! Argh! Please!"At the begging tone of Cas's cry, Dean moved faster, thrusting into Castiel with so much force that the bed began to smack against the wall. Pleasure burst through Cas's body at the change in speed and he nearly screamed out loud. One of his hands fell away from Dean's neck and scrambled for purchase on the headboard above him, to grip it tight and brace against Dean's demanding blows. Each and every thrust felt like a rung on a ladder, taking Castiel higher and higher toward a blinding finish. Though his sweaty freckled face was contorted with pleasure, it seemed like Dean was trying his best to keep his dominant composure steady. His jade eyes stared down into Castiel's blues and he panted hard."T - talk to me, baby," he urged, sounding desperate, "Tell me what you need.""Ahh," Cas groaned instantly, feeling so close to the edge, "I need - I need you, Dean! Ahh! P - Please! Faster, Dean! Harder! I - !"The angel's sentence was interrupted by a moan that came from the depths of his own core, loud enough to ring off the walls of their bedroom and make Dean's body quiver at the sound. Castiel was lingering on the edge of ecstasy, needing just a tiny push to spill into a sea of breathtaking pleasure. And when Dean curled his bottom lip to bite on it - in that yearning way, with his white teeth clamped on that delicious pink flesh - the angel beneath him finally embraced climax.Castiel's entire body shuddered and he shouted Dean's name as his member erupted, painting his own torso with snow white ribbons. The angel could feel it happening, but he didn't see it. His eyes were momentarily rolling back into their sockets, rendering him blind with acute pleasure. Castiel was only aware of the sensation of Dean's body; the way the man's erection massaged the soft tissue of his anus, and the tight clamp of Dean's hand made his manhood ache with lust. When his vision finally returned, the first thing Castiel saw was the brilliant green shade of Dean's eyes boring into him from above."Son of a bitch," the man slurred, hammering as fast as his muscles would allow, "Cas! Ahh, baby, yeah!"In that moment, Castiel knew that Dean was releasing his seed; flooding the inside of Cas's stomach with warm ivory fluid. The angel did his best to squeeze his own muscles and help Dean along, wanting to provide him with extra pleasure. With a few strong, deliberate thrusts and a low moan, Dean collapsed on top of Castiel, panting and sweating as though he had just finished running a great distance. The angel embraced his human husband at once, wrapping both arms around his trembling body and breathing in the sweet scent of his pheromones. Dean's heart was beating like a drum against Castiel's chest, which created a melody with his own.Only a few seconds of harsh breaths passed by before Dean's mouth found its way to Cas's. Their tongues met and swam around, tasting each other as if for the first time. In the midst of pressing lips and clashing teeth, Castiel realized that no matter how many times their mouths collided, he still found each of Dean's kisses to be just like the first; stunning, hypnotic, and a pleasantly stark reminder of how blessed Castiel truly was to have found such a righteous man...Cas had no idea how long they lay in their bed with their mouths linked and hands running all over each others' bodies. It could have been ages, for all Cas knew. Dean eventually shifted over to rest his weakened body on the bed, giving Castiel's lungs room to breathe properly. After that, the two of them merely blinked at each other in the semi-darkness; both wearing delirious smiles and speckles of sweat and ejaculate. An exhausted yawn escaped Dean's mouth as he lazily reached up to touch the side of Castiel's wet face."I love you," he muttered.Such simple words. Spoken with such profound honesty and meaning..."I love you too," Castiel replied, losing himself inside the forest of Dean's green eyes.A warm smile graced Dean's lovely face before he closed his eyes. His hand remained on Castiel's cheek, perched there like a protective mask."Stop worrying about Jude, alright?" Dean mumbled from the first stages of sleep, "I taught him seven different ways to knock someone out. He'll kick Clarence's scrawny ass if he has to."Castiel gulped, feeling his own smile vanish. Jude? Oh, that's right. Cas had been worrying about Jude just a few minutes prior. How could he have forgotten so quickly? The orgasm Dean gave him must have been pretty powerful..."Okay," the angel replied softly, still attempting to recall why he was worried in the first place.Dean gave a slide nod against the pillow before yawning again."'Night, baby," he breathed, "Wake me up when the birds start singing."Castiel smiled at his tired husband, silently enjoying how handsome he looked with his cheeks flush from strenuous intercourse."Of course," he agreed, "Goodnight, Dean."Sam's morning started the same way it always did: with the sight of his golden archangel next to him in their pile of messy sheets. Sometimes, Sam found stray candy wrappers littered around his head - a sign that Gabe had gotten bored through the night and decided to eat his weight in sweets. But today, Gabriel was sitting up with his back against the headboard, holding Sam's phone in his hands and staring at the screen with his lips curled into a tight line. His thumbs were moving rapidly, like he was trying to squish invisible bugs. It was the exact same position Gabe had been sitting in when they went to bed. Did the guy move at all through the night?Gabriel was always the first one to say 'good morning' because he usually waited on Sam to wake up, given that he himself never slept. But that wasn't the case today. Gabe barely even noticed when Sam reached over to touch his warm thigh under the sheet."Morning," Sam muttered, hoping to get his attention.Gabe finally looked away from the phone to blink down at Sam in surprise."M - Morning? It's morning already?" the archangel breathed, his expression full of disbelief, "Geez, time really flies when you're crushing candy..."Suddenly, everything made perfect sense. No wonder Gabe didn't move all night. He had gotten sucked into the Candy Crush game on Sam's phone. Sam only smiled and shook his head before tossing the sheets back to sit up and rub his eyes. He was expecting Dickie to dash over and try to run up his leg, but the dog was nowhere to be seen. Huh. Did he decide to spend the night in Jessie's room or something? The idea made Sam proud. Jess needed the extra protection as long as that demon kid was in the bunker... Gabriel crawled over and flung himself on Sam's shoulders like a small child, tossing both arms around Sam's neck to hug him from behind."I'm so sorry, moosie. I didn't mean to forget about you this morning," he hummed, using his 'extra innocent' tone of voice, "How about I start a pot of coffee for you in the kitchen to make up for it, eh?""Hmph," Sam scoffed, looking at Gabe's face close up, "The last time you offered to make me coffee, it ended up being hot cocoa instead."A tiny smirk of mischief appeared on Gabe's lips."Yeah? So?" he prompted."So hot cocoa doesn't have any caffeine. And I need caffeine. Especially if we have to deal with a house full of hormonal teenagers," Sam sighed."You make a fair point, dear husband," Gabe allowed with a sage nod, "Alright, real coffee it is. I'll fly to Columbia and get fresh grounds myself. Wanna meet in the kitchen in ten?""Sounds good," Sam agreed.Gabriel leaned further over Sam's shoulder to deliver a kiss to his mouth - a really long, drawn out kiss that probably would have been banned from cable television - before whispering "Love you, kid," and disappearing from the bed. The breeze from Gabe's wings ruffled the sheet and some of Sam's messy hair, which gave him a chill. Ah, Gabe. Always so cheery and hilarious, even in the morning. Sam loved him so much...After tossing on his clothes for the day, Sam exited his and Gabe's bedroom in search of the rest of his family. Usually, Sam was the first one awake; other than Gabe and Cas, of course. But it was about nine-thirty now, so others were bound to be up. He started off by checking on Jess and Jude, who were both awake and talking in Jessica's. Sam couldn't help but cringe when he heard the last few sentences of their conversation." - and they were all so pretty, but I decided to go with this one," Jess beamed, holding up her new dress for Jude to see, "Isn't it beautiful?""Yeah," Jude agreed, reaching out to touch the slinky rainbow fabric, "Ollie's gonna like it a lot."Sam felt his hands grow numb at his side as he stood in the doorway of his daughter's bedroom. Ollie? Oh no, he almost forgot. Jessica was going to be going to a dance with Ollie. She was going to be alone with Ollie. Ugh, that was the last thing he wanted to think about!"Hey, guys," Sam blurted.His daughter and nephew both turned to look at him, keeping the smiles."Hey, Dad," Jess replied, "What's up?"For a second, Sam didn't know what to say. He didn't want Jess to know that he interrupted her conversation just because she was talking about Oliver - even though that was the only reason he said anything - so he had to think fast."Uh... Have you guys seen Dickie?" he asked.Jessica and Jude looked at each other and glanced along the floor before shaking their heads and shrugging."I haven't seen him since yesterday," Jude admitted."Me either," Jess agreed, "Isn't he with Papa?""No, but I'm sure he's okay," Sam promised, able to see the concern building in his daughter's eyes, "I'll see you guys at breakfast."Jess and Jude waved Sam off as he slowly backed out of the doorway and headed down the hall. Sam was actually starting to feel a little worried about Gabe's dog. Where did Dickie go? He had to still be in the bunker, right? Oh God, what if he sneaked out to go meet Crowley's hellhound somewhere? The last thing any of them needed was another litter of mutant puppies...Instead of heading straight for the kitchen, Sam decided to wander around and call for Dickie. Part of him was fearful that something bad had happened to the poor dog. What if he got stuck somewhere? What if he tried to hump a high voltage fence? What if that demon-kid Clarence did something mean to him?"Dickie," Sam shouted, his voice echoing down the bunker corridors, "Here, boy."To Sam's great relief, a tiny bark echoed back to him. It was coming from one of the storage rooms far down one of the distant wings of the bunker. Sam jogged to the nearest door, which was already open, and peered inside to see the brown and white Jack Russell Terrier standing by a desk. Dickie was smiling with his tongue hanging out and his tail was wagging in a blur - but he was standing on a pile of nude magazines and condoms.Sam blinked down at the R-rated mess on the floor in shock. Where the hell did Dickie find all those dirty magazines? And why were there so many condoms? As far as Sam knew, none of the adults in the bunker actually used condoms. It couldn't have belonged to any of them. So, what were they doing here? Surely, Dickie wouldn't have been able to carry them all in from outside. Someone would have seen them in his mouth. When Sam knelt down to investigate the mess, he noticed an unzipped black bag on the floor. The magazines and condoms must have fallen out of the bag, but where did the bag come from? Sam's first suspect was Clarence. That guy had a lot of problems and porn addiction could have been one of them, for all Sam knew. But Sam didn't remember seeing Clarence with this bag when he came into the bunker. Did Dickie steal it from a stranger? ... or was there someone else to blame? This was obviously a case that needed to be brought to Dean's attention. Not only was Dean better at pressing people for information than Sam was, but he was also better suited with porn in general. There probably wasn't a single nude magazine that Dean hadn't flipped through - before being with Cas, that is. If anyone could find out who this stuff belonged to, it was Dean."Come on, horndog," Sam muttered to Dickie as he slid all the stuff back into the black bag.Dickie's tail paused and he whimpered a little, as if he was really sad that Sam was getting rid of his new play things. But he followed Sam down the bunker hall like a good dog. On the way to the kitchen, Sam cautiously eyed the bag in his hand as if it was a defused bomb. What if one of the kids found this before Sam did? Ugh, that would have been awful. Jessica would have been so embarrassed. Jude would have been so confused. It would have made everyone really uncomfortable.Inside the kitchen, Dean was already standing at the stove, cooking his 'world-famous french toast,' as Jessie called it. There was a pleasant smile on his face and a spring in his step, like he was walking on sunshine today. The guy must have had a pretty good night..."Mornin', Sammy," Dean sang, tossing him a grin over his shoulder.Since they were the only two people in the kitchen, Sam knew he had to quickly explain the situation before someone else came in."Dean, I found this bag in one of the storage rooms," he said, walking up to open it and display the contents, "It's full of porn and condoms. Is it yours? Or do you think Clarence brought it in?"The delightful smile on Dean's face dimmed considerably when he turned to see the bag. It was almost like he had seen this bag before because he didn't look very surprised by the dirty things inside. In fact, he seemed more disappointed than anything."No," Dean mumbled, putting down the spatula he was holding so that he could take the bag, "It's... It's Jude's...""What?" Sam breathed.Jude? Sam's innocent nephew who was still into superheros and bumble bees? No way! He was too young and innocent to have a porn stash! Dean must have seen the shock on Sam's face because his own expression softened."I saw him carry it in when we got back from the Halloween party," Dean explained, his voice tainted with somberness, "I figured it had porn in it, but I didn't know about the condoms. Ten bucks says Oliver gave it to him."Alarm bells suddenly started ringing in Sam's mind. Oliver?! Oliver gave porn to Jude?! But, Oliver was supposed to take Jessica to a dance! What exactly was that red-head punk planning to do with Sam's daughter if he had a bunch of condoms?! With a furious breath, Sam opened his mouth to speak, but a breeze in the kitchen interrupted him. The heavenly aroma of coffee hit Sam like a Mac truck and he spun around to see Gabriel holding up a sack of genuine Colombian-grown coffee beans."Hola, amigos," Gabriel hummed, still cheery from before, "I got the caffeinated good stuff, as promised. Did you want me to grind them up or do you guys want to do the honors?"Though Sam was momentarily distracted by the strong scent of his second favorite smell - the first being Gabe's cotton candy aroma, of course - it wasn't enough to drive away the horror and outrage he felt from learning about the connection Oliver shared with the black bag."Family meeting," Sam blurted, trying to get his brain to process his thoughts into coherent words, "We need to have a family meeting. Right now.""Uh, actually, I think I should talk to Jude in private about this," Dean muttered, looking a little defiant."No," Sam pleaded, shaking his head, "We should all do it together. Dean, this is a perfect opportunity for us to talk to Jude and Jessica about safe sex. And why they should wait until they're at least thirty-years-old to have it.""Thirty?" Dean asked, scrunching his nose."You know what I mean," Sam groaned, pausing to huff a breath of frustration, "Look, I don't want Jessica going to that dance with Oliver until she knows the facts. Come on, Dean, I need you to back me up on this one. Do you want to wake up tomorrow and find out that you're a grandpa?"The idea of being given such an 'elderly' title must have triggered Sam's desired reaction out of Dean, because his green eyes widened and his face turned pale."... Fine," Dean eventually agreed, "Call 'em in."Sam took a deep breath and turned around to get to the hall. On the way, Gabriel dashed over to join him and tug on his arm."What in the world is going on, Samsquatch? Did I miss something?" he asked."Yeah. Oliver gave Jude a bag of porn and condoms. That's the same kid who's going to be taking our daughter to a dance, by the way," Sam hissed, before turning toward the hall and yelling, "Jude! Jess! Cas! Family meeting in the kitchen!"Beside Sam, Gabe rolled his honey eyes and turned to walk back into the kitchen with the sack of fresh coffee beans."They're fifteen, Sam. Don't be such a drama-moose," the archangel accused under his breath.Sam ignored his husband's snide comment. It didn't take long for the Winchesters to gather in the same room. Cas flew into the kitchen as soon as Sam called for him, looking worried. Dean didn't have time to explain what was going on because the kids showed up right after him. By the time Jude and Jessica walked in together, Sam and Dean were both standing at the stove with their arms crossed, both equally nervous about how they were going to approach this awkward subject. Jude and Jess must have noticed the serious atmosphere of the kitchen because their smiles dimmed when they came inside to see their fathers."What's the matter, Dean?" Cas asked, leaning toward the other adults in the room."Yeah, what the hell is everybody yelling about?"Everyone in the kitchen turned to look at the doorway, where Clarence came wandering inside. His hair was wet and he was wearing a different shirt - faded and black this time, with a few holes in the front - but his ripped jeans were the same. Though his name was never called, Clarence was acting like he was part of the Winchesters' meeting. Sam ignored the guy, but Cas kept a suspicious eye him from the stove. As did Jude, who seemed unwilling to turn back around to face his parents. Clarence scratched the back of his wet head as he glanced at the Winchesters huddled in front of him."Where's the fire?" he complained, "I was in the middle of a damn good shower, you know.""Well, we didn't call for you," Dean pointed out, "This is family only. Take a hike.""Nah," Clarence denied, casually waltzing in to perch himself at the island, "Hikes are stupid. I'd rather watch a live version of Full House any day."Though the kid was clearly trying to ruffle Dean's feathers, Dean had enough control over himself to let it go. He turned his attention to Jude and Jessica instead, who were both standing next to each other near the island."What happened?" Jess asked quietly.Instead of speaking, Dean lifted the black bag from the floor and placed it on the island. The moment it sank down on the flat surface, Jude's entire face drained of color. The kid might as well have seen a ghost float by. The look of pure terror on his freckled face was enough to confirm Dean's assumption. The bag really did belong to Jude. His huge eyes moved from the bag to his parents, and he suddenly looked like a frightened mouse in a den of lions. Dean nodded toward the black fabric, but his expression wasn't angry in the least. In fact, he looked more like a worried mother."Do you know what's in this bag?" he asked gently.At first, it seemed like Jude couldn't answer. His mouth was open but no words were coming out. Beside him, Jessica looked absolutely lost."No," she admitted, "Why? Is it important?"None of the adults answered her. They were too busy probing Jude with their eyes, trying to urge him to confess. While they waited, Clarence reached over to open the bag in front of everyone. The half-demon grinned and giggled like a child when he pulled out one of the magazines, and the sight of the naked body on the cover made Jude's pale white face turn blood red in an instant. Beside him, Jessie blushed too and nearly gasped out loud."'Lusty Latinos?'" Clarence read from the front page, "I'd rather have a pale brunette, but whatever floats your boat. Who's bathroom readers are these? Archangel-guy? Are they yours?""Nope," Gabriel said instantly, "I'm on a strict diet of moose meat only."Clarence gave Gabe a weird look, but Sam felt slightly embarrassed. Did Gabe have to say things like that in front of their daughter? Dean dropped his calm composure long enough to walk over, rip the dirty magazine from Clarence's hand, and toss it back in the bag. He held the whole thing up afterward and directed his eyes on his son."Jude," Dean began in the softest voice possible, "You told me this bag was full of stuff that you left at Oliver's house...""I know," Jude squeaked, his voice raspy and high, "I'm sorry I lied, Dad... But that stuff isn't mine. I swear. O - Ollie said his dad gave him that stuff and he didn't want his mom to find it, so he - he asked me to keep it in the bunker until he went back to his dad's next week. I promise."That may have sounded like a very pathetic excuse to anyone else, but Sam - and the rest of the Winchester adults - knew exactly what type of man Eddie Thompson was. There was no doubt that Jude was telling the truth. Oliver's dad was the type of guy who would hand his son inappropriate things without a second thought. For Sam, Jude's answer dimmed the rage in his chest. It sounded like Oliver truly didn't want to keep that stuff at his house, which was good. That meant he didn't want to use it. Not even at dances with pretty girls... Next to Sam, Dean lowered the bag and gave his son a very relieved look."Then why didn't you just tell me that, buddy?" he asked."Because," Jude started with a shaky voice as he fidgeted with his fingers, "I thought you'd be mad at me."If it was possible, Dean's eyes turned even softer."Jude, you don't ever have to hide anything from me, okay? No matter how bad it looks. I'm your dad, which means I'm here to help you. I'll never be mad at you for telling the truth," Dean stated.There was a moment of silence in which Dean and Jude shared a loving, father-son type of stare; one that Sam always wished he could have with John. Off to the side, Clarence swooned dramatically, tilting his head of stringy blonde hair with a smile."Aww," he hummed, batting his eyelashes over his blood-shot eyes, "You're the best dad ever, Mr. Tanner. Does DJ get to keep her nude mags after all?"Dean gave Clarence a stern look for interrupting their conversation with stupid Full House references, but it didn't distract him from the situation at hand. He pulled one of the condoms out of the bag and tossed it on the table for Jude and Jessica to see."Do you guys know what that is?" he asked.Jessica reached out to pick it up - which made Sam and Gabriel equally uncomfortable, because they shared a private wince with each other - and narrowed her eyes at the label."It says 'lubricated latex condom,'" she read, scrunching her nose and looking back up, "What does that mean?""Seriously?" Clarence burst out.Everyone looked toward the blonde guy at the edge of the island, who had jumped up from his seat. His mouth was open and smiling at the corners, as if he found Jessica's question amusingly absurd. Sam locked his focus on Clarence, waiting for the kid to do something out of line toward his daughter so that he could put him in his place."You two don't know what a condom is?" Clarence asked, reaching over to yank the square packet from between Jessie's fingers, "You really are a couple of cherries, aren't you? Condoms go on your dick, so that you don't get someone pregnant when you -""Hey," Dean interrupted, shooting Clarence a foul look, "Keep your ass out of this. I'm not kidding.""Neither am I. Everybody need to know about this," Clarence blatantly argued, turning back to Jess and Jude, "Look, guys, whenever you have sex, you need to use a condom, okay? Always wrap your willy, because there are some really gross diseases out there. Unless you're trying to make babies, you should never dive between someone's legs without one."That's... actually a good point," Gabriel noted with a shrug."The kid still needs to shut up," Dean growled, "This is our house. Not his.""What, you think I don't know about this shit?" Clarence barked.The tone of the kitchen seemed to change. Suddenly, Dean and Clarence were staring each other down like a couple of dogs about to fight for dominance. Sam could see some kind of genuine emotion slowly growing in Clarence's sunken eyes. He was done being funny. Now, he meant every word he was saying. Beyond him, Jude was holding his fingers to his mouth and glancing nervously back and forth between his dad and the blonde guy across the island."You think what I say doesn't matter just because I'm not part of this 'house'? Or because I'm just seventeen?" Clarence said, his voice low and serious, "You couldn't even imagine some of the things I've done, man. Yeah, I know a lot about sex. Because when you're a kid on the street in the dead of winter, you'll do anything to get a hot meal and a warm place to stay... Anything," he breathed, his voice hollow and his eyes piercing.Chills raced across Sam's body. Anything? A million different scenarios involving a desperate child and an manipulative adult seemed to flash through Sam's mind. And every single one made him feel sick..."Not all of us were lucky enough to have a nice little family like yours, okay?" Clarence went on bitterly, "Some of us had to do sketchy shit just to stay alive. And when you're nine-years-old and all alone, you learn fast. Otherwise, you end up dead. So don't try to shut me up just because you think I'm young and stupid. I've lived through a lot of shit, pal. I know what the hell I'm talking about."Sam gulped and had to rip his eyes away from Clarence. The unforgiving tone of the kid's voice was hard to hear, but his jaded expression was even harder to look at. Sam's stomach ached with overwhelming pity. Wow. It sounded like poor Clarence had an even harder time growing up than Sam and Dean did. At least they had each other to lean on, and they usually always had a place to sleep. While Clarence was alone. And the guy was right. Sam couldn't imagine what it would have been like to do some of the things he probably did...The kitchen was silent for a minute or so. It seemed like Dean was feeling the same way Sam was because he didn't say anything. He just stood there and blinked at the blonde kid in front of him. Clarence eventually took a step back and a hint of surprise clouded over his expression, as if he couldn't believe he said all those things out loud. The guy slowly turned around to face Jude and Jessica again, who were both staring at him with woeful eyes. Clarence gently slapped the condom on the island and slid it in front of Jude."Stay a virgin as long as you can," he uttered, his sight fixed on Jude alone, "Once that innocence is gone, it won't come back."After his ominous proverb, Clarence lifted his hand away and swept passed the island, heading for the hallway with his head down. Every single person in the room watched him go, feeling the weight of regret and sympathy pulling at their hearts.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Alright, sunshine," Papa said as he plopped dad's computer down in front of Jess, "Which one do you want?"Jessica, who had been focused on the pages of a giant science book in the kitchen, was a little startled by the unexpected 'thump' of the heavy laptop. Papa had placed the computer on top of her book, covering the text with a keyboard and a screen full of pictures of other girls. They were head shots of smiling models with beautiful hair and skin. Jessie had no idea what Papa was talking about. Why was he showing her all of these girls? What was she supposed to be choosing?"Um," she mumbled, raising her head to give Papa a weird look, "What?"Papa smirked and pointed to the pictures on the screen."Fancy hairdos," he explained, his golden eyes all bright and shiny, "You know, like the ones that princesses wear to balls? Which one do you want? You can't go to the dance tonight without a fancy hairdo..."Excitement exploded in Jessica's chest like a bomb full of confetti. Oh! The dance! Her first date with Ollie! It was just a few hours away! How could she have forgotten about that?! Papa must have noticed her sudden realization because his smile grew bigger."What, you thought I was gonna send you to that party without making sure you looked absolutely perfect?" he scoffed, "I'm not much of a beautician, or a fairy godmother, but this Papa is gonna do his best to make sure his daughter is the most breathtaking girl at that dance. You're gonna make all the other girls jealous.""Papa," Jess playfully grumbled with a smile, "I don't want to make other girls jealous, I just want to have fun with Ollie.""Eek," Papa said, glancing toward the kitchen doorway with worry, "Try not to mention that part when your dad comes around, okay? He's still trying to get a grip on this... Well, honeydew, are you finished reading that boring science book? Wanna get started on your butterfly transformation?""This book isn't boring, Papa," Jessica instantly corrected, lifting the laptop off of it, "It's about hydrogen ions, and how their nucleus can readily combine with other particles to -""Holy Mars bars," Papa interrupted, waving a hand and shaking his head, "You sound just like your dad. Too many big words, mini-moose. Enough with the book reading. It's dress up time."Papa picked up the laptop and gestured for Jess to follow as he started out of the kitchen. Jessica happily closed her science book - which she honestly thought was very interesting - and scurried to catch up with him. Dickie was waiting in the hallway for them and joined them in their journey to Jessie's room."So, which one of these do you like the most, Jessie-rabbit?" Papa asked again, golden eyes on the screen as he led the way inside, "You want your hair up? Down? Side-ways? Long curls? With braids?In a mohawk? A mullet?"Jessie giggled at her Papa's hilarious suggestions and actually took the time to study the ladies on the screen. Each of them were so pretty; wearing long twists, sparkly headbands, shiny clips, and beach waves. But there was one that stood out more than the others. It was an up-do that reminded her of Cinderella, with tight curls on top of her head and a few stray ringlets hanging loosely."That one," Jessie chose, pointing to it on the screen.Papa paused to look at the lady on the computer and smiled again."Ah. The classic princess look. Excellent choice," he complimented.After sitting the computer on the edge of Jess's bed, Papa walked over to her vanity table and pulled out her chair. Jessica hadn't noticed until now that her brush, curling iron, and various other hair products were all set up on the table. Clearly, Papa had already been here to prepare for her 'transformation.' Jessica glanced over at the clock on the wall, where the hands were positioned around three-thirty."The dance isn't until later, Papa," she pointed out, "Why are we getting ready now?""Because I'm impatient," Papa admitted, "and I want to spend some 'girl time' with my baby before her first dance."Jessie smiled sweetly at her beaming Papa. Aww. She loved when he said things like that. He always wanted to pamper her like a real princess... Jessica gladly walked over to sit in the chair in front of her vanity table. Dickie hopped into her lap and curled up to watch Papa work his hair styling magic. Her angel dad started by gently combing Jess's blonde locks back and smirking fondly at her in the mirror."For the record, you're already the most beautiful girl in the world, Jess," he muttered, "This fancy stuff is just an accent."Jessie blushed and glanced down bashfully, seeing Dickie grin up at her."Thanks, Papa," she mumbled with a private smile. A few shuffled footsteps came into Jess's room and she and her Papa both turned to see who was there. Jude, still wearing his plaid pajama pants and solid gray shirt from the night before, slowly wandered in with his head down. It seemed like he was upset or tired; looking for any kind of distraction. Jessie told him a long time ago that as long as her bedroom door was open, he was always welcome inside. And today, it seemed like he really needed the refuge."Hey Jude," she sang warmly, "Wanna watch Papa do my hair for the dance?""Sure," he sighed back.Jude shuffled over to her bed and sat down like a heavy rock. Papa must have known what was bothering him, because he paused to ask,"Have you talked to Clarence today?"Jessica swallowed a large gulp. The mention of the half-demon boy made her and Jude both feel bad. It had been almost twenty-eight hours since everyone attended the very uncomfortable family meeting in the kitchen. When uncle Dean brought out that black bag and Clarence said those things - all those sad, personal things - Jessica was left with a broken heart. She never knew just how terrible Clare's childhood was. She only knew him as the guy that made Jude smile all the time; something she picked up from her dreams. It wasn't until Clarence hinted at some of his darkest secrets that Jess realized the reason behind his behavior. No wonder he was so edgy and rude. The world hadn't been very kind to him so far. Why should he be nice back?After the conversation in the kitchen, Clarence set up a little hiding place between two bookshelves in the back corner of the study and hadn't spoken to anyone since. He came and ate in the kitchen whenever he wanted, but he didn't speak. And Jess could see how upset Clare's emotional walls made her cousin Jude feel. It was almost like they were mirroring each others' emotions; when one was sad, so was the other. Jessie recognized the same actions from her parents sometimes and it made her wonder if mirror-emotion was a soul mate thing. Dad and Papa did it. Dean and Cas did it. Uncle Bobby and Crowley did it. And it seemed like Jude and Clare were doing it. The idea made Jessie's heart flutter, because if copying each other was a soul mate thing, maybe she and Ollie did it, too..."No," Jude slowly replied, answering Papa's question with a shrug, "He won't talk to anyone.""Eh, don't worry," Papa gently assured, "That kid will come around in his own time. When he's ready."Jess and Jude both nodded along with Papa's words, but didn't say anything. All Jessie wanted to do was wrap Clare into a big hug and tell him that everything was going to be okay - because it was. She had seen the proof. But now wasn't the time. Maybe she could do it later, when Clarence had time to collect himself.For over an hour, Papa took his time doing Jess's hair. He didn't use his grace at all. He just followed the exact instructions on the internet, using the tools on the vanity table like a normal human. In the meantime, he, Jess, and Jude all talked about Ollie and how cool the dance was going to be. Jessica had only seen high school dances on TV and she was so excited that she was going to actually attend one in person. Would it really be like that scene in 'Grease,' when everyone was doing the hand jive? With a live band and everything? Oh man, that would be so cool. The more she talked with Papa and Jude about the decorations and the music and the dancing, the more excited she became. By the time Papa was completely done with her hair, Jessica's hands were shaking in her lap."Okay. What do you think, Jess?" Papa asked as he sat down the curling iron and tussled a few loose curls, "Does it need more bounce? Should I use the hair spray? I don't want it falling down half way through your first dance with carrot-top."The mention of dancing with Ollie for the first time made butterflies burst in Jessie's stomach, but she ignored it to focus on her reflection in the mirror. Whoa, Papa was right. She really did look like a princess."No, it's perfect," she breathed, reaching up to gently touch some of the curls delicately pinned to the top of her head.Behind her, Papa smiled proudly."I think so, too," he nodded, "Alright. Now that the hairdo is done, Jude and I will slip out so that you can put your dress on. I figured we could go to Jane's house a little early and take some pictures. Sound good?""Yeah," Jess agreed, standing up from the chair to turn and give him a hug, "Thank you so much, Papa.""Of course, baby girl," Papa hummed with a soft pat on the back, "Meet us out in the hall when you're ready, okay? I'll go get your dad."Jess nodded and waved to her Papa and cousin as they exited her room. Jude gave her a warm smile of encouragement before he shut the door, leaving her in the complete silence of her room. As soon as she was alone, Jess dashed over to take her new dress off the hanger and change into it. The slinky fabric hugged her whole torso, just like it did in Ms. Jane's store. The teenage girl stole a glimpse of herself in the mirror and almost had to double-take. With the fancy dress and hair, Jessica almost didn't recognize herself. She actually looked really pretty! Oh man, she really hoped that Ollie would like it...Jess slipped on some white shoes - flats, not heels, because she didn't want to embarrass Ollie by being taller than him - and twisted around the bracelet on her wrist so that the letters were on top. It was the bracelet that Jude made for her five years ago; the one with her name on it. Jess was glad that he made the jewelry out of rainbow beads, because it matched her dress so well that she didn't have to take it off. With one more glance at herself in the mirror, Jessica took a deep breath and walked over to open her bedroom door.Papa must have went and got Dad just like he said, because they were both standing in the hallway when Jessie came outside. They were talking in hushed whispers, but stopped abruptly when they saw her in the doorway. Jess couldn't remember ever being looked at with such large eyes. Jude and her parents were studying her like she was a breathtaking work of art. And, aww, Papa was even tearing up. His golden eyes were all shiny and wet above his gentle smile. Next to him, Dad turned as white as a sheet and leaned back against the wall like he might fall over."Wow, Jessie," Jude mumbled, "You're even prettier than you were on Halloween."Jess smiled and glanced down at her colorful dress."Thanks, Jude," she replied bashfully.Dad was frozen to the wall, but Papa was very animated. He sniffled and wiped his eyes before stepping up and digging around in his pocket."I was, uh, gonna wait until we dropped you off to give you this," he whispered, pulling out a tiny box, "but now is as good a time as any. Here you go, baby bunny. From me and your dad."Papa placed the small box in her hand and Jessica instantly flipped open the top to reveal a silver-chained necklace with a rabbit pendant. The tiny bunny charm was made out of white gemstone and the sight made Jessie's eyes fill with tears too. That was the sweetest thing in the world, made better by the fact that it came from her loving parents. After she gave him another quick hug, Papa helped her put the necklace on to complete her dance outfit.And even through all of the emotional happenings, Dad didn't move from the wall. There was a touch of genuine fear in his eyes that Jess noticed right away. Was Dad still not ready for her to go to the dance? Why was he so zoned out? Why wasn't he happy and celebrating like everyone else?"Come on, sunshine," Papa sang, taking Jess by the hand and gently tugging her down the hall, "Let's go show your uncles."Jessica dashed to keep up with her Papa's quick steps but glanced back to see if her Dad was going to follow them. Jude and Dickie were on their heels, of course. And thankfully, Dad stood up from the wall and started shuffling along, staring forward with vacant eyes and a blank expression. Uncle Dean and Cas were sitting at the map table in the control room, drinking coffee and talking about grown-up stuff. And Papa announced Jess's arrival as if she was actual royalty."Attention, peasants," he cried dramatically, holding Jess's hand up, "Bow down before your princess."Uncle Dean smirked as he and Cas stood up from the table to glance between Jess and her Papa."Are you talking about Jessica or yourself?" he asked, poking fun.Papa stuck his tongue out at uncle Dean, which made Jess giggle. They were so funny when they joked around with each other. Though he was being playful, uncle Dean's eyes found their way back to Jess's outfit and he gave her a genuine smile."You look great, shortcake," he complimented."Very beautiful, as always," uncle Cas added."Thanks," she murmured, feeling the blush reappear on her own cheeks."Dean-o, do you know where we put the camera? I've gotta get some glamor shots," Papa asked, eventually letting go of Jess's hand.While Papa and uncle Dean went to go look for a camera, Jessica noticed a figure standing at the entrance of the study and turned around - and was surprised to see Clarence. The lanky guy, with his stringy hair a mess on his head, must have come over to see what everyone was talking about. Jessica was actually excited to see him up and walking around. He had been avoiding other people for way too long."Hiya, Clare," Jess sang, walking closer to him.Jude must have heard her say Clarence's name because he raised his head and inched closer to the entrance too. Jude seemed just as eager to talk to Clarence now that the guy had finally ventured out from his hiding place. Jess really hoped that Clare was ready to talk, now; to say anything to anyone. But Clarence just looked up and down Jessie's fancy dress in confusion. The teenage girl swished the rainbow fabric around her knees and smiled."I'm going to a dance tonight," she explained, even though Clarence didn't actually ask the question.Clarence nodded a little, making more of his hair fall across his face, but his bloodshot eyes slowly gravitated to Jude. The half-demon scratched his arm and looked up and down Jude's clothes too, just like he did Jess."Why aren't you dressed up?" he asked.Jessica took a deep breath of relief. Phew! Clare was finally talking again! His voice was low and raspy, but at least he was saying words. Jude, who also seemed glad to hear Clarence talk, gulped and glanced down at his Pjs."I'm... I'm not going. I'm staying here," he answered.A pleasant sort of expression lifted across Clare's face, as if he was happy to hear that Jude wasn't going anywhere. Clarence nodded and shrugged before stepping out of the study to shuffle toward the hallway."Oh," he muttered, pausing to look at Jess, "Have fun, Barbie."Jessica didn't miss that Jude and Clarence briefly met eyes as he walked by, and there was definitely something there. A moment of silent, electric tension that made Jude nibble on his bottom lip. Jessica was secretly proud to see her boys showing a little emotion. Ah-ha! She knew they liked each other! There was no concrete evidence yet, of course. But that little look they gave each other was more than enough to solidify her belief. When Clarence disappeared around the corner, Papa flew passed him with a camera in his hands. Jessie's archangel dad started gleefully barking orders at everyone; telling them to line up against the wall so that he could have a picture of his 'princess' with the rest of the family. Jess gladly smiled for each photo, not only to make the happy memory last, but also because she was so excited about the dance. She was so close to the party; so close to meeting other kids her age and dancing to cool music. So close to seeing her Ollie-pop in his handsome outfit..."Papa, can we go now?" Jess blurted after the twentieth photograph.Papa dropped the camera, letting it hang on the strap around his neck so that he could put his hands on his hips."I guess there's no harm in popping over to Jane's a little early," he shrugged, "Come on, Moosie. We're flying."Dad, who had been standing off to the side by himself for most of the pictures, turned his pale face to Papa and blinked at him in shock."Wh - what? Now? But it's... it's way too early," he argued.Papa tilted his head down and narrowed his golden eyes, giving Dad a stern, authoritative look."Sammy. We've talked about this," he mumbled.Though Papa was petitioning for their departure, Dad looked totally set against leaving early, and it made Jess a little worried. Dad was doing that thing again; that 'over-protective father' thing. Why couldn't he be more laid back like Papa and just be happy for Jess instead of upset? Since it looked like Dad wasn't going to move, Papa rolled his eyes and stomped across the room to get to him instead."We'll be back later, you guys," he called to Dean, Cas, and Jude over his shoulder.Though Dad was shaking his head in protest, Papa wrapped one arm around his waist and the other around Jessie's before flying them to Ms. Jane's house. With a single beat of his wings, they were standing on the sidewalk outside. The autumn sun shined down on them from the west, but a cool breeze gave the parts of Jessie's bare skin a shiver. Burr, it was a cold November day. Maybe she should have brought a jacket. Papa let go and Dad gave out a long sigh of aggravation."Gabriel," he growled, "The dance doesn't even start for another hour and a half.""I don't care, Sam. Please remove the stick from your butt and stop raining on this joyous parade, okay? You're spoiling the moment," Papa snapped back.Before Dad could say another word, Papa gently twirled Jessie around and started leading her to Ms. Jane's front door. Dad pouted on the sidewalk for a few seconds before finally giving in and following a few feet behind them. Part of Jessica was truly worried about her dad's behavior. But the other part of her was really excited to finally see Ollie. She gladly pranced along with Papa's fast steps and stood with him at the front door as he knocked. During the minute or so it took for Ms. Jane to get there, Jessica blinked at the red wood and could feel her own heart beating fast. She was so excited... and nervous. Why was she nervous? The door eventually flew open and Jess and her parents were greeted by Ms. Jane's huge grin."Oh my goodness!" Ollie's mom sang, stepping out to softly clutch Jess's bare shoulders and look at her entire outfit, "You are so beautiful, Jessie! Who did your hair? It looks amazing!""That would be me," Papa proudly proclaimed, raising his hand with a smirk, "She told me how she wanted it done and I made it happen.""Oh, it's gorgeous! Excellent job, Gabriel. You're daughter is as lovely as an angel," Jane praised, pausing to hug Jessie with a giggle, "Come in, Guapa, come in! Oliver is almost ready."Jessie shared a private giggle with Papa, finding it funny that Ms. Jane called her an angel without realizing that it was true. When she turned back around to walk into the house, Jess's curved smile dimmed to a serious line. From the moment she stepped inside, Jess was scanning the whole place for Ollie; searching for the red-hair and big brown eyes that always filled her dreams. But Ollie wasn't in the living room or the kitchen. He must have been in the bathroom getting dressed or something."I brought the camera," Papa announced to Ms. Jane, holding up the clunky device, "I thought we could take a few pictures of the kids before they go.""Oh, that's a great idea, Gabe," Jane agreed, "You've gotta print me off some of those. Calabaza!" she paused to shout toward the other side of the house, "Come and see your date!"Jessie gulped. Date? Oh boy, that made everything sound so official. Jessica forgot that this might actually be her and Ollie's first date ever. Dad must not have liked hearing it either because he huffed a breath behind Jess. After Ms Jane's call, hurried footsteps came rushing through the house, finally delivering Ollie to Jessica's presence.Ollie looked better than Jessica could have ever imagined. His momma must have dressed him, because most of his outfit was the exact same shade of purple as the top part of Jess's dress. He was wearing a white, long-sleeve dress shirt, purple vest, purple pants, and white shoes. But his bow tie and his belt were both shimmery rainbow. His shaggy red hair was nicely combed on his head. And his eyes - oh, his lovely chocolate colored eyes - were dancing up and down Jessica's entire body. It seemed that he was just as stunned by her appearance as she was by his. Maybe even more so."Wh - whoa... Jess..." he gulped, his face really pale underneath his many freckles, "You... you look like a queen..."Jessica tilted her head. Queen? Queen sounded much better than princess, somehow. More powerful and classy. Jess really liked that compliment."Thanks," she replied, tucking both hands behind her back and swaying around shyly, "You look great, too.""Aww, you're both adorable," Papa squeaked, nudging Jess forward and tugging Ollie closer, "Let's get some pictures to commemorate how precious you are."Papa and Ms. Jane went to work situating Jess and Ollie in front of the fireplace like a couple of mannequins, telling them to pose in different ways. The first one involved them putting their arms around each other - and Ollie actually stopped to look at Jess and whisper,"Is - is it okay if I put my hand on your waist?"Jessica bit down a smile and forced a nod. It was so weird to hear Ollie ask for permission to touch her when he did it all the time in her dreams. Jess could practically feel and hear his rattling heartbeat when he got close. Ollie was more nervous than Jessica had ever seen him before. It was strange because the two of them had been friends for so long; always joking and talking and laughing. Why was he suddenly so afraid to look her in the eye and speak now?The flashes of Papa's camera drew Jessica's attention back to the moment and she tried her best to focus on smiling. But another distraction was trying to creep into her awareness. Dad was standing just behind Papa, but he wasn't happy at all. He was biting his nails and staring hard at Jess and Ollie; glancing between them like they were two scary monsters instead of teenagers. Dad was really scared too, but why? Why was this dance making all the people in Jess's life act so differently? It was just a simple event that was only going to last a few hours...Once Papa and Ms. Jane got all the pictures they wanted, Ollie went to the bathroom to finish getting ready, which left Jessica with all the adults. While Papa and Jane looked through the camera and talked, Dad almost instantly walked across the room to get to Jessica. And Jess was actually glad that he was coming over because she really wanted to ask him some questions and figure out why he looked so upset."Jessica, are you sure you want to go to this dance?" Dad began, his voice quiet but high-pitched."Yes, Dad. Of course I want to go," she assured, "Why wouldn't I want - ?""You can back out at anytime. I promise I won't let anyone say a word about it," he whispered."I'm going to this dance," Jessica stated plainly, "and I'm going to have fun with Ollie. Why aren't you happy, Dad? Don't you want me to have fun?""Yes, of course I want you to have fun, Jess. And I am happy for you," he argued, "It's just... Your Papa and I won't be there to help you if something bad happens. What are you going to do if angels show up and try to - ""I can take care of myself," Jessie interrupted, "Just like you taught me.""And what if a group of boys gang up on you and try to hurt you? Oh my God, I can't even think about that happening," Dad winced, his eyes full of pain as he shook his head, "I can't think about anyone taking advantage of you like that -""I'll never let that happen," Jessie promised, "I'll smite anyone who even tries... Dad, you have to trust me. You have to give me a chance to do something on my own. How am I supposed to become an adult if you won't let me take care of myself?"Jess's question must have hit home, because Dad's mouth fell open and he didn't even blink. He just stared down at Jess with stunned eyes and slowly let his arms unfold. Uh-oh. Maybe Jessie had been too blunt with her phrasing. Maybe she should have said something a little nicer... Before Jessica could fix the situation with her dad, Ms. Jane slid over to pat them both on the back."Are you ready to go, Jess?" Jane asked sweetly, giving her a warm smile, "I'll be taking you and Ollie to the dance in my car."Jessica had to tear her eyes away from Dad's pained face before she gave Ms. Jane the best grin she could muster."Uh, yeah. All set," she nodded.Jess didn't notice that Ollie had come back from the bathroom until she looked up to see him walking over. He inched closer to her side - under Dad's hard stare - and timidly offered his arm, to which Jess smiled and gently took it with her hand. Papa rushed over to give them both a giant hug, nearly picking them both up off the floor with his monstrous grip."Oh, you kids are growing up so fast!" he smiled, setting them both back down, "You go have a great night at the dance, okay? Don't drink too much and have her home by nine o'clock, 'kay, carrot-top?""I will, Mr. Gabe," Ollie promised seriously, even though Ms. Jane was the one driving and Papa was probably joking. Ollie led Jessica out the door and off the porch like a true gentleman, and was about to open the car door when Jessica made him pause. She didn't want to leave things in a bad spot with her dad right before the dance. In an effort to make things better, she let go of Ollie long enough to dash back and give Dad a big hug."I love you, Dad," she reminded, "Please don't worry about me. I'll be fine."Dad's big arms circled Jessie's back and for a moment she felt like a little girl again."I love you too," he whispered.Jessica gave both of her parents big smiles before running back over to get in the backseat with Ollie. Ms. Jane started up her silver car and backed out of her driveway while the three of them waved to Jessie's parents. Dad and Papa grew smaller and smaller in the back glass until they vanished completely, having flown away by Papa's wings. And now, for one of the first times in her life, Jessica was far away from her parents.With a new found sense of confidence, Jessica turned forward and sighed contently. Beside her, though, Ollie was still acting a little nervous. She could tell because he started doing the one thing he always did when he felt uncomfortable... He started talking nonstop."Jessie?" he asked, getting her attention, "Um, before we get to the dance, I think you should know that, uh... I'm not very popular. I mean, I have friends at school, but not very many. And the rest of the kids don't seem to like me very well, so I - ""They don't like you?" Jessie repeated, feeling surprised, "Why?"Ollie was the funniest, sweetest, cutest guy that she had ever met! How could anyone not like him?"I don't really know. It's just one of those high school things, I guess. Have you seen the movie 'Ten Things I Hate About You?' Well, I'm kind of like the kid who loves Shakespeare. I don't fit in. But it's okay," he shrugged, making his rainbow bow tie shift around his neck, "I've got you and Jude, so I don't care much about anyone else."Jessica turned to look at Ollie in the seat next to her, feeling so flattered. He really cared more about her than anyone else? That was so nice. Jess smiled and casually laid her hand on top of Ollie's in the seat between them - which made him jump a little bit. His face turned almost as red as his hair and he blinked at Jess in surprise. Jessica had held his hand so many times in her dreams that she didn't think much of it. But maybe this was the first time that she had actually done it in person."Oh," she whispered, lifting her hand, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to - ""No, it's okay!" Ollie quickly interrupted, reaching up to take her hand back with his shaky fingers, "I... I don't mind holding your hand. You, um, you have really soft skin."Ollie turned to face the window after that, probably to hide the embarrassment on his face, but Jessica held down a giggle. Oh man, Ollie was so adorable when he was shy and nervous...They arrived at Ollie's school pretty quickly. There was a line of cars outside the gym, where parents were dropping off their teenagers. People were gathered all around the entrance, dressed in pretty gowns and suave suits. Jessica's excitement was reaching a fever pitch by the time Ms. Jane finally parked her car and ushered her and Ollie to the line at the double doors. Jessica clung desperately to Ollie's arm, feeling so many emotions that her heart could barely keep up.Jane took a few more pictures with the camera that Papa let her borrow before signing them in and letting them go inside. She gave them each a hug and told them that she would be back at eight o'clock to get them before leaving. And watching Ms. Jane go actually made Jess a little nervous. In fact, her stomach was even starting to get a little achy...The inside of the gymnasium was loud with music and beautifully decorated with fall colors. Stripes of yellow, orange, and red curtains hung along the walls and there were round tables to the left that were covered with burlap. A small dance floor was to the right and there were already people dancing on it. Jessica pulled Ollie closer as they walked inside, feeling like she might float away if she didn't hang onto him."This is where you go to school?" Jessica asked over the loud music."Yeah," Ollie nodded, "but this isn't what it normally looks like. Trust me."Jess giggled and turned to look around again, feeling almost starstruck. It was so beautiful! There were so many lights and colors and happy people. School must have been so awesome! Ollie carefully led Jessica over to the round tables where they found their names on cards. There were already three other boys sitting there; one with brown hair and glasses, one who was a little overweight, and one who had the same skin tone of Ms. Jane. And every single one of their mouths were open when they saw Ollie and Jess approach."Hey guys," Ollie called over the loud music, "This is my friend, Jessica."When Ollie introduced her, Jessica waved politely at the new guys, feeling absolutely ready to be their friend. But they just blinked at her in amazement as if she was an alien from outer space."This is Jessica? The 'Jessica from your neighborhood' Jessica?" one of them asked."Yeah," Ollie nodded."Dude," the boy with glasses breathed, "She's so pretty, it looks like she just stepped off a movie set or something!""Yeah. And bumped into you by mistake," the overweight guy uttered.Jessica narrowed her eyes at the new guys. Those weren't very nice things to say, were they? Why were they saying that she looked like a movie star? And why were they making fun of Ollie about it? Ollie laughed, so maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe it was just how boys interacted with each other, like when Dad and uncle Dean playfully argued. Still, Jessica felt the need to stand up for her friend."There was no mistake," she quickly corrected, playing with the sleeve of Ollie's white shirt between her fingers, "We've been friends since we were four years old. If anything, I bumped into him on purpose."Her words must have shut down whatever retort the guys at the table had planned to say because they only stared at her like open-mouthed fish. Ollie coughed and hid his tiny smile with his wrist before giving the guys a wave."I'm gonna show her around," he said, gently nudging her away with a grin, "See you guys later."All three boys raised their hands to wave back, but didn't say anything. Jessica could feel their large eyes fixed on her as they left. Man, those boys really needed to practice talking to girls or something..."So, um, this is where we have gym class," Ollie mentioned as he wandered closer to the huge group of dancing kids, "Do you want to get a drink? Or walk around? Or - ?""This is a dance, isn't it?" Jessie interrupted, giving her friend a playful smirk, "Aren't we supposed to be dancing?"Ollie's face was pretty pale in the dim swirling lights of the gymnasium, and Jessie's question seemed to make it even worse. He coughed and scratched his head of neatly combed red hair as he stole a glance at the crowd of dancing people nearby."Oh. Dancing. R - right," he nodded, looking so flustered and adorable.He held out his hand and Jessica instantly slid hers inside it. Ollie turned to lead her closer to the dance floor, where everyone was hopping around and moving with the fast-paced music... but by the time the two of them made it there, the song changed into something softer. The melody was suddenly sweet and slow, making all the dancers pause and double up with each other. Everyone around them was suddenly slow dancing with a partner. And when Ollie turned around to look at Jess, she could see how nervous he was.But Jessica wasn't nervous. She was actually very eager to slow dance with her Ollie-pop for the first time. The teenage girl carefully stepped up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, and held out her other for him to take. She could feel Ollie's whole body shaking under her grip, but he eventually took her free hand like a true gentleman. When his other hand found her hip, the two of them began to sway around with the song and smile at each other. Wow, it was just like the movies; like when the main character finally got to dance with their favorite person."J - Jessie," Ollie muttered over the slow beat of the music, "I'm... I'm really glad you're here."Jess smiled, finding herself unable to look away from Ollie's big brown eyes. They were so pretty; like cocoa mixed with mocha."Me too," she admitted.As the song hummed from the big speakers, Jessica noticed that she and Ollie were both leaning closer toward each other. Their torsos were pressing together and they were studying each others' faces - and lips. Jess's heart was suddenly pounding very hard in her ribcage, making goosebumps rise on her skin. Adrenaline was rushing through her veins as she and Ollie leaned closer together - but her stomach was starting to hurt really bad. It was an ache that she knew all too well. It meant something was about to happen... but what?Just when the romantic song was about to draw to a close, a voice caught Jessie's attention. It echoed to her from across the room, but she recognized it immediately and turned to see where it came from. Near the double doors, there was a very tall man in plaid arguing with a few teachers, trying to push his way into the gym."... Dad?" Jessie breathed in shock.Gabriel could tell that Sam was having a difficult time letting their daughter go to her first dance without them. There must have been a reason Sam was acting like a child that had trouble sharing his toys, but for the life of him, Gabe couldn't figure out why. Why was Sam so determined to stop her and Oliver from being normal teenagers? Why did he have so much resentment toward the poor red-head kid that was head-over-heels for their little girl? Gabe loved that those two were in the first stages of puppy love. It was so cute to watch Jess and Oliver get all bashful and sweet around each other. But the longer they stood in Jane's house to take pictures, the more Sam looked like Bruce Banner trying to hold down the Hulk.When the kids finally left for the dance and he flew his husband back to their bedroom in the bunker, Gabriel felt the need to make poor Sammy feel better. A nice, big distraction was what he needed; something that would take the focus off their baby bunny's first dance and gear it toward something more productive. Because at the moment, Sam looked like a deflated Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon."Alright, moosie," Gabe said, putting on his best smile while he patted Sam's ass, "It's just you and me for a few hours. What do you want to do? Roller skate through the bunker? Build a sandcastle in the study? Have hot, dirty sex in the shower room?"Though the archangel was trying his best to get his husband's attention, Sam wasn't budging. He just sighed and wandered over to plop himself on their queen-sized bed. Gabe shook his head, feeling frustrated that the kid wouldn't even speak to him."Sex in the shower room it is," Gabriel chose, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it in the corner, "You sit tight while I go get the water ready."Sam stayed a pouting statue on the bed as Gabriel flew to the bunker shower room. Gabe wasn't kidding when he suggested it. In fact, he planned to butter Sam up to the point that he forgot that Jessie was even gone. The archangel took a few seconds - and some of his grace - to turn all the shower heads on and pour some bubbly suds into the mix. He changed the lights overhead to a dim, pinkish color, which made the 1930s bunker shower look more like a feminine washroom. He figured that the softer atmosphere would help Sam feel more comfortable. It took him a few minutes to get everything perfect, but once it was ready, Gabe flew back to the bedroom to retrieve his handsome hubby.But the guy was gone.At first, Gabriel assumed that Sam had wandered out to talk to his brother or something. Sammy always went to Dean if he had a problem he couldn't work out. But when Gabriel flew to the control room, he only saw Dean and Cas. Sam was nowhere to be found. Huh. Did he get hungry and decide to eat in the kitchen or something? Gabe flew to the kitchen next, but Clarence was the only person there; chewing on a bagel at the island with a scowl on his face. The archangel searched Jessie's room next, thinking that maybe Sam wanted to spend some time alone amongst their child's things. But no. He wasn't there either. It wasn't until Gabriel scanned the entire bunker that he stumbled across the garage... and noticed that the Impala was gone."Oh. Shit," Gabriel huffed.Ah, dammit, Sam was going to the high school, wasn't he? The kid was going to ruin Jessica's night by showing up to the party! Sam couldn't do that! He was going to make Jessica so upset. Gabe couldn't let that happen! After huffing a breath and rolling up his sleeves, Gabriel flew from the bunker to Oliver's high school.There was a huge crowd of people in the parking lot outside. In the light of the setting sun, parents were with their nicely dressed teenagers, huddled in groups and taking pictures. Gabriel spun around in circles for a moment, trying to find Dean's signature car. And sure enough, the archangel found the classic set of wheels parked near the entrance of the gymnasium. Gabriel ran - because he didn't want to fly in front of the crowd - up to the double doors to cautiously peer inside. He hunkered down so that Jessica couldn't see him if she was close by.The archangel finally found his oversized husband standing inside the gym. Sam was near the door behind a table of food, arguing with a school teacher who was clearly just doing their job. Gabriel tried his best to snake through the large crowd to get to them before Sam did something stupid."Sir, I can't let you come in here. It's for the children's safety that we don't allow parents inside," the guy explained carefully."I understand, but I need to stay with my daughter. She's right over there," Sam said, pointing toward the dance floor, "Just please let me inside. I can be a chaperone or something. I can help you manage the kids or sit with the DJ or -""I'm sorry, but I can't let you in," the teacher denied more sternly, "You can wait outside for her. The dance will be over at eight o'clock.""But, I - ""Dad?!"Gabriel gulped at the sound of their daughter's outraged tone. He finally finished wading through the people at the double doors just in time to see Jess planted next to the table with her hands on her hips. Her beautiful face was tinted with betrayal and horror, as if she couldn't believe her dad actually showed up to the dance unannounced. Behind her, Oliver was nervously fidgeting with his own hands. The loud music continued to play in the background, making it difficult for them to hear each other."What are you doing here?" Jess practically demanded."H - hi, Mr. Winchester," Oliver timidly offered from behind her.Everyone was looking at Sam, waiting for him to confess the reason why he came. At first, it seemed like he couldn't even explain himself. He just stood there with his mouth open and looked around like he was trying to find the answer himself."Jess, I - I just don't want you to... to be here without... without having - ""Without having what? A babysitter?" Jessica huffed, her gorgeous eyes narrowing, "I don't need constant surveillance, Dad. Please go home and let me have this night with Ollie.""I agree," Gabriel spoke up.He lurched over to join the group, getting everyone's attention with his loud voice. Sam blinked at him in shock, as if he couldn't believe that Gabe had followed him all the way to the high school."This protective thing is really getting out of hand, Sam," Gabriel admitted, reaching out to grab his arm, "Let's go home before you get into real trouble.""No," Sam denied, yanking himself free, "I'm not going to leave her here by herself, Gabe!""She's not by herself! There are people everywhere!" Gabriel said, gesturing to the crowd around them."Exactly! People that could hurt her. I'm not taking chances," Sam hissed.That was it. Gabe had heard enough craziness from his ridiculous husband. The archangel tried to reach out for him again, planning to fly Sam home whether he liked it or not. But once again, Sam lurched away from Gabe's hold. And when Sam tried to get away, he accidentally bumped into the teacher, which caused the teacher to lose his footing and catch himself on the cluttered table, which caused the huge bowl full of punch to wobble around and tip over And when the bowl tipped over, the entire basin of liquid spilled onto Jessica, who was standing right behind it.Gabriel sucked in a shrill gasp as he watched the bright red punch drench his daughter from the waist down. Jessica shrieked and backed away as quickly as she could, but it didn't make a difference. Her brand new rainbow dress and white shoes were now red, wet, and sticky. Her whole outfit was ruined, and so was her pride. Everyone in the immediate area paused to look at the mess that Sam had caused with their mouths covered and eyes large. Even the people on the dance floor turned to see the commotion. Oliver was too stunned to move. And poor Jessica couldn't do anything but stand there with her mouth open and her dress dripping red liquid. Gabriel's heart shattered into a million pieces. No! How could he let this happen?! His daughter's first date was an utter disaster because Sam couldn't get himself under control!Sam, who had gone completely white, didn't seem to know what to say. He blinked at Jessica with huge eyes and tried to take a step forward."H - honey," he breathed, "I... I'm so... so sorry..."Jessica stole a glance back at the other teenagers on the dance floor, who were pointing and whispering to each other, and Gabriel could see the devastation slowly rising on her precious face. She tried to shake the bottom of her wet dress, but it was no use. There was no fixing the fabric, now. The bright rainbow colors were lost beneath the heavy red coating. Jess raised her head to glare at her dad with glistening emerald-copper eyes as she gripped the sides of her dress with fists."You ruined it!" she whimpered, taking a few steps back, "You ruined everything!""Jess," Sam pleaded, looking heartbroken as he reached out to help her, "I -""Leave me alone!" she barked.Gabriel tried his best to get to his daughter; to calm her down and tell her that he could fix her dress with his grace and let her stay at the dance. But just as he called her name, Jessica dashed off and flew away, disappearing from the room in the blink of an eye, leaving poor Oliver next to a puddle of red punch and her parents feeling like total idiots.
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When his cousin Jessie left to go to Ollie's house, Jude didn't have much else to do but hang out in his room alone. His uncles were gone, his parents were off somewhere in the bunker, and Clarence... Well, Clarence was chowing down in the kitchen, still distancing himself from everyone by refusing to interact. Though he was a bit sad about being left out, Jude was really happy for his two best friends. He knew that Jessie and Ollie were going to have a great time together tonight. After being forced to listen to Ollie's desperately awkward attempt to ask Jessie to this dance, Jude was absolutely certain that they liked each other. Not just as friends, but as 'more than friends.' And he was completely cool with his friends' developing romance. It was just difficult for him now that he was, as Dad liked to say, 'the third wheel.' Jude thought that phrase was pretty stupid. How was a tricycle supposed to work if it didn't have all three wheels?Jude laid around on his bed for a while and stared at Bumble Bee on his dresser. Being alone was hard, sure. But being alone with this weird feeling in his stomach made it harder. He didn't quite know where it was coming from. Maybe it was the naked lady magazines. Maybe it was the leftover embarrassment from getting caught with said naked lady magazines. Dad had taken Ollie's black bag and hid it out of everyone's reach, so there was no way he could put it to the test now. Maybe it was a touch of jealousy from having to stay home while Jessie went out to have fun... Or maybe it was the way Clarence's evergreen-chestnut eyes seemed to pierce straight into Jude's soul when they passed by each other earlier...Jude sighed and sat up on his bed, suddenly feeling restless. He reached over and grabbed his Bumble Bee to keep his hands occupied while his mind raced. Why did Clarence have to be a mean jerk one minute and absolutely heartbreaking the next? Jude felt so sorry for him when he was talking about his childhood in the kitchen. No kid should ever have to go through such horrible things... But if Clarence had such a difficult start, why did he feel the need to annoy everyone and make such big messes? Why was he so rude and arrogant? Why did he call people faggots? Why would he start fires that don't burn out? An ache echoed from Jude's stomach and he reached down to place a hand flat on his abdomen. There it was again; that hot burning sensation that made all Jude's muscles tense up. He was suddenly picturing Clarence's grinning, bloody face in his mind again. "I knew you had fire in you," the demon boy said. No, Jude didn't have any fire in him. Not until Clarence started it...A tiny bark came from Jude's open door.The teenage boy put his beloved Bumble Bee down on his nightstand and looked up to see Dickie standing in his doorway. The little brown and white dog was planted on all fours and wagging his tail, but he didn't seem like his usually excited self. Dickie sounded worried and upset. He barked again and glanced toward the hall."What's the matter, Dickie?" Jude asked.At first, Jude thought that Dickie was really missing uncle Gabe, uncle Sam, and Jessie, and just wanted someone's attention. But the more Dickie barked and whined, the more Jude could tell that something was troubling him. The dog was nodding repeatedly toward the hall, so Jude figured that he might as well see if anything was wrong. As soon as he stood up from the bed, Dickie raced away, wanting Jude to follow.Although the dog was pretty fast, Jude kept up with Dickie's trail through the bunker. Dickie headed passed the adult's bedrooms, passed the kitchen - which was now vacant, - up the stairs to the control room and down into the study, where he stopped by one particular bookshelf and looked back with a whimper. It wasn't until Jude started down into the bunker library that he caught sight of the fuzzy brown antlers way up high. Somehow, Dickie's stuffed moose was sitting on the tip-top of the bookshelf. Nearly ten feet in the air. Jude blinked at the moose in surprise. How in the world did that thing get way up there? Dickie must have been tossing it around pretty hard. Near the bottom, Dickie pawed at the lowest shelf and whimpered again. Obviously, he wanted his toy back and came to Jude for help."Really?" Jude groaned toward the dog. The only thing Jude hated more than flying was heights. And climbing up one of the tallest bookshelves in the whole bunker wasn't really something that he wanted to do. But Dickie gave a tiny, pitiful bark in response. He really wanted his moose and uncle Gabe wasn't around to help him, so that left Jude with no options. But hey, if Superman could rescue people from burning buildings, Jude could rescue Dickie's moose from the top of a bookshelf, right?When Jude started into the study, he noticed that someone else was there. The messy, stringy blonde hair was a dead giveaway. Clarence was sitting at the table furthest from the entry way. His head was down and there was a set of headphones over his ears - Dad's headphones, from the looks of them - and he was flipping through an old book. Jude's eyes immediately traced the guy's entire being from across the room; ashy elbows bent, knee bouncing under the table, thin fingers rubbing the corner of the page he was staring at. Just seeing Clarence made the ache in Jude's stomach flair. He was almost certain that Clarence wouldn't see or hear him because the guy was so distracted. But when Jude stepped up to the bookshelf, Clarence raised his head.The two of them met eyes at a distance, which made Jude stop in his tracks. He half expected Clarence to take off the headphones and say something cheeky, or get up and start ranting about something stupid. But he just sat there and blinked at Jude. Jude offered a timid wave, thinking that maybe it would help the guy find the words he needed. But Clarence just gave a slight nod and went back to his book. Jude gulped and finally looked away, feeling strangely disappointed. Maybe the fire thing didn't effect Clarence. Maybe Jude was making it all up in his mind...Dickie's bark drew Jude's attention back to the bookshelf. Now that he was close enough, Jude could see the very edge of the moose's antler sticking out from the top. Whoa, it was a long way up. Jude really wished that Jessie was there in that moment. She could fly up and get it in two seconds flat. But Jude didn't like using his grace. He would rather climb the bookshelf like a normal human than to accidentally break something with his angel powers.After rolling his sleeves up and pushing a few books out of the way, Jude slowly started to climb up, using each shelf as a step. The higher he got, the more Jude's hands started to shake. Man, this shelf was a lot taller than he remembered. Was it always this high off the floor? Jude tried his best to keep his eyes on the edge of the moose's antler as he climbed, knowing that if he looked down he would only make himself more afraid. 'Superman isn't afraid of heights ,' Jude reminded himself internally, 'Superman can do anything. That's why they call him Superman.' Jude could feel the entire bookcase rattling with his nervous movements as he gradually climbed up. By the time he reached the top, the books and artifacts were wobbling around like crazy. The huge ceramic globe next to the moose looked like it was on the verge of falling off its stand. Jude forced himself to focus and reach out for Dickie's toy with trembling fingers - but his weak legs slipped off the edge and he suddenly found himself hanging on with one hand.Jude let out a tiny squeak and tried to claw onto the shelf to keep from falling, but his limbs were too busy flailing to find purchase. Ah! The floor was so far away! Before Jude could even take a breath to pray for his Papa's help, he was already falling through the air. He dropped like a heavy rock from the top shelf and expected to meet a hard collision with the floor - But Jude landed in a soft pair of arms instead.The teenage boy was so afraid of getting hurt that he almost didn't realize that he had a safe landing. It took him several seconds to comprehend that he was being held by someone else... By Clarence. The demon boy must have rushed across the room because the headphones he had been wearing were tossed on the floor. His face was pale, eyes were huge, and thin arms were cradling Jude against his chest like a huge football. Jude could feel his own eyes widening as they blinked at each other in shock. Clarence broke his fall. Clarence actually got up, ran across the room, and held both arms out to catch Jude before he hit the floor. And now they were both too stunned to say anything.A creaking noise drew there attention back to the top of the bookshelf, where the fragile globe was wobbling dangerously close to the edge. The huge sphere finally broke free of its stand and rolled off, where it fell toward Jude and Clarence like a giant comet. Clarence quickly dropped Jude's lower half and shoved him toward the wall, where he pinned him there with both arms. The two of them stood and squeezed close together just in time for the huge globe to smash in the very spot Clarence had been standing in.After the noise of the globe shattering, the only sound in the room was hot air wheezing in and out of Jude and Clarence's lungs. The two of them were panting with fear and adrenaline, staring at each other in the five inches of their physical separation. Clarence's hands remained pinned to the wall on either side of Jude's head for an extra moment or two, boxing him in with a barrier of safety. And in that short span of time, Jude became aware of the sincere worry and fear in Clarence's open eyes. The half demon was genuinely afraid for Jude. And the realization that Clarence cared about him rekindled the heat in Jude's stomach, and made it burn even hotter. Clarence eventually let go of the wall and took a step back, still huffing terrified breaths."A - Are you crazy?!" he growled, narrowing his eyes.Jude didn't know how to answer. He was too distracted by his own churning stomach and Clarence's heaving chest to even think straight. In the silence, Clarence's expression seemed to change. His worry dimmed to shock and he was suddenly wearing the same face he wore in the kitchen the day before; when he knew he had said something that revealed a piece of his true self. Clarence raked a shaky hand through his own greasy blonde hair and quickly changed his tune."Geez. Watch what the hell you're doing, idiot," he huffed in his usual 'bad boy' tone.It didn't matter what Clarence said or how much he tried to play it off, his selfless actions spoke the truth. Jude had been wrong about him. Clarence was a really good guy. And maybe he did feel the same kind of fire thing that Jude was feeling... Before either of them could find anything else to say, a loud, gusting 'whoosh' swept through the study. "Jude!"Jude flinched at the unexpected sound of his own name being cried with such pain. That was Jessie's voice! Why did she sound so upset? Jude and Clarence both gave each other a short glance of bewilderment before rounding the bookcase to see the entrance of the bunker library.Jessie was standing on the steps between the study and the control room with tears in her eyes - and her pretty dress was a complete disaster. Jude's mouth fell open when he saw the terrible state of his cousin's dance attire. Oh no, what happened? Why was Jessie's rainbow dress all red? Why was she crying? Did someone hurt her? Or prank her or something? As soon as she turned to see Jude, Jessie dashed off the stairs and ran to him with a loud sob. Jude instantly welcomed her into his arms, where she clung tight to him and he tried his best to console her."Jessie, what happened?" he asked into her ear as he softly pat her back."D - Dad!" she cried, whimpering on his shoulder, "He showed up at the dance and... and he tried to come in and the... the teacher there tried to stop him but... but he bumped into them and made the punch bowl spill over and now... now it's all ruined! My dress, the dance, my date with Ollie - it's all r - ruined!"Jude held onto Jessie as tight as he could, feeling so bad. Oh man, uncle Sam did this? Why did he even go to the dance in the first place? Jude knew that his uncle Sam liked to keep a close eye on Jessie, but on her first date? Why did he ruin it all like that? Jude wished that there was something he could say to make his cousin feel better, but there wasn't much he could do."I'm so sorry, Jess," Jude muttered, feeling terrible."Everyone was looking," she wept, sniffling a bit, "Everybody s - saw it happen. It was so embarrassing! And I didn't want Ollie to be embarrassed because of me, so I - I flew home!"Jessie's sob nearly broke Jude's heart in two. He absolutely hated when she was upset, but it seemed like there wasn't much he could do about it this time. While Jude tried to figure out how to comfort her, another gust of wind flew through the library and Jude and Jessie both looked up to see uncle Gabe and Sam standing in the control room. They both called Jessie's name, but as soon as she saw them, she let go of Jude and her hands balled into fists. Uncle Sam was the first to rush into the room. Jude could see how nervous and sad the guy was because his eyes were glistening and wide."Jessica," he pleaded, his voice so honest and cracked, "I really am sorry! I didn't mean for any of that to happen, I just - ""Stop following me, Dad!" Jessie shouted."Jessie-rabbit," uncle Gabe called softly, edging his way around uncle Sam so that he could give her a gentle look, "I can clean your dress, honey. We can fix you up good as new and get you back to the dance with carrot-top before the night's over. It'll be like it never happened.""But it did happen!" Jessie sobbed, pointing a finger toward uncle Sam, "Dad embarrassed me in front of everyone! He won't let me grow up! He won't let me do anything!""J - Jess -" her dad said with a pitiful voice."No! Just leave me alone!" Jessie interrupted.The teenage girl suddenly disappeared from Jude's side and the loud sound of a slamming door echoed through the bunker. Jude, Sam, Gabe, and Clarence all glanced at each other before dashing for the exit. They all raced down the hall to get to Jessie's room, where her bedroom door was firmly closed; a rare sight for Jude, who hardly ever saw it that way. Uncle Sam immediately dashed up to knock on the wood with a look of desperation on his face."Jessica, please let me make this up to you," he begged, "The last thing I ever want to do is make you upset. You're my whole world! I love you!""Go away!" Jessie called from inside.That really must have hurt uncle Sam's feelings because a tiny tear slipped out of the corner of his eye and he turned around to look at uncle Gabe, who seemed pretty torn in Sam and Jess's fight. While they stared at each other, Jude's parents both came jogging down the hallway."What the hell is going on?" Dad asked, sounding afraid that someone might have gotten hurt."Your Neanderthal brother just spilled punch all over Jessica in front of Oliver's entire school," uncle Gabe hissed."I didn't do it on purpose, Gabriel!" Sam argued."If you had just stayed home like you were supposed to, it wouldn't have happened!" Gabe pointed out, "But no, you had to go and be Mr. Protective Moose. Why did you even leave, Sam?""I was afraid for her!" Sam barked, his voice cracking again."You're always afraid for her!" Gabriel snapped."Enough," Jude's Dad bellowed, finally getting Sam and Gabriel to both calm down, "Arguing isn't gonna help anyone."Uncle Sam and Gabe both closed their mouths and looked away, both equally hurting. It was clear that they didn't want their daughter to be upset, but what could they do now? Poor Jessie didn't want to come out of her room. Uncle Gabe eventually sighed and shook his head."I'm gonna fly in there and try to talk to her," he offered quietly, "Not sure it's gonna do much good at this point, but I'll give it a shot."Just before uncle Gabe took off, uncle Sam grabbed his hand and pulled him close to give him a very sad look."Please... Please tell her how sorry I am," he whispered, sounding so heartfelt, "I just want a chance to explain myself and make things right."Uncle Gabe stared at Sam for a second or two like he was trying to make up his mind, but forced a nod."I'll try to talk her into seeing you," he replied.Gabe vanished after that, leaving the rest of their family in the hallway while he went to comfort Jessie. Uncle Sam crossed his arms and hung his head, making his shaggy hair hide his sad face. Dad carefully stepped up to pat Sam on the back."C'mon, Sammy," he said, tugging him forward, "I'll get you some coffee."Sam slowly shuffled along with Dad and Papa, who led him toward the direction of the kitchen. Once they were gone, Jude, Clarence, and Dickie were the only souls in the corridor. That fiery sensation in the pit of Jude's stomach lit up again when he timidly glanced over to see Clarence. The dangerous - and exciting - event that took place between them before Jessie came home was resurfacing in his mind. Being cradled in Clarence's arms was suddenly all Jude could think about.Without a word, Clarence wandered toward Jude and thrust something into his hand. Jude looked down to see Dickie's furry moose staring up at him. Holy cow, when did Clarence get this? Did it fall off the bookshelf at the same time Jude did? Curious and stunned, Jude raised his head to stare at Clarence in awe."Don't make me save your sorry ass again," he said.Though his tone was dark and threatening, Jude could see that there was a touch of playfulness in Clarence's earthy eyes. The demon was walking away before Jude could say anything back, but he was kind of glad. Because Jude didn't know what to say anyway. He just watched Clarence go, eying the back of his ripped jeans and holey t-shirt as he went.While Jude stood like a dopey idiot in the middle of the hallway, Dickie jumped up and grabbed the moose out of his loose grip. The Jack Russell Terrier happily pranced away with his favorite toy in his mouth afterward, looking as proud as a winning show dog."Should we help Sam and Gabriel with Jessica, Dean? Perhaps there is something we can do to fix the situation," Cas offered quietly.From the other side of the bed, Dean helped his worried husband roll down their sheets and adjust their pillows at the headboard. It was almost midnight in the bunker but they were just now getting in bed, because they spent most of the evening trying to talk Sam down. Dean didn't really understand the kid's reason for going to that dance, but he was sure Sammy felt the need to go at the time. To be honest, Dean didn't want to get involved in his brother and niece's squabble. He had enough on his plate with the half demon taking up residence in the library and Jude hiding porn."Take it from somebody who's had practice with the opposite sex, Cas," Dean sighed, "It's best to leave a woman alone when she's angry. If you don't give her time to calm down, you'll end up regretting it. Severely."Cas only narrowed his eyes and tilted his head a bit, wearing his classic 'I do not understand' face. Dean smiled, because he absolutely loved seeing that look on his angel's pretty face, and stepped around the bed to plant a kiss on the edge of Cas's cheekbone."I'm gonna run to the kitchen. You want anything?" Dean offered.Usually, Cas's automatic response was 'No, thank you.' But the guy must have been feeling adventurous tonight or something because he smiled a little and mumbled,"Would it be too much trouble to ask for warm Chamomile tea with honey?"Dean couldn't control the smile that flashed on his own face. Ah, dammit. How could a terrifyingly powerful angelic soldier look so freaking cute when asking for tea? Again, Dean leaned close to peck another kiss to Cas's adorable face."You got it, babe," he winked, "Be right back."The man left his angel smiling in their bedroom as he stepped out to head down the hall. The entire bunker was dark and quiet, so Dean naturally assumed that everyone was asleep. Hell, it was almost midnight. Everyone was bound to be exhausted. On the way to the kitchen, Dean had to slip passed Jude and Jessica's rooms - and found his little brother passed out on the floor.Sammy had fallen asleep with his back against the wall, waiting for his daughter's door to open. The muffled sound of Jess and Gabe's voices could be heard from outside. Gabe was still trying to make Jessie feel better, while Sam was left alone in the hall. Dean glanced along his weary brother, seeing the dark circles under his closed eyes and long arms twitching. Sam might have been asleep but his body was still aware of the cold stone floor underneath him. Poor kid. He really wanted a chance to make things right with his little girl...Dean paused to walk into Jude's room and retrieve a blanket for Sam, and noticed that Jude wasn't in bed. Dean didn't think much of it. Jude was probably in Jessie's room with Gabriel, trying to console her or something. He turned on the Batman night light in the corner before walking out to drape the blanket over Sam. The guy only flinched a little bit, but thankfully stayed asleep. Dean gave his brother's shoulder a small comforting pat, silently wishing that he could be of more use, before continuing his journey to the kitchen.Dean wasn't really sure what he wanted from the kitchen. Maybe a beer or something, since he was kind of thirsty. He strolled quietly into his favorite room in the bunker with the refrigerator in view... and noticed a figure sitting at the table in the dim light. Dean paused to double-take, feeling the urge to reach for his waistband out of instinct. But as soon as he saw the familiar silhouette of spiked hair, Dean realized it was his own son and exhaled the breath he had taken. Jude was sitting at the table by himself with a half-full glass of milk placed in front of him. The kid was so zoned out that he didn't notice his father come in.There was a look on Jude's face that Dean recognized immediately. His blue eyes were staring through the table; still and vacant, like he was thinking about too many things at once. Dean had witnessed that same look on Cas's face many times and it was frightfully uncanny how similar their expressions were. Dean made another pit stop from his expedition to the fridge to walk over and join his son at the table."Hey, little man," Dean said quietly.The sound of Dean's voice seemed to draw Jude out of his deep thoughts. The kid flinched a little bit and looked up to his father, where he gulped and reached out for his glass of milk."Oh, hey Dad," he mumbled back.Dean glanced down at the glass of milk on the table and felt amused. A late night glass of milk was basically the PG version of grabbing a cold beer to drink your thoughts away. It looked like Jude needed more than just a shot of dairy right now."You know what would go great with that glass of milk?" Dean asked.His son only glanced down and shook his head."Pie," Dean grinned with a wink.The man walked over to the fridge, dug out the half-eaten pecan pie that he had stashed in the back, grabbed two forks from the drawer nearby, and walked back over to the table. He slid into the seat across from Jude and sat the pie between them, taking the plastic lid off and holding a fork out to Jude. There was no denying that the kid needed some comfort right now. And a conversation over pie was definitely the answer. Jude timidly took the fork and smiled just a little."Lay it on me, buddy," Dean urged, digging into the pie for himself, "Tell me what's eating you." At first, it looked like Jude was going to argue the fact that he was upset at all. But after a second or two of deliberation - and a bite of pecan goodness - he sighed and looked down at the table."Dad," he began, his voice so much deeper than Dean remembered, "How do you know if... if somebody loves you?"Dean carefully slid the fork out of his mouth and blinked a few times. Love? Oh boy. Dean knew this topic was going to come up between him and Jude someday, but now? So soon? Did Jude have a crush on someone? It was one of the girls from Oliver's party, wasn't it? Maybe this had something to do with Jessica and Oliver going to that dance, or those magazines he brought home the other day. Whatever the reason, Dean suddenly found himself in the hot seat. His fifteen-year-old son was asking for 'love' advice and he had to be the one to supply an honest answer."Uhh," Dean muttered, scrambling to come up with something, "Well... First of all, there is a difference between liking someone and loving someone.""Oh," Jude breathed, "What's the difference?"Dean paused to take another bite from the pie, half because it tasted really good and half because he was trying to stall for time to come up with a good answer."It's... it's this little thing called 'devotion,'" Dean replied, "If someone likes you, they might flirt with you or send you gifts. They might do cute stuff that makes your belly feel all weird. And they'll generally like hanging out with you... But if someone loves you, they'll do all that and more. They'll love even the worst parts of you and prove how much they love you... Take me and your Papa for example," Dean said, briefly gesturing toward the empty kitchen doorway, "When we first met, I really liked him a lot. It didn't take me long to fall in love with him. But I didn't say anything about it because I didn't think he felt the same way... Until he turned against his own family to save me and Sam. And I realized that he did love me. He proved it by going against everything he ever knew, against Heaven itself, just to defend me. He made it clear that he loved me without ever saying a word. He was, and still is, devoted to our relationship... and if someone really loves you, Jude, they'll do something that proves it. You just have to pay attention."Jude gulped down a bite a pecan pie and slowly nodded. His blue eyes were gradually filling with hopefulness, but he was quiet for a few seconds. Probably letting it all sink in. Dean took another bite too and waited, preparing himself for anything that his kid might ask."What if..." Jude started and trailed off, "I mean, what if 'that someone' is mean sometimes? How can you tell if they really like you when they seem really mean and nice?"Dean was a little confused. Was someone doing mean things to his child? What kind of girl did Jude have a crush on? The first thing that came to Dean's mind when he heard the words 'mean' and 'nice' was how he and Cas acted a long time ago."Your Papa and I weren't very nice to each other when we first met," Dean admitted, "In fact, I - I actually punched him in the face once."The strangest look flashed across Jude's face. The kid's mouth fell open and he went a little pale in his seat."You... punched him? In the face?" Jude breathed."Yeah," Dean nodded shamefully."Did you break his nose and cheekbones, too?" Jude asked.Dean gave his son a weird look. Break his nose and cheekbones? That was oddly specific. What kind of question was that?"Uh, no. He's an angel. Punching him hurt me way more than it hurt him," Dean explained, "I guess the point I'm trying to make is that love is complicated, kid. It takes time, effort, forgiveness, and a whole lot of devotion. And you'll know it when you feel it... Know what I mean?"Though he seemed surprised, Jude nodded and chewed up some pie with a tiny smirk. Dean wasn't sure how hearing about his parents fist fighting made Jude happy, but he was glad it helped.While the two of them quietly shared their late night snack, footsteps entered the room. Dean glanced over to see the grungy half-demon shuffle his way to the fridge. Clarence didn't say a word or even spare a look toward Dean or Jude. He just opened the door, grabbed the jug of Sunny-D, popped the lid off, and drank some straight from the container. Dean huffed a breath of frustration. Really? Clarence was too lazy to grab a cup for that? Did he have to put his gross mouth all over the jug? Dean turned back to say something to Jude - and noticed how red the kid's cheeks were. Jude's blue eyes were nervously flickering between the pie and the demon across the room, trying to catch a glimpse of Clarence without being noticed...And suddenly, everything made sense.Holy shit.Jude had a crush on Clarence.Dean's eyes furiously whipped back and forth between his child and the ill-mannered demon at the fridge. What? No. Hell no. Him?! Clarence? No way! Dean could have swore that Jude liked girls, because of the magazines! But Clarence was a guy! And he wasn't even human! He was a demon! The only thing Dean could do was sit there and look between the two of them in utter shock.Clarence eventually lowered the jug and released a loud, echoing burp before wiping his mouth with his wrist and putting the Sunny-D back in the fridge. He shut the door and turned around to leave afterward, but slowed down when he saw Jude and Dean sitting at the table. His bloodshot eyes gravitated to Jude and Dean could see the bashfulness on his own child's face. After their almost intimate glance, Clarence met eyes with Dean... and raised a middle finger toward him with a smirk. At this point, Dean was already in a state of shock and couldn't properly respond to the playfully rude gesture. Clarence slipped back out of the kitchen without a word, leaving the place as silent as before.Dean slowly brought his attention back to Jude in front of him, who was holding down a smile toward the table. The way he poked at the pie with his fork was actually kind of adorable. Part of Dean wanted to be pissed. He suddenly agreed with all those things Cas said in bed the other night. Dean didn't want his child to be in love with a demonic, drug-addicted asshole!But as he sat and stared at his son, watching him smile and play with his food, Dean slowly began to change his mind. If the situation was reversed - if Dean was sitting at the table with John and talking about Cas - he wouldn't want his dad to freak out. It wouldn't be fair of John to deny Dean the opportunity of loving whoever he wanted, regardless of race or gender, just because he didn't approve of Cas. That was for Dean to decide, not John... And Dean recognized that this was another chance for him to be a better father than his own. He had to let Jude decide if Clarence was worth loving. All Dean could do was hope that Jude saw something better in Clarence than everyone else, because that kid had a lot of issues... The prolonged silence must have been too much because Jude eventually raised his head and scrunched his eyebrows."Dad?" he muttered, "You okay?"Looking down into his son's eyes - the beautiful blue oceans that he had memorized by heart - made a strange sense of warmth creep into Dean's veins. Aww. His son was in love for the first time. Jude was experiencing all those butterflies and squishy feelings; all the flirting and tiny gestures and hidden smiles. Dean remembered how much he loved having those feelings when he and Cas first started dating, and knowing that their son was in for it made Dean pleasantly proud."Uh... yeah," Dean answered.He carefully got up from the table and stepped around to lean over and give his son a gentle hug from above. He pecked a tiny kiss to the top of his head too, before reaching down to slide the container of pie closer to Jude."You go ahead and finish that, little man," Dean allowed, stepping back to admire the sight of his son's pink cheeks and dopey smile, "I'm gonna get some Chamomile tea with honey for your Papa."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Learning about his son's attraction to that blonde demon kid made Dean pretty curious. There must have been something about Clarence that Jude really liked, but for the life of him, Dean couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was the whole cliché 'bad boy' thing. Or the fact that he had a guitar. Or because he talked shit and wasn't afraid of getting his lights knocked out. Whatever it was, Jude liked it. And Dean wanted to know the secret ingredient that made Clarence stand out to his son.Dean didn't tell Cas about Jude having a crush on Clarence. He figured that it was best to keep Cas in the dark about it for now, especially after seeing what happened between Jess and Sam. Dean knew that his husband was already leery of Clarence being around their child, and the last thing he wanted was for Jude and Cas to have a falling out over a demon boy. So, when the eldest Winchester ended up laying awake for most of the night trying to reach a comfortable resolution about his son's blossoming relationship, Cas was understandably worried. He offered to put Dean to sleep with his grace - or ease him to sleep with a nice blowjob - but Dean politely declined on both. With Jude on his mind, Dean wasn't quite in the mood for naughty playtime. He decided to snuggle up to Cas's sweet-smelling warmth instead, and finally let his thoughts quiet down.The next morning, Dean woke up in a pretty determined mood. He felt the need to have a nice, long chat with Clarence; ask him a few questions, learn what his aspirations were, figure out if he had any skeletons peeking out from that giant closet he was hiding in. Dean's first stop, however, was in the kitchen for coffee. He couldn't interrogate his son's possible boyfriend without a nice shot of caffeine. Dean poured two mugs, one for himself and one for Sammy, before exiting the kitchen and heading down the hall.Sam was, of course, still camped out in front of Jessica's closed door. At this point, the guy slightly resembled someone who had just been bitten by a zombie; as if a disease was slowly taking over. His face was pale and weary, eyes were red with dark circles, lips were chapped, and the wrinkles on his forehead were deep where he had been frowning so much. Dean actually felt pretty bad for his little brother, seeing him sit on the floor with his legs crossed and head resting in his hands. His ass was probably killing him."She still won't come out, huh?" Dean mumbled quietly.He held out one of the steaming mugs to Sammy when the guy looked up. Sam exhaled and shook his head as he reached for the fresh coffee."Thanks," he breathed.Dean nodded and glanced toward Jessica's closed door. There weren't any voices coming from inside this time. Jessica was probably asleep with Gabe watching over her. Dean could tell that Gabriel was upset with Sam last night, too. He and Jess had both locked themselves away for hours, but maybe it was a good thing. A little time apart was just what the doctor ordered."Don't worry, Sammy," Dean said, leaning over to pat him on the shoulder, "They'll come around soon."Sam slowly nodded but Dean could tell that the kid didn't agree. He just slumped back against the wall and took a long sip from his coffee. Not wanting to linger and make Sam feel worse, Dean continued further into the bunker. Everything was quiet, as usual. With Sam, Jess, and Gabriel all stationed at her bedroom, and Cas busy helping Jude make his bed and straighten his room a little, Dean thought it was a perfect opportunity for him to scope out the demon kid.Clarence was in the study, like he had been for the past few days. This time, he was sitting at one of the tables with his guitar out of its case. He was adjusting the strings and giving them a few tiny plucks, tuning it a little. Dean narrowed his eyes toward the shiny instrument as he took a drink from his coffee and stepped into the room. That was a pretty nice guitar. Probably stolen. But at least he had good taste."Hey," Dean uttered loudly to announce his own arrival.Clarence tossed his head back to shake some of the greasy blonde hair out of his face so that he could look at Dean. The eldest Winchester gestured toward the guitar as he walked up to the table."Gibson," Dean pointed out, "Nice choice. Jimmy Page had a double-neck Gibson, you know." The demon kid tilted his head and gave Dean a bizarre look."Who?" he spat.Dean almost cringed. The kid didn't know who Jimmy Page was? Strike one."He's the guitarist for Led Zeppelin," Dean explained gruffly."Ooooh," Clarence hummed with a smile and a nod, "Zeppelin, huh? They've got some good songs. I've tried copying the riff from 'Whole Lotta Love,' but I'm not too good at it."The scowl slowly slipped away from Dean's face. Clarence thought that Zeppelin had some good songs? Maybe he wasn't such a bad kid after all..."You, uh, play the guitar a lot?" Dean asked, still probing the kid with casual questions.Clarence paused to look down and tweak the strings a bit more."Eh. It gets me money on the street sometimes. Gotta pay for drugs and condoms somehow, right?" he asked.From the twinkle of playfulness in the demon's eyes, Dean could tell that Clarence was attempting an awful joke. But Dean didn't find it very funny. In fact, he found it kind of pitiful. Clarence was still trying to act tough, even though in reality, everyone knew that he was just a scared and lonely kid. Suddenly, Dean felt like he could relate more to a demon than anyone else on the planet..."So you wanna be a rockstar?" he asked, ignoring the joke but trying to keep the conversation going."Ha," Clarence scoffed, returning his attention to the guitar in his hands, "Uh, no. I just like to play around with the strings.""Who do you listen to, other than Zeppelin?" Dean asked, feeling genuinely curious."Are you trying to fill out a questionnaire about me or something?" the blonde kid snapped.Dean only blinked at him, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to come out and admit that he was actually trying to get to know the kid, even though that was exactly what he was doing. Luckily, Clarence seemed to realize that his remark was a little rude, so he dialed it back."... I like Papa Roach. Three days grace. Nine Inch Nails. Alice In Chains. Korn... You know, the good stuff they don't play anymore."Dean resisted the urge to flinch. That was the good stuff? What, no Bob Segar? No Foreigner, Kansas, or Rolling Stones? Not even the Beatles? Maybe Dean needed to reinstate that strike...Across the room, a burst of black smoke appeared next to a bookshelf. Dean and Clarence both turned to see Crowley, Bobby, and Rowena all standing together. The three of them looked the same as always; Crowley sophisticated, Rowena smug, and Bobby done with both of them. As soon as Clarence saw Crowley, the kid gasped and put his guitar down to dash around the table."Hey! Hell people!" he sang, wearing the first genuine smile that Dean ever saw on his thin face, "Did you find her? Did you find my mom?!"Crowley scrunched his nose and took a step back when Clarence ran up to him, as if he was afraid the kid was going to clobber him with an unwanted hug."No, not yet," the demon king barked, seeming glad that Clarence stopped short, "but that's why we're here.""We need a strand of yer pretty hair, love," Rowena said, waltzing up to hold out her hand and smirk up at Clarence.The demon kid looked a little confused. Hell, Dean was lost too. Why did they need a strand of his hair? Were they doing a DNA test or something?"M - My hair?" Clarence repeated."Indeed," Rowena nodded, "I'm going to use a spell that -"Before Rowena even finished her sentence, Clarence reached up and yanked out a huge wad of his own hair. Dean flinched when he heard the quick rip of the strands being pulled out by the root. Holy shit, that must have hurt! Clarence winced a little, but then held the chunk of blonde toward Rowena. The witch seemed pretty surprised, too. She only blinked between Clarence's freshly-plucked hair and his grinning face."Take as much as you need," he shrugged, "Some spells don't work on the first try. Might as well be prepared, right?"Rowena appeared oddly pleased with Clarence's weird comment. She carefully took the hair from his hand and combed it out while giving him a smirk."Aye. Only someone who's had practice with witchcraft would know that," she pointed out with a raised eyebrow.A proud look bloomed on Clarence's face as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the table."You pick up a thing or two when you live with an entire coven," he explained, "So, is this spell gonna find my mom?""That's the idea, lamb," Rowena nodded, raising the handful of blonde hair, "A wee bit of this will make it easier to find her.""Or find out what happened to her," Crowley added bitterly.Rowena, Bobby, and Clarence all turned to give the demon king a few harsh stares. As rude as his comment was, Crowley only cocked an eyebrow back at them."What? I'm being rational," he snipped, "We've been looking for that blasted woman for years, let alone days. Clearly, the odds that Meg is alive are slimmer than a poor man's wallet. No use in getting the boy's hope's up."Dean expected Clarence to get upset at Crowley's blunt comments, but the kid just glared a hole through the demon's face. Bobby huffed an audible breath before shoving passed his negative husband."You keep talkin' like that, and the odds of you cuddlin' up to me tonight will be even slimmer," he hissed on the way by.Dean quickly took a drink of his coffee to hide the smile that flashed on his face. Hearing his no-nonsense uncle threaten the king of Hell's cuddle privileges was too funny to ignore. While Clarence and Rowena spoke to each other - something about how spells work differently when they're cast from different places - Bobby wandered over to stand next to Dean at the table. The old man probably wanted to get away from his quarreling demonic family for a minute and talk with a normal human."Hey, Dean," he started, keeping his voice low, "How's things goin' with the kid?"In his mind, Dean quickly cycled through the events that took place over the last few days; the embarrassing sex talk with the kids, everything that happened with Jessica and the dance, finding out that Jude had a crush on Clarence... Wow. So many things had happened since the last time he talked to Bobby, Dean didn't know where to start."Uh... okay, I guess," he mumbled toward his coffee, swishing the thick dark liquid around in the mug."He ain't tried to kill any of you in your sleep or anything?" Bobby asked.The old man was probably joking, but given Clarence's terrible first impression, he could have been sincere. Bobby needed to know about Clarence's real character."No," Dean replied, talking low enough that only Bobby could hear him, "I overlook a lot of his bullshit, now. The, uh, the kid has actually had a pretty rough go, Bobby. The other day, he... he told us a little bit about his childhood. If you could even call it a childhood. Said he did anything he had to do to stay alive when he was young... He probably had to steal a lot... even prostitute himself... Poor kid..."Somehow, mentioning those horrible things out loud made Dean's stomach feel queasy. He remembered what it was like to be nine years old and have to do anything to keep Sammy alive, and stay alive for Sammy in the process. Dean didn't realize that his own voice had trailed off until he felt Bobby's hand rest on his shoulder. He tore his eyes away from his mug and raised his sight to the old man next to him. Hints of pity and concern tinted Bobby's aged face while his eyes gazed toward Clarence nearby."Abandonment, homelessness, addiction, prostitution... Geez, could this kid's biography get any worse?" he breathed.Dean took a deep breath and joined Bobby in staring at Clarence, watching him and Rowena talk and smile. Over all, Clarence wasn't necessarily a bad kid. Yeah, he talked shit, drank juice straight from the jug, kicked his feet up on the furniture, and never said 'please' or 'thank you.' But admittedly, Dean was guilty of those things too. Having Jude and Jessica around made him start leading by example, though. And that was what Clarence needed. He needed someone to show him how to behave. He just needed a family..."Do you really think Meg is alive?" Dean blurted, looking back to Bobby.The old man shrugged."She might be," he allowed, "If she is, do you think she'd welcome him back with open arms after all these years? He's practically an adult now.""I've seen the note she wrote him. Trust me, she wants him back," Dean instantly answered.Bobby nodded but tilted his head to the side, making his hat turn a little crooked."But if she's not alive... What's gonna happen to him?" he asked quietly.Dean's heart dropped a bit. Oh, man. What was going to happen to Clarence if his mom was dead? The only time he ever truly smiled was when they were talking about her. If Meg had already kicked the bucket, what would he do? Would he go back to Chicago? Would he try to hang around the bunker? As much as Dean felt sorry for Clarence, the bunker wasn't a home for lost children. He couldn't let the demon kid live here, especially if he had the hots for Dean's only son. Plus, Clarence would eat them out of house and home in a week. It probably wouldn't be a good arrangement...But Bobby was starting to get that look in his eye. Dean had seen it before; way back when the Winchesters were searching for a place to live. His gray eyes were misty and twinkling, and there was a smile threatening to grow just beneath his beard."What?" Dean hissed, narrowing his own eyes with a smirk."Nothing," Bobby replied, "Rowena really seems to like the kid. And don't let Crowley's macho-man complex fool you. He's pretty fond of him, too. Keeps askin' about him to make sure he's still here... It's just nice to see them care about somethin' other than makin' deals and playin' with magic, you know?"Dean nodded, lifted his mug, and took another sip of warm coffee as he watched Clarence, Rowena, and Crowley interact in front of them."Yeah," he mumbled, enjoying the sense of pride and joy hidden on Crowley's face."Speakin' of complexes," Bobby mentioned, "Where's Sam?"Dean sighed and swished his drink around again, thinking about his brother still parked in front of Jessica's room."Sam is currently sitting in the dog house," he answered.After readjusting his long legs for the millionth time and situating Dickie on his lap, Sam arched his back and yawned. His ass was completely numb on the stone floor and the sight of gray hallway tiles were starting to annoy him, but at least he had coffee. Dean was the best big brother in the world; always taking care of him, even when he didn't deserve it.It had been almost sixteen hours since Sam had seen his daughter. He honestly didn't mean to ruin her night at the dance, especially by spilling punch all over her in front of everyone. God, just remembering the sound of the splash followed by the shock and disappointment on Jess's sweet face was enough to make Sam feel sick again. By trying to prevent Jessica from having a terrible night, he actually caused it. It was like some kind of weird karma or something. A self fulfilling prophecy. Shitty parenting at its worst. And the most painfully humbling part of it all was that Sam had no one to blame but himself. He knew he had royally screwed the pooch this time. The only way he could correct this mistake was by making it up to Jessica somehow. But how was he supposed to do that when she wouldn't even see him?Still beating himself up like a mangey mutt on the side of the highway, Sam slowly took a sip of steaming coffee and settled back against the wall to pet Dickie's soft fur. He figured that it would probably be a few days before he saw Jessica again. For all he knew, Gabriel might have flown her out of the bunker to spend some quality time and help her feel better. Sam actually liked that idea. Jess and Gabe needed to be happy, even if that meant Sam wasn't included...The sound of a turning doorknob made Sam's ears perk up.The man leaned forward and looked toward Jessica's door, where he saw light finally peek out from inside. As soon as he realized that the door was opening, he immediately shifted Dickie into the floor and stood up. Sam expected to see Jessica, but Gabriel came out instead. The archangel stepped into the hallway but left the door cracked open at his back. The two of them met eyes and Sam did his best to cling to hope. Was this it? Was Jessie finally ready to see him again? Gabe let out a long sigh."She's still pretty upset," he started, giving Sam a warning glance, "but she agreed to give you a chance to apologize."Relief flooded Sam's entire body. Oh, thank God. He was finally going to see his little girl again. Gabriel's voice dropped even lower as he stared up at Sam."Do us both a favor and try not to make things worse, okay?" Gabe hissed.Sam didn't fight back on that one. Gabe had just as much right to be mad at him as Jessie did. After all, Sam did sneak away from Gabe to get out of the bunker. The archangel turned to the side and gestured toward the door, finally giving Sam a clear shot to Jessica's room. After taking a large breath and placing his mug on the floor - where Dickie instantly raced over to lap up the coffee from inside - Sam carefully walked in to see his daughter.Jessie's bedroom was exactly the way he knew it. The lavender walls were extremely soft in the dim light of the lamp on the dresser, the air smelled of sweet summertime daisies, and the shelves were full of books. Jessica was sitting on her bed in a white hoodie and a pair of gray sweatpants. She was hugging her knees and looking the other way, obviously trying to ignore Sam as he walked in. Her curly blonde hair was covering her arms and shoulders like a blanket, and Sam could see her stuffed rabbit peeking out from her side. Though he couldn't see her precious face, Sam knew his daughter's eyes were probably pink from crying. And the idea alone made him feel worse.Gabriel stepped around Sam and walked over to stand by the bookshelf. He nodded toward their teenage daughter and raised his eyebrows, obviously wanting Sam to start patching things up. At first, Sam didn't know what to say. What could he say? He had ruined Jessica's first date by embarrassing her in front of hundreds of strangers."H - hey, Jess," he said as softly as possible.Jessica didn't look up. She only tightened her arms around her knees, silently refusing to acknowledge that he was even there. But she was listening. Sam was grateful for that much. Though he felt unwelcome, Sam brought himself to sit on the very edge of Jess's bed. She needed to hear a genuine apology, and after several lonely hours of contemplation, Sam felt like he finally knew how to explain himself."I know you're mad at me. And you have every right to be," Sam began, staring down at his own folded hands to concentrate, "I'm sorry, Jessica. I do a lot of terrible, selfish things. But I only do them because... because I know that I don't deserve you."There was a little bit of movement from Jessica's end of the bed. Sam glanced over to see that she had raised her head a bit. She really was listening and Sam was very glad. He really wanted her to understand his reasoning. A lump was starting to form in his throat when he started again."I don't know if I ever told you this," he almost whispered, "but I was afraid to have a child. It took me a little while to warm up to the idea because... bad things happen to me. I'm bad luck," he admitted, looking away and coughing to try and get rid of the lump in his throat. But it didn't budge, so he continued by saying, "It actually took your Papa and me a few tries just to conceive you... And when you were born, I didn't even get to hold you for two days."Jessica finally raised her head to give him a look of slight surprise and Sam instantly felt better. It seemed like she wanted to ask him why, so he went ahead and answered the question without hearing it."We had to deliver you early because of complications, and Cas and Gabe had to keep you surrounded in grace," Sam explained, "So I only got to see you from a distance. I was worried that I had somehow passed on my bad luck to you. I didn't want you to have to go through life like I did... I eventually got to hold you in my arms. And when I did, I swore to myself that I was never going to let anyone hurt you. I devoted my life to making sure that you had the best life possible, no matter what I had to do."Sam paused and Jessica fidgeted with the sleeves of her hoodie, seeming a little curious to hear what he was going to say next. But Sam had to work up the courage just to say it, because the memory made his heart ache."Jess, do you remember that time we went to the park at night when you were three-years-old? When you woke up and turned those angels into glitter?" he asked.Jessica nodded her head a bit, making her blonde curls slide around her shoulders. She was so much older now than she was then. The difference made Sam swallow harshly and look back down. He could already feel the hot tears trying to swell in his eyes as he twisted his fingers together."The angels... They told me that I wasn't doing a very good job as your dad. And they were right. At the time, I couldn't give you some of the things that you needed, like a mother-figure and a home. The angels offered to take you and raise you in heaven... and I... I almost let them take you," he choked, having to pause and clear his throat again, "I almost made a giant mistake. I almost gave you away because I felt like you deserved a better parent than I could be... And I've been trying to make up for that ever since."Sam sniffled and tried to calm down, but he was too afraid to look back at his daughter. He was too ashamed to see her face."I know I cling to you too much," he added with a nod as he wiped his eyes, "I know that I'm overprotective and rude to people that try to come close to you. But it's because I don't want to lose you. I've already lost too many people. And I cannot ever imagine losing you... I'm not trying to excuse what I did last night. Your Papa is right, I should have never left the bunker. I feel horrible for making you so upset... I just want you to know that I'm sorry."After a bracing breath, Sam eventually turned to look at his daughter again. Jessica was resting Indian-style on her bed now, with her hands in her lap and her eyes wide. She was blinking at him, but her expression seemed torn. Sam knew just from looking at her that she was still a little hesitant to forgive him. As he stared at his daughter, Sam realized that he needed to do more than just say a verbal apology. He had to prove that he was sorry.... and he knew just how to do it.With Jess and Gabe both watching, Sam leaned over to reach into his pocket and pull out his cell phone. Though his stomach was churning with discomfort, Sam forced himself to scroll down his contacts until he found Oliver's cell phone number. He pressed the call button and 'speaker' afterward, letting it ring out loud. Curiosity had engulfed Jess's face and Gabe looked confused - until the ringing stopped and Oliver's voice filled the air."H - hello?" he asked timidly.As soon as she heard Ollie's voice, Jessica's eyes lit up and her mouth fell open a bit. She was stunned that Sam had actually called her would-be boyfriend. Gabe, on the other hand, had nestled into a smug expression and leaned back with his arms crossed, looking proud."Hey, Oliver. It's Sam," Sam said toward his phone."Oh... Hi, Mr. Winchester," Oliver said back nervously, sounding a little intimidated, "How is Jessie? I mean, is she doing okay? I know she was pretty upset..."Sam paused to study his daughter, watching her nod a little with a tiny smile."Uh, yeah. She seems to be doing better now," he answered, "Listen, Oliver, I'm really sorry about the dance. I didn't mean to ruin your night.""Oh. That's okay," Oliver assured, even though it wasn't okay, "I'm just worried about Jessie.""You're not mad at me? Even a little?" Sam gently pressed, trying to get the kid to admit the truth."N - no," he replied carefully, "But Mom is, though. She said some pretty mean things in Spanish when she heard what happened. Even mentioned something about mounting a moose head on the wall and throwing darts at it. I'm kinda glad you weren't around to hear it."A tiny giggle came from Gabriel's side of the room and Sam paused to look at the archangel, who was grinning with a red face as if he was holding down more laughter. Obviously, Gabe and Jane were going to have lots of fun never letting Sam live down this catastrophe..."Me too," Sam replied to the phone, "Anyway, I'm really sorry for messing up your night with Jess... And I was wondering if maybe you would like to take her out on another date soon, since I ruined the first one."Both of Jessica's hands shot up to cover her open mouth and Sam could see the surprise and excitement shining in her eyes. She really wanted to go on a date with Oliver, and hearing Sam arrange it must have been pretty shocking. Hell, even Sam was shocked to hear himself saying it. But he wanted to redeem himself. And if dating Oliver made his daughter happy, he wanted to let her do it, no matter how much it scared him."Wh - what? Really?" Oliver stuttered, "Yeah! I mean, yes. I would, um, I would love to take her out. If - If that's okay."Sam smiled a little, seeing Jessica nod with her face all lit up."It's okay with me," Sam replied."Good! Because there's a farm just outside town that's having this Harvest Festival thing tomorrow, with a corn maze and stuff, and I was thinking maybe we could go together. Like, not 'together' together. But like as friends. Just, um, whatever she wants to do. You know?"Jessica muffled a giggle with the sleeve of her hoodie, apparently finding Oliver's jumbled words hilarious. Sam smiled back at her, feeling so relieved. He loved hearing his daughter's laugh. And Oliver was pretty funny when he was nervous."That sounds perfect," Sam agreed, "How about Gabe and I take you guys at about one o'clock tomorrow and drop you off? I promise I won't come back until you're ready to leave."Sam added on the last part just to make it clear that he wouldn't be repeating the awful mistake he made the night before. On the line, Oliver gave a squeaky, high-pitched laugh."Um, yeah. That - that'll be good. Thanks," the kid said."No problem," Sam replied, "We'll see you tomorrow, Ollie. Thank you for taking Jessica... And I'm sorry again about the dance.""It's all good," Ollie dismissed, pausing for a second before mumbling, "Mr. Winchester? Can you do me a favor?"Though Sam was a bit worried about what that favor would be, he felt he needed to oblige."Sure. What is it?" he asked."Could you tell Jessie that I thought she looked very pretty last night? I mean, even when her dress got wet, she was still the prettiest girl there. I still would have danced with her, if she wanted to stay," Oliver uttered quietly.Sam gulped as he blinked at Oliver's name on his phone. Wow. That was the sweetest thing he had ever heard a teenage boy say. Sam glanced toward Jessica, whose face had faded into a look of awe, and smiled again."I'll be sure she gets the message," he promised."Okay. Thanks," Ollie hummed happily, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow.""Yep. Tomorrow," Sam nodded, "Bye, Oliver.""Bye, Mr. Winchester," he sang back.Sam carefully ended the call and lowered his phone, feeling like he had just completed the first step in a long rehabilitation process. He really hoped that pouring his heart out and setting up another date for Jessica and Oliver would be enough to make up for that awful thing he did. Though, he would totally understand if Jessica didn't want to forgive him right away. After all, he earned the punishment that he was given.But to his pleasant surprise, Jessica actually crawled over to smile warmly at him before wrapping both arms around his neck. Sam gulped again, feeling the lump in his throat trying to make a reappearance. Part of him was so afraid that Jessica would never want to even see him again, and now he was lost in one of her gentle hugs. Sam slowly reached up to hug his daughter back, feeling undeservedly blessed."Thanks, Dad," she whispered, "I love you."Sam couldn't stop the tiny tear that escaped the corner of his eye. He breathed in the flowery smell of Jessica's blonde curls and tried very hard to hold himself together."I love you too, Jess," he replied.While the two of them quietly rekindled their bond, Sam glanced over to look at his husband near the bookshelf, who was watching it all with a smirk. Gabriel seemed proud of Sam for being able to fix this mistake all on his own. The archangel stood up and leaned over to peck a kiss to the side of Sam's head."For the record, kiddo, you're not bad luck," Gabe breathed, running his small fingers through Sam's hair, "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
After having a talk with his dad over pie the night before, Jude felt like he understood his own emotions a little better. The heat he felt in his stomach was probably his body trying to tell him that he really liked Clarence, because it only started burning whenever Jude thought about him or saw him. At least now, Jude knew that it was a normal reaction. But Dad also said that liking someone and loving someone were two different things, separated by the act of devotion.And running across a room to catch someone who was falling from a bookshelf seemed like a pretty big act of devotion... Didn't it? Clarence and the incident that happened between them in the library were the main topics of Jude's thoughts for the entire day after. His morning started with his Papa waking him up - like always - and helping him straighten his room a bit. The two of them didn't say much, but Jude could tell that Papa was worried about him. More than once, Jude caught his Papa staring at him from across the room with giant eyes and a pouted mouth. Oh man, did Dad tell Papa about their talk last night? Did Papa think that Jude liked someone? Ugh, Jude really hoped that his parents never found out that it was Clarence.Of course Jude was still worried and upset for his cousin Jessie, who had locked herself in her room. He even went to see her once, but she didn't feel like talking much. So he hugged her, told her that he was there if she needed him, and left to give her the space that she wanted. Uncle Sam was still sitting outside her door when Jude came out, waiting patiently for his chance to talk to her. Jude and his uncle gave each other half smiles and waved but never said a word.Since there wasn't much he could do for Jessie, Jude walked the halls of the Batcave to be alone and think. It made him feel kind of like Bruce Wayne, too; roaming around a giant underground mansion to try and solve a mystery. Was it true that Clarence liked Jude? He did save him from falling, but did that really mean anything? Would Clarence have done the same thing for Jessie? Or even one of the adults? Maybe Jude was reading too much into it. Maybe Clarence was just being nice and helpful by catching Jude... But what about the fire thing? Why did he start that fire in Jude's stomach by making fun of his parents? And why did he single Jude out when they were talking about sex stuff in the kitchen? Clarence didn't tell Jessie to stay a virgin as long as possible. He only stared at Jude when he said that. Were those acts of devotion, too? Or just the evidence of Clarence trying to be nice?By the time dinner rolled around, Jude's stomach was in fiery knots. He finally gave up on trying to figure out his feelings and wandered toward the kitchen when he smelled the savory aroma of warm food. Inside, he found his parents pouring bowls of chili for everyone. Jessie and uncle Sammy must have made up, because they and uncle Gabe were all sitting at the table together and chatting about some kind of festival. While Papa served everyone, Dad stepped over to meet Jude in the doorway."Hey, little man," he smiled, drying his hands on a dish towel, "Wanna do me a favor?""Sure," Jude answered."Okay," Dad smiled, "Go tell Clarence to get his skinny butt in here and eat while it's hot."Blood drained from Jude's face. Clarence? Dad actually wanted Jude to go and get Clarence? Oh boy, Jude was so glad that his dad didn't know that Clarence was the one that they were talking about last night. Because if he did, he probably wouldn't want Jude to be near Clarence, let alone ask him to come to dinner. Jude realized that he was just standing there like a slack-jawed idiot and quickly coughed to cover up the awkwardness."Uh, sure. I mean, if I have to," Jude purposefully grumbled, trying to give the impression that it annoyed him.Dad smirked and patted Jude's shoulder, seeming completely unaware of Jude's true feelings, and the teenager backed out of the room. Jude left his happy family gathered in the kitchen and took off for the study as fast as possible. Phew, that was close. Anymore talking and Dad probably would have figured out about Jude's feelings for the demon guy.The closer he got to the bunker library, the more Jude felt strangely nervous. He hadn't seen Clarence since he interrupted Jude and his dad's talk to get some juice the night before. Of course Clarence lifted his middle finger toward Dad before he walked out, which made things even more uncomfortable for everyone. But Jude hoped that things would be different today, especially since Dad was actually inviting Clarence to eat with them for once.Jude forced himself to take slow and steady steps into the library, looking around for stringy blonde hair and hazel-green eyes. The teenager tried to keep a tough and calm composure as he walked, not wanting Clarence to see the weakness he was hiding. But the place was empty. Clarence's usual spot between the last two bookshelves, where he had formed a makeshift nest with borrowed bedclothes, was back to how it was before he came. The blankets, the pillows, his guitar case, his jacket and boots - they were all gone. Jude spun around in a sudden panic. Where did Clarence go? He didn't leave, did he? They hadn't found his mom yet! He couldn't leave!Before Jude reached a full freak-out, a muffled noise drifted to his ears from the hall. He turned to face the entrance of the study and took a few steps, hearing the sound grow louder as he moved closer. As Jude began to follow it down a hallway toward the bedrooms, he slowly realized that he was hearing a guitar. The vibrating strings were playing a very specific melody, luring Jude closer like a bear to honey. It was the last verse of 'Hey Jude,' the part with all the 'nah-nah-nah-nah's. Jude had heard that song all his life, but never like this. Never on a guitar, being played so passionately.By the time he found the source of the music, Jude's heart was beating fast in his chest. His ears were tingling, absorbing the rich sound of his most beloved song as he timidly stepped around a corner to see inside the room it was coming from. It was a spare bedroom, one of many scattered throughout the bunker. The Winchesters had never redecorated the particular space, so it still had the dusty 1930s furniture and ugly grayish-brown walls... and Clarence was sitting on the tiny twin bed, with his back to the door and his guitar in his hands.The very first thing Jude noticed - and was unable to ignore - was that Clarence didn't have a shirt on. His bare, pale skin was the most colorful thing in the room, other than his sandy hair and tan guitar. Jude's eyes soaked in the sight of Clarence's bare back as he listened to him play, watching the way his shoulder muscles flexed as his arms and hands moved along the instrument. Clarence's ribs and spine were easily visible under his tight skin. For a moment, the sight actually reminded Jude of those animal shelter commercials that showed starving dogs. Man, it was no wonder Clarence was in the kitchen so much. Maybe he wasn't lying when he said that he hadn't eaten for a few days before finding the bunker. The second thing Jude noticed as he stood in the doorway admiring the song, was that there was a long scar across the top of Clarence's back. It was very faint, stretching horizontally from one shoulder to the other. What happened to him? Did someone hurt him? Did he scrape it on barbed wire fence trying to escape from somewhere? Roll around on something sharp? The longer Jude stared at it, the worse he felt. Scarred. Starving. Addicted. Alone. Clarence had been through a lot. But somehow, he still had enough kindness and strength to catch an angel falling from a bookshelf...The demon's hands eventually slowed down on the guitar and he paused to shake the hair out of his face - which caused him to catch a glimpse of Jude standing in the doorway. Jude instantly gulped and shifted around nervously. Uh-oh. Clarence's eyes were on him. The guy probably thought that Jude was stalking him or something. 'Oh, God, he's staring at you!' the voice in Jude's head shouted. 'Don't just stand there, say something! Say anything!'"Y - You're playing my song," Jude blurted.After the words left his mouth, Jude cringed internally. Ugh, why did he say that? He could have said anything, but that was the sentence his brain chose to say? Luckily, Clarence seemed to find it funny. The demon guy shifted on his bed a little to face Jude, which allowed Jude to see the glasses he was wearing. They were reading glasses with thick black frames that made him look intellectual. And handsome. But they kind of took Jude by surprise. He didn't know Clarence wore glasses."Yeah. Well, it's your fault," Clarence muttered back, lifting his guitar out of his lap to place it on the bed, "You're the one who got the damn thing stuck in my head."Before Jude could find a reply to Clarence's statement, the demon stood up to fully face the door - which gave Jude a clear view of his bare chest. Just like his back, Clarence's ribs were visible around his torso. But the sight of so much skin - and ab muscles, and pink nipples, and hip bones, and the tiny trail of dark hair that led from Clarence's belly button down into his pants - actually made Jude's own body react. The same response he had with the dirty magazines in Ollie's bag was back, and magnified, making sweat break across Jude's forehead and his breath turn raspy. The fire in his stomach was burning like a volcano, feeding lava into his veins. Jude suddenly felt unbearably hot.Thankfully, Clarence didn't seem to notice that Jude was having an internal crisis. The demon must have mistaken Jude's silence for disgust because he ripped the black frames off his own face and glared at them."I know, I look like shit in these," he grumbled, tossing the glasses on the bed, "but they get rid of my headaches sometimes, so I keep 'em."Jude forced a nod even though he was zoned out. It was kind of hard to concentrate on what Clarence was saying when the guy's body was only half clothed. Jude tore his eyes away from Clarence's chest and glanced over at the glasses that were now laying next to the guitar."I... um... I think they look good on you," he complimented with honesty.Clarence scoffed out loud and shook his head."You're a terrible liar, Jay," he muttered, "No need to sin just to make me feel better."Jude opened his mouth to defend his own truthful statements, but turning his attention back to Clarence made the words disappear. The demon was roughly scratching his own arms, digging lines into his skin with his nails. There was a fidgety shakiness about him; twitchy hands, elevated breathing, lip chewing. It seemed like Clarence was having a hard time focusing too, but not for the same reason Jude was. Wanting to help them both relax, Jude tried bringing up a new topic to talk about."Where did you get that guitar?" he asked quietly, pointing to the glossy instrument on the bed.Thankfully, Clarence stopped scratching himself long enough to reach over and pick his guitar back up with a smile. Though his eyes were still red around the irises, they were full of playfulness when they raised to meet Jude's stare again."Rudolph helped me loot it from Santa's sleigh when he wasn't looking," he smirked.Jude wasn't sure how to respond, so he just blinked in wonder. That was either a terrible joke or an equally terrible lie. Clarence gave a half-hearted chuckle afterward, which made Jude realize that it was an attempt at humor. The demon looked down and softly strummed the strings with his trembling fingers."Actually, there's a music shop in Chicago that I used to go in to stay dry when it was raining outside," Clarence explained lowly, his voice solid with sincerity, "The old man that ran the place let me hang out there a lot. I slept in the back room a few times... Anyway, this guitar got damaged when it was shipped to the store, and he asked me if I wanted it. I said, 'Hell yeah, I want it!' I was ten or eleven at the time, and I've been playing around with it ever since. He even taught me a few things too, before he died of a heart attack. His asshole son took over the place and never let me back in, but at least I got to keep the guitar."Clarence lifted the instrument up and spun it around, letting Jude see the back. The neck had a tiny crack in the wood that appeared to have been filled with glue, and the back panel looked like it had been smashed in and fixed. Jude was pretty surprised to see any damage at all because it played so beautifully. Man, Clarence was really lucky to have a guitar with such a cool story."It's really nice," Jude praised, letting a smile fill his own face, "I like how you play. I mean, it doesn't even sound broken. It sounds like a brand new guitar."Jude wasn't just saying that to be nice. He actually meant it. And the more he thought about it, the more Jude realized how much Clarence and his guitar had in common; both broken and damaged, but still so beautiful. Clarence must have enjoyed hearing Jude's honeyed words because his smile softened and his eyes danced all over Jude's face."Thanks," he mumbled, carefully laying the guitar back on the bed, "I try to take care of it because it's the only thing I've really got, you know? That and my mom's jacket."Both of the boys seemed to look toward the open guitar case across the room at the same time. The red velvet lining of the case had multiple postcards, most from Illinois and Missouri, taped to the inside of the lid. But the very edge of Clarence's mom's jacket was visible. Jude smiled at the dark purple-ish leather, remembering the sweet note tucked inside the pocket."I'm sure Crowley and Bobby are close to finding her," Jude reminded, eying Clarence from the side.The demon took a deep breath, making his flat bare stomach extend out and shrink back, and let the smile on his own face widen."Yeah. With that witch helping, it'll get done in no time. Witches are the best," he grinned, pausing to smile fondly to himself, "The coven I grew up with always told me that my mom was probably out there looking for me. She might have left me when I was born, but at least she was nice enough to leave a note. That means she cares, right? I just want to meet her, that's all. See her face. Ask her questions. Maybe hug her... Have you seen her before?"Jude glanced back to Clarence's face and could tell that the guy was genuinely curious. It was actually really nice to see Clarence hopeful and happy for once. Though it made Jude feel bad about the answer he had to give."No. Sorry," he muttered, shaking his head, "I never heard my dads talk about anyone named Meg before."Clarence seemed to accept Jude's reply. The demon guy sighed a bit and started scratching his arms again, which made Jude feel worse. He wished that there was more that he could say to encourage Clarence."But, um... I bet she's a really nice lady," Jude offered shyly, "and pretty, too. You probably take a lot after her... er, I - I'm not calling you pretty. You're not pretty. I mean, you're not ugly either, but I didn't - I didn't mean that you look like a girl or anything, I just..."Jude forced himself to stop talking and look away, feeling his face blaze with heat. Oh, God! That was horrible! Why did he keep rambling on like that? Geez, it was worse than when Ollie tried to ask Jess to the dance! Now Jude understood how hard it was to talk to someone that he liked... Luckily, Clarence laughed a little. He actually seemed amused by Jude's confusing flattery. He dragged his nails along his own arm again as his eyes flickered up and down Jude's entire form."Wow. Taking a fall from a bookshelf must really mess with Superman's head," he smirked.Though he was embarrassed, Jude let his eyes wander back up to Clarence's. And as the two of them stared at each other, Jude suddenly felt the urge to just ask Clarence about the whole bookshelf thing. Was it really an act of devotion, like Dad mentioned? Or was it just a nice gesture? Did Clarence actually love Jude? Or did he just want to be friends? Jude really wanted to know. He needed to know... Because Jude was starting to think that he loved Clarence, too..."Jude."Both boys flinched at the sound of Jude's father's voice echoing through the bunker."C'mon, buddy. Food's getting cold."Jude exhaled the breath he had been holding. Oh. Right. It was dinner time. That was the whole reason Jude came to find Clarence in the first place. The teenager cleared his throat, hoping to hide any weird emotions he had been wearing before turning back to the demon in front of him."My dad actually told me to come and get you for dinner," Jude explained, "Do you want to eat with us?"Once again, Clarence seemed a little distracted. His eyes were swiveling around the room and his hands - why wouldn't they stop scratching his body? - were still trembling like crazy. When Jude made the offer for dinner, he was surprised to see Clarence shake his head."Nah. I'm okay," he declined.Jude's eyes briefly dropped to the demon's stomach, which was still eerily slender and flat under his boney ribs. Clarence didn't want to eat dinner? But he was always in the kitchen eating. Was there something wrong? Was he getting sick?"Are you sure?" Jude gently pressed, "It's chili. My dad makes it kinda sweet, not spicy.""I'm sure it's great. But I'm not hungry," Clarence huffed, running a quivery hand through his stringy hair, "You go ahead without me, Jaybird. Get your belly full. I'll see you later, okay?"The guy actually ushered Jude out of the room, waving his hands and making Jude back out the door. The teenager could tell that something was wrong with the demon, but what? Did Clarence just want to be alone? Maybe talking about his mom made him upset or something. After all, his eyes were starting to look really red. Jude took a breath, preparing to ask Clarence what was wrong, but the door slammed shut before he could say a word. For a second, Jude just stood there and stared at the wood. He really wished that he could convince Clarence to come to dinner, but maybe a little time alone was what he needed to feel better.Though he was worried about the blonde guitar player that he had recently grown fond of, Jude went and had dinner with his family in the kitchen. Jessie was the first to ask where Clarence was and Jude had to explain that he wasn't coming. Even the adults found Clarence's absence a little odd. Dad mentioned that Clarence could have eaten before so he might not be hungry. Still, Jude made sure to save Clarence a bowl just in case he changed his mind. He wrapped it up and left it on the counter where the guy could easily find it. And placed some crackers nearby, just in case.After dinner, the Winchesters went about their nightly routine. Jude and Jessie met in the bathroom closest to their bedrooms and joined each other at the sink to brush their teeth together. Jude was glad to see that his cousin wasn't upset anymore. There was a smile on her face when she handed him his toothbrush and shared some paste."A Harvest Festival sounds nice," she mused, obviously still excited about the date that Ollie offered to take her on tomorrow, "Do you think there will be rides? And games? And a pumpkin patch?""I dunno," Jude mumbled, "but I'm sure you guys will have fun."The teenagers both paused their conversation to start brushing their teeth, meeting eyes in the mirror as their mouths filled with foam. Jude really wanted to talk to Jessie about Clarence, but he was too nervous to actually say anything. The inner conflict must have been written on his face though, because Jessie soon rinsed her mouth out and turned toward him."Being in love... It feels weird, doesn't it?" she muttered.Jude's toothbrush slowed to a stop and he turned to look fully at Jessie. She was wearing that sneaky smirk that uncle Gabe wore sometimes. Did she already know that Jude had a crush on Clarence? Oh. Of course she did. Not only was Jessie his best friend, but she saw the future sometimes too. Jude slowly rinsed his own mouth out and braced his hands against the sink."... yeah," he mumbled, "Like having a bonfire in your stomach.""And thunder in your chest," she added with a smile."Feels like your heart could jump out at any second," Jude nodded."And grow wings and fly away," she agreed.The two of them each gave a chuckle and shared a look of complete understanding. Jude thought it was so nice to talk to someone who could relate to exactly what he was going through. Jessie reached out both of her arms and wrapped Jude into a tight hug."'Night, Jude," she said, "I'll see you in the morning.""'Night, Jess," Jude replied, giving her warm back a soft pat. After their short, but comforting, conversation, the teenagers parted ways for the night to change into their pajamas. Jude made a pit stop at his parents' bedroom first. Dad and Papa both wished him a goodnight and told him that they loved him as they crawled into bed. Jude made sure to say it back and shut their door as he left... But on the way back to his own room, Jude's feet drew to a stop. He glanced down the hallway that led toward the room Clarence was staying in and felt kind of bad. Did anyone wish Clarence a goodnight? Had anyone ever told him that they hoped he had good dreams and a full night's rest?Not wanting Clarence to be left out, Jude decided to sneak down the hall and see him. It had been a few hours since they last spoke, so Jude figured that the guy might be feeling better. Maybe Clarence had a nap to shake off the nervousness or something. But when he made it to the room, Jude noticed that the door was open again - and there was no one inside. Clarence was gone, but his stuff was still there; guitar case and all.In a rush of concern, Jude went back down the hall to the kitchen, thinking that the demon might have finally gotten hungry. But the kitchen was empty, too. As was the study. And the control room. Jude checked almost every room in the bunker trying to find Clarence... but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the low rumble of an engine in the distance.Uh-oh. Clarence was in the garage.Jude ran as fast as his feet could carry him, dashing through the control room to get down the hall to the garage. He made it there just in time to see a pair of taillights exiting the open garage door, disappearing into the night. No! Clarence was leaving?! But, where was he going?! He couldn't leave! His stuff was still here! Why didn't he ask someone to take him somewhere instead of stealing a car like that?! It wasn't until Jude paused to catch his breath that he looked around and realized which car was gone. Oh, God. Dad's Impala. Clarence had stolen Dad's Impala. The demon had taken the Impala without permission. Dad was going to kill him!Though he was tempted to freak out, Jude knew that he had to stay as calm as possible. He took the time to breathe and think, standing still so that his mind could properly function. Jude didn't want Clarence to ruin the already-fragile reputation he had with Dad and Papa. This was so bad! Jude had to follow him. He had to stop the Impala, but how? When he stared at the open garage door and felt the cool night air on his face, Jude thought of a plan. But he didn't really like it. He had to catch up to the car and try to get inside, which meant he needed to fly. That was really going to suck because Jude was a terrible flier. But getting to Clarence was more important. His fear of flying didn't matter, as long as he got Clarence and the Impala back safe and sound."Come on, Superman," Jude muttered to himself, trying to get his grace in gear, "Happy thoughts."Like Ollie suggested when they were kids, happy thoughts were able to help Jude fly better. And he cycled through his memory bank to find a few good ones. He closed his eyes and pictured the inside of the Impala and the sound of Jessie's laugh. Hearing Jess giggle was one of Jude's favorite things. It made him feel so warm and bubbly. And luckily, the memory of it was able to help Jude relax enough to transfer himself to a different place... but it wasn't the inside of the Impala. Jude ended up on the side of the road a few miles from the bunker, where the Impala drove passed him in a blur. The teenager watched the shiny black paint disappear into the night - again - and huffed a breath of frustration. Ugh! He was so close! He had to try again.This time, Jude paused to think about something else. It took him a few seconds to come up with a sound memory, but he remembered the talk that he and his dad had the night before. Jude tried to focus on the taste of pecan pie and warm milk as he built his grace back up. 'The Impala,' he forcefully recited in his head, 'I want to be in the Impala!' Jude allowed his grace and wings to work, hoping that they would do as they were told.But Jude ended up on the side of the road again. In a different spot. Where the Impala, once more, rocketed passed him in a blur. Jude grunted in rage as he watched the car drive by him for the second time. Argh! No! Dammit! Why was this so hard?! Why couldn't he just fly into the car?! Papa did it all the time! Jude kicked a nearby rock and breathed hard, glaring into the dark field nearby. This frustration wasn't helping. He knew that his grace would only work if he stayed calm and happy, but what could he possibly think about? If Jessie's laugh couldn't help, what could?With his heart beating hard in his chest, Jude gulped and turned toward the road. In the silence, the memory of falling into Clarence's arms slowly filled his mind; every emotion, every heartbeat, every sound and sensation. Jude closed his eyes to get lost in the moment again, picturing the concern and care in Clarence's evergreen-chestnut eyes. He remembered how small he felt; how light and warm his own body was. The brief moment they shared in the study seemed to stretch into a lifetime...And when Jude opened his eyes again, he was sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala.But the car wasn't moving. It was parked in an alley between two buildings, shaded away from the streetlights behind it. Jude instantly looked around for Clarence, wanting to explain how stupid it was to steal Dad's favorite car, but the demon was gone. Through the windshield, Jude caught sight of two figures lurking in the dark. And from the stringy mop of blonde hair, Jude could tell that one of them was Clarence. The guy was fully clothed now, but still scratching his arms. Jude listened closely to the words being exchanged outside."I've got Oxys and Hydros," the stranger in front of Clarence muttered quietly."No, no. I don't need pills and shit. I need straight powder," Clarence argued."Then grind 'em up, kid. That's all I've got. Take it or leave it," the stranger spat.Clarence huffed and swayed around, seeming to be considering his options. Jude felt sick to his stomach. Was this... a drug deal? Was he about to witness Clarence make some kind of trade for drugs? Before Jude could even come up with a sound plan, his body was acting without him. He opened the passenger door and stepped out into the alley. When Jude slammed the door shut, the sound startled the stranger and he took off running. Clarence gasped and took a few steps after him."Hey, wait! Come back!" he pleaded.Jude was grateful that the drug dealing stranger was gone. Clarence, on the other hand, was absolutely livid. The demon spun around and his bloodshot eyes filled with fury when he saw Jude standing there."You!" he growled, stomping over to grab the front of Jude's shirt, "You son of a bitch! What the hell are you doing here?!""You stole my dad's car! I came to stop you," Jude answered, taking hold of Clarence's weak, boney wrists."That was the first supplier I've seen in weeks, you idiot!" the demon barked."Cl - Clarence, you don't need that stuff," Jude breathed, shaking his head, "You just need to come home with me - ""Home?!" Clarence shouted, his fists tightening on Jude's shirt, "I don't have a home! I don't need a home! I just need a fix! And you just made that guy run off with it, you asshole!"Without another word, Jude raised his hand and pressed two fingers to Clarence's forehead. The teenager knocked the demon unconscious with a touch of his grace, making Clarence's eyes close and body go limp. He gathered into a boney heap on the ground in front of Jude; blonde hair and loose clothes ruffling in the breeze.Jude gulped and blinked down at the guy at his feet, feeling warm liquid start to pool in his own eyes. Clarence's insults and harsh words really stung, but the sight of his pale and ill-looking face hurt Jude even more. Clarence was so sick; so in need of healing. In that moment, Jude honestly didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to help Clarence? How was he supposed to get the Impala back to the garage before Dad found out that it was gone? How was Jude going to make everything right? As he stood tearing up in the dark, Jude realized that there was only one option left. It was the one thing he always did when he was too confused and scared to do anything else."Papa," Jude prayed, shivering in the cool air, "Help me."Dean must have had a very exhausting day, because the moment he climbed into bed with Castiel, the man collapsed into his favorite sleeping position - on his stomach with one arm scooped under his pillow and the other tossed over Castiel's torso - and slowly fell unconscious. He mumbled a few things about Bobby and Crowley paying them a visit and how he was proud of his own cooking skills as he drifted off. Castiel was quick to praise his husband's culinary expertise. Dean always prepared excellent sustenance for their family.Once Dean was completely asleep, Castiel settled in for a long wait. As was his nightly ritual, the angel began to absorb the sight of his husband's perfect face. Dean was forever beautiful, even when saliva was oozing from his open mouth. With the exception of Dean's snores, their bedroom remained silent for almost an hour - until Jude's voice suddenly entered Castiel's mind."Papa," his son prayed, voice high and cracking, "Help me."The distance from which the sound seemed to travel startled Castiel. Jude's voice was coming from so far away. Why wasn't he in the bunker? Where was he? Panic burst through Castiel's body. What if someone had taken his child?! The angel immediately flew toward Jude's prayer, disappearing from under Dean's arm to reappear in a dark alley. Now standing in his nightclothes in the middle of Lebanon, Castiel spun in circles to desperately search for his son's freckled face."Jude?!" Cas breathed frantically.From the shadows of a nearby building, Jude dashed over with his arms open. Castiel exhaled a breath of relief as he hugged his son close, feeling Jude's warm heart beating and lungs working. The angel was so glad that his child was unharmed, but why was he here so late at night?"Jude, what are you doing here?" Castiel asked, pulling back to inspect his face, "Are you alright? Did someone take you from the bunker?""No, Papa, I - I need you to cure Clarence," Jude slurred in a rush."What?" Cas said, feeling abruptly lost at the mention of the demon, "Clarence? What are you - ?"To answer Castiel's question, Jude stepped to the side, revealing Clarence's crumpled form on the ground. The angel observed the blonde teenager from above, seeing that his breaths were shallow and eyes were closed. Clarence was unconscious on the cold, damp concrete, resembling an animal on the edge of death."He stole Dad's car," Jude admitted, pointing toward the left.Castiel's mouth fell open when he glanced over to see the Impala parked crookedly in the alley. The sight of her familiar glistening contours and chrome rims angered him. How dare that demon steal Dean's most beloved vehicle!"And I followed him here, because I was going to make him bring it back," Jude continued, his voice muffled as he chewed on his fingers, "but when I got here, he was trying to get drugs from some guy. So I scared the guy away and Clarence got mad, and I put him to sleep with my grace and now - Now I don't know what to do. Please, Papa, you've gotta help him.""Him?" Castiel repeated breathlessly, "Jude, you are my only concern.""But he's sick," Jude almost whimpered, his large eyes housing genuine sympathy, "He just needs to be healed, Pop. That's all."At first, Castiel didn't want to hear his son's futile defense of the demon on the ground. After all the teasing and bullying Clarence forced Jude to endure since arriving, Cas was honestly surprised to hear that his child cared about the demon at all."A lifetime worth of sin and addiction is beyond my grace's healing ability," Castiel denied, even though it wasn't quite true, "Neither of you should be here at this late hour. Go. Place your hand on the Impala and wait for me there."Though it appeared that Jude had the urge to argue, he did as Castiel commanded. With Jude at the car, Cas stepped over to carefully scoop Clarence's body from the ground. The angel was surprised at how light the demon was. He barely weighed anything at all. Once Cas laid Clarence over his shoulder, he walked over to place his hand on the hood of the Impala next to Jude's and flew them all back to the bunker.The three of them appeared in the garage with the car in less than a second. Jude, of course, closed his eyes and braced both arms; still leery of flying after all these years. Now back in the safety and warmth of their home, Castiel took the time to bend down and prop Clarence against the side of the Impala. The demon remained unconscious through the duration of events, unaware of his return to the Winchester's home. Jude almost instantly joined Clarence on the floor, quickly kneeling down to scan him with worried eyes.Castiel studied his own child's behavior, watching him timidly reach out to touch Clarence's limp wrist. It was so strange to see Jude's adamant concern over the demon child when, just a few days prior, he mentioned that Clarence had set him on fire... But as he stared at his son's blinking, emotion-filled eyes, Castiel realized that he might be at fault. Perhaps Cas had misinterpreted Jude's statement. Perhaps Clarence had not started a fire of hatred in Jude's heart, but one of affection..."Are you sure you can't heal him, Papa?" Jude whispered, his worried voice soft against the silence.Castiel shook himself from his own epiphany to meditate on what Jude was asking of him. Ridding a body of a long-term addiction was no easy feat, but it was possible. And if healing Clarence would make the demon's life easier - and somehow bring Jude happiness - Castiel knew that it should be done.With a bracing breath, the angel carefully reached out to take Clarence's fragile head in his hands. Castiel guided his grace within the demon's mind and began to draw out all foreign chemicals that did not belong there, as well as deplete Clarence's dependency on them. It took several seconds of unhindered concentration for Castiel's grace to take full affect, but he soon began the healing process. Thankfully, Clarence remained unconscious; blissfully unaware that his entire lifestyle was about to change. Once Castiel was sure that he had cleansed the demon as much as possible, he gently recalled his grace and let go, allowing Clarence's head to fall limp again. The demon already appeared healthier; with pinker cheeks and clearer skin.Jude was silent throughout the procedure, gazing at Castiel's work with hopeful eyes. When the angel was done, he turned to meet his son's sight with as much empathy as possible."When he wakes in the morning, he should be free from addiction," Castiel theorized.A tiny squeak escaped Jude's smiling mouth and he lurched over to wrap both arms around Castiel's neck. The angel immediately embraced his child, holding him close once again. It seemed that helping Clarence truly did make Jude happy..."Thank you so much, Papa," he whispered."Of course," Castiel murmured softly, secretly indulging in Jude's delight.Jude remained attached to his angelic father for another moment before pulling away to meet his eyes with seriousness."Please don't tell Dad about this," he requested in a begging tone.Castiel sighed and glanced toward the Impala, knowing just how upset Dean would be if he learned that the demon boy had stolen his car for a late night excursion. The angel strongly disliked keeping secrets from his husband, especially since he was so terrible at lying. But if it kept everyone in good spirits, perhaps it wasn't all that bad."I'll do my best," Castiel promised.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
From the moment Jessica opened her eyes to greet a new day, the only thing on her mind was Ollie. They were getting a second chance to have another first date; a real first date. Alone. Without parents around. Just the two of them having fun at a festival together, just like real teenagers did. The thought was enough to make her spring out of bed to get ready. She couldn't wait to see Ollie again! Of course, the perfect first date needed a perfect outfit, and Jessica made sure to find the right one to wear. Since it was a Harvest Festival, Jessie stuck with the 'autumn' theme and picked out a soft, tan and white striped sweater. It went along perfect with her tight blue jeans and tan boots – 'ass-kicking boots,' as uncle Dean called them. Jess tried on a few different hats too, but none of them matched very well, so she decided to leave her hair down in big loose curls like always. She didn't want to change her appearance too much. Ollie said she looked pretty in whatever she wore anyway, and today was probably no exception.Part of Jess was still worried that her dad might try to ruin this day, but she tried her best to let it go. Dad sounded really honest and sincere when he apologized the night before. And the whole reason that Jess had a date today was because he set it up. She just hoped that Dad would keep his word. If he ended up ruining this date, she didn't know what she would do...The morning was half over by the time Jessie came out of her room to search for the rest of her family. As usual, the groggy Winchesters were filtering in and out of the kitchen; the source of the heavy aroma of coffee in the air. Uncle Dean, in his robe, was standing by the coffee pot and uncle Cas and Jude were sitting at the table, but Dad, Papa, and Clarence weren't there. Huh. Maybe they all wanted to sleep in today for some reason.“Good morning, you guys,” Jessie smiled as she walked in to sit at the table next to Jude.“'Mornin', shortcake,” Dean mumbled from the coffee maker, “Today's your second date with Gingersnap, isn't it?”Jess giggled a little, half because of uncle Dean's nickname and half from sheer giddiness.“Technically, the dance didn't count because Dad ruined it. So this is the real first date,” she revised.“Ah. I see,” uncle Dean replied, taking a sip from his mug.Jessie turned her attention to Jude, who was nervously poking at his scrambled eggs. He kept glancing toward the door as if he was waiting anxiously for someone to come in. It took Jessica less than a second to figure out that 'someone' was Clarence. Those two boys obviously had a thing for each other. It was only a matter of time before they admitted their feelings. And it was really sweet to see Jude acting like a nervous, love-sick mess.“Excited to see someone this morning?” Jessie leaned over to whisper.Jude gulped and flashed a glance toward his parents. Uncle Cas had gotten up to talk with uncle Dean, who was busy looking through a newspaper on the counter. Neither of them seemed to notice what Jess said. Jude turned to face her afterward, keeping his voice extremely quiet.“Clarence stole Dad's car last night,” he whispered.“He what?!” Jessica gasped out loud.Clarence stole uncle Dean's car?! That was the stupidest thing anyone could ever do! Why would he do that? Uh-oh, where was he? Was he still alive? Did uncle Dean already kill him?! Jude cringed at Jess's verbal outburst and looked toward his parents again, who were thankfully still lost in their own conversation.“Shhh,” Jude hissed worriedly, holding a finger to his lips, “Dad doesn't know about it!”“Well, what happened?! Why did Clare take the car? Where did he go? Is he okay?” Jess asked in a blur.“I followed him to town and saw him trying to get drugs,” Jude admitted, harboring pain in his voice, “so I interrupted him and knocked him out, and asked Pop to help me. Papa brought us and the car home, and I think he got rid of Clarence's drug habit, too. And now we're both waiting to see how he's doing this morning. Papa said there might be some side effects, but we think...”Jude's sentence slowly trailed off when the sound of shuffled footsteps came up to the doorway. Clarence, wearing ripped faded jeans and a holey black t-shirt, wandered aimlessly into the kitchen. He was holding a hand to his head like he had a headache, and his eyes were squinty from where he just woke up. Jessica studied the demon guy's face as he stood there, feeling like she recognized him better. Skin softer, hair cleaner, eyes brighter, body language calmer. Clarence looked more like the guy from her visions – more like himself – than he had since he first walked into the bunker. Wow. Uncle Cas must have cured him pretty well.Jude and uncle Cas both kept their eyes solidly fixed on Clarence, watching him sway around in the entryway. When Clarence's sight found Jude and Jessica at the table, the demon shuffled toward them. He plopped his skinny body down in front of Jude and leaned across the table to whisper.“Hey. Jay,” he muttered, voice deep and weary, “Did I... Did I talk to you last night? About my guitar or something?”Jessie tilted her head a bit. His guitar? Why was he mentioning his guitar instead of taking the Impala? Maybe he didn't remember it or something... Jess looked to her cousin Jude, who seemed like he was trying to contain his surprise.“Um, yeah,” he nodded, poking his eggs with his fork again, “I asked you if you wanted dinner, remember? You said you weren't hungry.”Clarence narrowed his eyes a little in confusion but nodded. He dragged his hand through his hair and scratched his own head like he was trying hard to remember something. Next to Jessie, Jude seemed to be nervously awaiting his reply.“Huh,” Clare scoffed, shrugging his shoulders a bit, “Man, I had the weirdest dream last night.”Jess shared a tiny smile with her cousin Jude.“You did?” she inquired sweetly, “What about?”Clarence looked between Jessica and Jude and shook his head with a smile of his own.“I... I can't really remember the whole thing... But I know you were there,” he admitted, pointing to Jude, “I was driving a car and I kept seeing you on the side of the road... And you showed up in an alley and stopped me from...”Clarence didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he covered his mouth and coughed, breaking eye contact with Jude.“Ugh,” he groaned afterward, “My mouth is so dry...”“Here.”Everyone looked up to see uncle Cas standing next to the table. The angel leaned over and placed a glass of ice water in front of Clarence, wearing a subtle look of concern and relief. Clarence made a strange face, probably confused about why uncle Cas was giving him water.“You need to replenish your fluids,” Cas explained.“Replenish my - ? Why?” Clarence asked suspiciously.Uncle Cas gulped and looked down at Jude, who immediately answered the question for him.“Because you didn't eat dinner yesterday,” Jude quickly said.“Yeah. And severe lack of food and water causes the brain to hallucinate,” Jessie added, wanting to help, “You better drink up, Clare.”Clarence looked amongst everyone with a hardened expression, as if he didn't quite believe them – which was understandable, because they were actually trying to keep him from remembering the truth. But the demon must have been too thirsty to really care. He picked up the glass and began to gulp the water down anyway. While Clarence was distracted, Jessie shared a wink with Jude, who seemed grateful for the backup. Jess was glad she could help her cousin patch things up with the boy he secretly liked.While Jessie sat with her boys at the table, she caught sight of her parents walking into the kitchen. Dad and Papa were both dressed and ready for the day – well, Papa seemed ready for the day, anyway. Dad, on the other hand, seemed a little sluggish. He walked over to join uncle Dean at the coffee maker while Papa skipped over to the table.“'Morning, kiddos!” he sang in his usual cheery voice, rounding Jude's chair to get to his daughter, “Wow, baby-rabbit, you are rockin' that sweater! Isn't that the one that I bought you?”Jessie looked down and admired the striped fabric, rubbing the end of the sleeves with her fingers.“I think so,” she nodded.“You and Ollie-pop are going to have the best date ever,” Papa said, bending down to wrap her into a hug so that he could whisper, “I promise. Seriously. I'm not going to let your Dad anywhere near the festival. You're gonna have the time of your life.”Jessie giggled a little bit in her Papa's embrace. She knew that he was always looking out for her best interest. But this time, Jess didn't think that it was really needed. After everything that was said in her room yesterday, Jessica knew that her Dad wouldn't ruin this date. She trusted that he would do better this time.“I hope so,” Jessie agree.“I know so,” Papa replied. He raised up and turned to look at Dad and say, “Pour that java in a travel cup, Moose. We've gotta deliver this bunny and her date to the farm pronto.”Dad, though he still appeared unenthusiastic about this whole 'date' thing, gave Papa a nod and reached for one of the travel mugs on the counter. Jessie wished that there was some way that she could show him how happy it made her to be with Ollie. But maybe that was something he would have to discover on his own... Clarence must have been very careful with uncle Dean's baby when he stole her the night before. Jess was surprised to see that the Impala didn't have a scratch on it. She gave the vehicle a quick look to make sure before she got inside. Dickie hopped in behind her to keep her company too; finding her lap and curling into a ball of soft fur.The ride to Ollie's house seemed longer than Jessie remembered. She and Dickie had the backseat all to themselves while Dad drove and Papa played with the radio, which should have made the trip fun. But, somehow, Jessica was starting to feel a little more nervous than excited. The memory of being covered in red punch in front of hundreds of people kept creeping into the back of her mind, but she tried hard to forget it. Things were different, now. Dad wasn't going to ruin this date. This time, she and Ollie were going to have fun like they always did in her dreams.Dad was a little hesitant about driving up to Ollie's house. He mentioned that Ms. Jane would probably be pretty mad at him for the whole dance fiasco – and he was right. When Jess and her dads got out to knock on the door, Ms. Jane opened it with a disapproving look and mumbled a few things in Spanish. Whatever she said made Papa chuckle, so it must have been funny. Standing on the Thompson's doorstep for the second time, though, made Jessie feel weird. Man, it was like deja vu or something. Didn't Jess already do this once? And didn't it end in disaster last time? Oh no, what if it happened again? What if something bad happened on this date? Jessica's mind was suddenly a storm of doubt and fear.But when she looked up and saw Ollie's cute freckled face moving toward her, the storm slowly subsided and sunshine took its place.Oh. Ollie looked really familiar today. He was always familiar to Jess, of course, but today he looked even more so somehow. There was some peach-fuzz on his cheeks, probably because he had forgotten to shave or something, and he was wearing a red shirt with long sleeves that really brought out the cocoa in his eyes. She had seen him look exactly like this before, but when? Where? It seemed so long ago, she could hardly remember which dream it was from.“Hi, Jessie,” he mumbled quietly when he was close enough, “How are you? Are you doing okay?”For a second, Jessica was too preoccupied with staring at him to reply. She quickly regained her focus and forced a nod.“Um, yeah. I'm fine... Excited to go to the festival,” she said, letting her smile grow.The smile that flashed on Ollie's handsome face made her stomach fill with butterflies.“Me too. I've only been once, but I know you're gonna love it. They have rides and games and everything. Like Disneyland. Only much smaller. And cheaper. And with more emphasis on crops,” he rambled with a grin.The way Ollie rapidly fired off facts made Jessica giggle. He said the funniest things when he was nervous. She couldn't wait to walk around the festival and hear him say more things like that.After a very serious goodbye from Ms. Jane – with a few Spanish comments for Dad, who offered even more apologies – Jessica, her parents, and Ollie all loaded up to go to the festival. For the most part, it was an awkward ride. Dad seemed too sheepish – or too ashamed – to really say anything, Papa spent most of the time trying to keep Dickie in his lap to prevent him from trying to hump poor Ollie's leg, and Ollie must have been feeling the same first-date jitters he had before the dance because he kept mentioning corn, crops, and historical facts about the Dust Bowl. Jessica, however, spent the majority of their ride studying Ollie's stupidly handsome face and shaggy orange hair. He looked really good today, better than he did at the dance even. She remembered seeing him like this before, but she couldn't recall when. And it bugged her to no end.Jess barely noticed when the Impala finally rolled to a stop. She had to shake herself from a trance when she realized that Ollie was taking off his seat belt. The smell of kettle popcorn and cotton candy breezed into the Impala's open windows, along with the sounds of chatter, laughter, and distant carnival rides.“Holy smokes,” Papa said, turning in his seat to smile at the teenagers in the back, “It's like a mini theme park out there!”“I told ya,” Ollie grinned, looking kind of proud of himself.“Excellent choice, Red. I'm kinda jealous,” Papa murmured, tossing him a wink, “Alright, kiddos. Do you guys need anything? Money? Jackets?”“Protection?” Dad uttered under his breath. Thankfully, it was too low for Ollie to hear.“No, I brought plenty of cash. Don't worry, Mr. Gabe. I can take care of Jessie,” Ollie immediately promised, sounding confident.Jessie felt heat rise on her own cheeks. Aww. She loved the idea of Ollie taking such good care of her. He was so sweet... Papa shared a small glance with Dad in the front seat before letting out a sigh.“Then I guess we'll leave you guys to it,” he said, gesturing to the door, “Go have fun, munchkins. We'll be back in three hours to get you, okay? If there's an emergency, Jessie knows what to do.”“Buddy system,” she instantly replied, scooting toward the door, “Bye, Papa! See you later!”“Bye-bye, bunny! Bring me back an ear of corn!” Papa waved.Jessica waved back at him and Dickie too, who barked and wagged his tail. But next to them in the front seat, Dad was sadly watching Jess slide out of the car. The pitiful look on his face made Jessie's heart sink. Poor Dad. He was still a little hesitant about letting her go, wasn't he? Maybe he still felt bad about almost giving her away all those years ago... Before she rounded the car to get to Ollie, Jessica paused to lean into Dad's open window and give him a hug. She didn't want him to be scared to let her go. His long arms circled her shoulders and he held her tight.“Have fun, Jess,” he said quietly, “I'll see you in a few hours.”“You promise you won't be back 'til then?” she asked, leaning back to give him a raised eyebrow.“Cross my heart,” he nodded, making an 'X' on his chest with his finger.Jessica beamed at her Dad, able to hear the sincerity in his voice. She raked some of his long brown hair back so that she could peck a kiss to his cheek.“I love you, Dad,” she reminded.“Love you too, baby girl,” he replied.After giving him another quick hug, Jess let go of her Dad and dashed around the front of the Impala to get to Ollie. His red locks were tossing around in the breeze and the sun made the peach-fuzz on his face all shiny. He held his hand out when he saw her coming up to him.“We should probably hold hands to cross the road,” he tried to explain, though his cheeks were pink.Jess giggled. It was painfully obvious that Ollie just wanted to hold her hand and was using a dumb excuse to cover it up. But she didn't care. She instantly slipped her hand inside his and took hold of his warm fingers, making smiles blossom on both of their faces.“Yeah. Safety first,” she agreed bashfully. With the manners of a true gentleman, Ollie led Jess across the road to the entrance of the festival, where he paid for their tickets and let her choose the first activity to do. Jessica suggested that they should try to tackle the corn maze, since there was no knowing how long it would take them. Ollie agreed and took her to the maze entrance on the other side of the festival. They passed lots of carnival games, rides, hotdog stands, and cotton candy machines along the way, and each one made Jessie's smile grow brighter. Wow, this was even better than the dance! Everyone was having such a good time; laughing and smiling and eating and playing. Maybe her family needed to come back here before the harvest season was over. Ollie never let go of Jessie's hand, even when they started into the corn maze. He seemed too shy and nervous to open his hand even a little. Still, Jessie didn't mind. She just couldn't get over how nice he looked in a simple long-sleeve shirt and khaki pants.“So how is Jude? I haven't seen him since the Halloween party,” Ollie casually mentioned as he led Jess around another corner of corn stalks. Thinking about Jude and the Halloween party actually made Jessie remember that black bag of naughty magazines that uncle Dean found, but she didn't want to bring that topic up. Especially not on a date. She quickly came up with something else to say instead.“He's okay,” Jess nodded, “Clarence is driving him a little crazy, but that's nothing new.”“Clarence?” Ollie repeated, “Who's that?”“Oh,” Jessie breathed, realizing that he and Clarence had never met before, “He's, um, a family friend. He's staying in the bunker right now until uncle Bobby and uncle Crowley find his mom.”“There's a – a boy staying in the bunker with you guys?” Ollie muttered, sounding a little disappointed, “Oh. That's cool, I guess... Is he nice?”Jessie gave her red-haired friend a sideways glance, feeling kind of confused. Why did Clarence make Ollie disappointed? Maybe he was worried that Clarence might try to steal Jessie away from him or something. Which was completely hilarious. Clarence was too busy falling in love with Jude to ever consider going out with Jess. Besides, she already had a freckle-faced cutie all her own. Jessica squeezed Ollie's hand a bit, wearing a warm smile.“Not as nice as you are,” she answered truthfully. The fluffy compliment made Ollie blush again. He smiled and turned away to hide his red cheeks, but Jess still saw it. The two of them finished the corn maze in less than twenty minutes. The exit made them come out near the other end of the park, where there were even more games and rides. Jessie mentioned that she would like to ride the 'Spinning Tea Cups' and Ollie immediately took her over to it. The two of them got on board, spun around so fast, and laughed so hard that their stomachs started hurting.After the ride was over, Ollie bought them a couple of candy apples from a nearby stand. Jessie locked her arm with his while they walked around and ate. It was one of the juiciest, most delicious apples she had ever eaten in her life. Maybe it was the fact that she was in such good company when she ate it, that made it so good... Once their apples were gone, Ollie offered to win Jessica a prize at a game balloon booth. There were huge stuffed animals hanging on the outside; giraffes, elephants, monkeys, kittens, dogs, even a giant pink bunny near the front.“Don't worry, Jessie. I've played baseball my whole life,” Ollie reminded as he picked up the first ball and tossed it in the air a few times, “That bunny is as good as yours.”Jessica stood to the side with a huge smile and watched Ollie toss the baseballs into the booth. The object of the game was to knock down the milk bottles on a table. But, unfortunately, all three of Ollie's baseballs missed their mark. When the last ball was thrown, Ollie scratched the back of his red hair and looked away sheepishly.“Er... Maybe I'm a little rusty,” he admitted.Jessica couldn't hold back her giggle. It was so cute to see Ollie trying so hard to impress her. Especially when the truth was that he had always been impressive.“Let me try,” she suggested, holding her hand out. The guy at the booth gave her three baseballs, but Jessie knew that she only needed one. After sizing up the bottles on the table – and with just a tiny touch of her grace – Jess threw the ball as hard as she could and knocked them all down on the first try. Ollie and the guy at the booth both looked at her with mouths hanging open.“That's one heck of an arm, sweetheart,” the booth guy smiled, “Take yer pick! Which animal will it be?”“The unicorn, please,” she said, pointing to the one behind the tiger.It was the only unicorn in the whole bunch; a stuffed white horse with rainbow hair and a spiral horn. The guy at the booth carefully got it down and handed it to Jessica, who promptly turned around to hold it out to Ollie.“Here,” she offered sweetly, “For taking me out again.”Ollie timidly glanced at the booth guy, who seemed pretty amused by what he just saw, but carefully took the unicorn with a smile.“Th – thank you,” he chuckled, “These were always my favorite.”“I know,” she nodded.The two of them looked at each other for a second and Jessica could feel it again; that same electric spark that she felt when they were dancing a few days before. Their smiles were slipping away and seriousness was taking over their faces. It felt like she was sliding closer to him without ever moving a muscle. And just when her sight flickered down toward his lips -“Do you want to ride the Ferris Wheel?” Ollie blurted.Jessica blinked a few times, letting her mind catch up with her ears. Ferris Wheel? There was a Ferris Wheel here? Ollie probably noticed her confusion because he shifted his new stuffed unicorn into one hand to point beside them. Jessica turned to see the giant metal wheel a few yards away and her jaw slowly fell open. The Ferris Wheel. Ollie's red shirt. His stubbly cheeks and perfect eyes – she finally remembered.This was the place where they had their first kiss. When the stark realization dawned on her at last, Jessica actually felt a little jittery herself. Oh man, she had never actually kissed Ollie before! They kissed all the time in her dreams, but never in person. Never in real time. And this was it. It was about to happen for real and Jessica was more nervous than she ever had been before.“Y – yes,” she managed to squeak.With his face still pink beneath his multiple freckles, Ollie smiled and took Jessie's hand again. He led her over to get in line, where they had to wait for the next carriage. Jessica could feel her own hand trembling inside Ollie's, making both of their arms shake on accident. She knew she was overreacting a little bit, but she couldn't help it. Why was she feeling so nervous? It was just a kiss! She kissed Ollie all the time in her dreams! Was there a difference? What if she messed it up? What if she had bad breath?! Jessica quickly and discretely checked the smell of her own breath when Ollie wasn't looking, and was grateful that it wasn't too bad.When it was their turn to get on board, Ollie let Jess get in first. She slid all the way over so that he would have room. The ride operator shut the door behind them after Ollie sat down and the giant wheel began to turn, carrying them high above the festival. Jessica's heart was beating hard and fast, making her lungs race to catch up. 'Calm down, baby-bunny,' she imagined her Papa saying to her, 'It's just a lil' smooch with Carrot-top. No big deal.' Although the thought of Papa's voice comforted her, Jessica still felt nervous.“Jessie?” The sound of Ollie's anxious tone made Jessica feel relieved. At least she wasn't the only one fighting off nerves. Ollie was blinking between her face and the unicorn in his lap, seeming like he was trying to force himself to talk.“Um, I know that we're good friends and everything, but I just want you to know that... I like you,” he started, voice quivering a little, “And not like in a 'friends' way... I mean like a real way... I sort of... I kind of love you.”Jessica gulped hard, feeling the butterflies in her stomach swarm into a gust of wings. The carriage they were sitting in had stopped at the very tip top of the wheel and was dangling over the park, leaving them absolutely alone together. This was the exact moment that started Jessie's dream all those years ago. Jess could feel her body scooting closer to Ollie in the carriage, drawing next to him like a magnet. And Ollie was scooting closer too, craning his neck and bringing his face toward hers.Jessica only had time to blink her eyes shut before their lip slowly collided. Ollie's mouth was warm and moist, housing the faint taste of candy apples. Jess's heart was beating so hard that she thought it might beat out of her chest, just like Jude said. They were kissing! Jessica was actually kissing Ollie for the very first time!She slowly pressed further in and reached up to hold his face – but the feeling of peach-fuzz on her fingers made her start to giggle. The more she held onto him, the more she began to laugh. It reminded her of how funny she found the whole thing when she was little, and it only made her laugh more. Before Jessie knew it, she was no longer kissing Ollie, but gasping for breath and chuckling, holding on to both of her own knees to steady herself. She couldn't stop laughing! Why was this so funny?“Wh – what is it?” Ollie asked, sounding afraid, “Did I do it wrong?”Jessica cackled a few more times, unable to stop herself, but shook her head.“No,” she giggled, “That was amazing, Ollie! I just... I just thought of something that happened when I was a little girl, that's all.”“Oh,” he nodded timidly, “So the... The kiss was good?”Jessica finally got her giggles under control and was able to give him an honest nod.“Yes. It was very good,” she answered, reaching over to take his free hand again, “and I'm glad you feel that way, because I love you too. In fact, I've loved you my whole life.”The joy that lit up Ollie's face made Jessica feel so warm and bubbly. His fingers wiggled around inside hers as the wheel started moving again.“Does that mean I can be your boyfriend?” he asked, sounding hopeful.Jessica let out one last giggle as their carriage slowly floated toward the ground.“Absolutely,” she agreed.Watching their daughter wave goodbye and skip off to her date with Ollie made Gabe kinda sad, but the woeful look in Sammy's pretty eyes made his heart snap in two. Ugh, the kid's face was so long he practically looked like a horse instead of a moose. Gabe knew that this was hard for him; that Sam hated seeing their little girl go off on her own. But even though it made him upset, Sam was doing it. He was finally letting Jessica go. And Gabe couldn't have been more proud of his handsome hubby. “I'm proud of you, Samsquatch,” Gabriel hummed, reaching over to pat his arm.Sam huffed a breath and nodded, bowing his head and letting his hair fall around his face. The guy was clearly having a hard time with this. And Gabe knew he needed to do something. He knew there had to be someway to cheer him up and help him forget about their baby being on a date.“Hows about we have a date of our own, huh, kiddo?” the archangel offered, reaching over to ruffle some of Sam's soft hair, “Come on, it'll be like we're teenagers again.”“Gabe, we were never teenagers at the same time,” Sam reminded in a mumble.“Oh. Right. Well, there's a first time for everything. See? Let's do it,” Gabe urged, playfully tugging on the kid's arm.Sam let out another sigh and tossed his head back, this time looking exhausted and weary.“Fine,” he allowed flatly, “What do you wanna do?”Gabriel took a second to think. Hmm. That was a good question. He hadn't thought this far into his plan. But the movies seemed like the go-to option, didn't they? Gabe couldn't remember the last time he was in a movie theater. The trickster wasn't patient enough to sit through an entire movie from start to finish. But if Sammy was there, he could probably find a way to pass the time...Instead of answering the question, Gabriel simply let a smirk light up his face and snapped his fingers together. He transported the whole Impala to the local movie theater parking lot in a blink of an eye with his grace. Sam raised his head and looked around, but didn't seem very enthused to see the box office.“A movie?” he assumed, sounding unimpressed.“Yeah. Isn't that what the hip teenagers do? Go see movies and make out in the dark?” Gabe said.“I guess,” Sam muttered.The kid opened his door and stepped out, which made Dickie follow closely behind him. Gabriel quickly exited the car and flew around to link arms with Sam, walking with him into the theater like a pair of movie stars. When they got inside, Dickie made a B-line for the concessions; racing over to sneak behind the counter and lick up the stray popcorn while no one was looking. Gabe and Sam glanced at all the movie posters around them, scanning to see what was playing.“What do you feel like seeing, sweetheart? Action? Comedy? Drama?” Gabe named off.“I don't care,” Sam answered, “You pick. I'll go get some popcorn and our dog.”“Alright,” Gabe allowed, “but get me some gummy bears, okay? And some Butterfingers, if they've got 'em.”Sam nodded as he walked away, waving his hand to signal that he would get Gabe's sweets. In the meantime, the archangel slid over to the box office and smiled at the lady working behind the glass.“Hello, sir. How many tickets would you like?” she asked.“Two, please,” he replied.“And which movie would you like to see?” she prompted. Again, Gabriel looked over the options but didn't see anything interesting. Hell, he didn't even know what half of the movies were even about. The only reason he chose to come to the theater was to give Sam a distraction. Maybe the movie itself wasn't important at all... Maybe there was something else Gabe could do to take the kid's mind off things...“You know what?” Gabe said, feeling a smirk grow on his face, “I'd like tickets to the movie with the emptiest theater.”The lady behind the glass looked confused.“The emptiest theater?” she repeated.“Yeah. My husband and I don't like crowds,” he lied.“Um, okay,” she said sweetly, pulling up two tickets, “Here you go. Theater number six.”Gabe quickly traded her for some cash, gave her a wink, and offered his thanks before prancing over to find Sam at the concessions. The guy had purchased a giant bucket of popcorn, a large cup of soda, plus all of Gabe's candy, and was having a difficult time trying to carry it all. Gabe quickly reached out to help him carry the huge load before leading him to their theater.“What movie is this?” Sam asked as they tried to find some seats in the dim light.“Uh, I'm not sure. I used 'eeney-meany-miney-moe',” Gabe muttered, ushering Sam into a particular row, “Go on and find a seat, Moosie.”Sam slowly trotted his way to the middle and plopped down in the center. Coming to the movies obviously didn't make him feel any better... but Gabriel hoped that a nice blow job might do the trick...When the lights finally dimmed and the movie started playing, Gabriel shifted his unopened candy into a vacant seat and carefully slipped down into the floor. Sam must have thought that he dropped something because he gave him a weird look in the dark. But that didn't stop Gabe's mission. The archangel quickly wiggled his way between his husband's legs and reached out to start undoing his belt. Sam gasped and reached down to block him, almost spilling his popcorn in the process.“Gabriel,” he hissed, “What are you doing?!”“I'm auditioning for 'Cats' the musical,” Gabriel whispered back sarcastically, “What does it look like, Sammy-boy? I'm gonna give you some head.”“Wh – what?! Here?! But we're in public!” he said, gesturing to the empty theater.“Psssh, like that's ever stopped us before,” Gabe scoffed, “You and I are the only souls in here, kid. Relax. Live a little. Let me give you an orgasm while you enjoy your popcorn.”Gabe's purring voice and bedroom eyes must have been just enough to convince Sam – either that or the guy just didn't care anymore – because he seemed to think about it for a minute before sliding back in his seat. The light from the projector screen shined on his face when he gave Gabe and exasperated look.“If someone comes in here -”“I'll fly us out,” Gabe interrupted with a sage nod.Sam vehemently rolled his eyes and dug a huge hand into his popcorn, but left his crotch open for the taking. Gabe briefly rubbed his hands together before unbuckling the rest of Sam's belt and carefully reaching in to pull out his cock. Sam's dick was massive; a literal moose cock, even when it was soft. But after all the sex they'd had over fifteen years, Gabriel was used to its huge size. He brought his mouth to the precious member as soon as he laid eyes on it, kissing it 'hello' and giving it a few tugs. Gabe's actions were rewarded with a few low grunts from above. Gabriel could hear the movie playing behind him – something about a kid playing with a paper boat in the rain – but he kept most of his attention on catering to Sam's dick. Though he tried not to brag, Gabriel knew he was the master of blow jobs, especially when it came to his favorite moose. It didn't take him long to make Sam hard enough to stand up. The kid's dick practically sprung up from his pants, which Gabe found hilarious. Sam might have said he didn't like having sex in public, but his body thought otherwise.“Ah.”Gabriel smirked a little around Sam's dick, glad to hear that the kid was enjoying himself. The archangel sucked even harder and eventually reached down in his pants to fondle his balls too. He could hear Sam crunching on popcorn above him, mixed with the loud movie playing behind him. Sam rocked his hips with Gabe's mouth, obviously trying to get to an orgasm. Wanting to help the kid along, Gabe used some of his grace to kickstart the pleasure, sending pulses to Sam's brain that made him groan out loud.“Gnah! Gabe! Holy shit,” he moaned into the giant, empty room.Even though they just started, Sam was already close to an orgasm with the use of Gabe's magic touch. The archangel's hand was glowing yellow around Sam's cock, making wave upon wave of pleasure crash through the guy's whole body. Sam was clinging desperately to the seat with one hand and crushing his bucket of popcorn with the other, grunting and thrusting into Gabe's mouth like a jack hammer. Gabe gladly welcomed the blows. He was more than happy to ease Sam's mind with this naughty outing.“Ahhhhh!!!” Sam suddenly screamed, his voice higher than before. At first Gabriel took his husband's outburst as a good thing. Wow, Gabe must have been getting better with this blow job thing to make Sam scream like that. It wasn't until he heard Sam shriek again, and felt the kid's erection dying in his hand, that Gabriel realized something was wrong. Above him, Sam had dropped his bucket of popcorn and was trying to cover his face. The archangel quickly slipped his mouth off of Sam's dick.“Sam?” he asked over the sound of haunting background music.“C – C – Clown!” Sam shouted, pointing to the screen.Gabriel instantly spun around to look at the fifty-foot screen behind him – where he saw a ginormous, psycho clown with razors sharp teeth eating the arm off a little boy. It was the creepiest, scariest clown that Gabriel had ever laid eyes on. Holy shit! No wonder Sam screamed! That thing was enough to traumatize anybody, let alone people with clown phobias!“Get me out of here!” Sam begged, reaching down to shake Gabe's shoulders.Without a word, Gabe snapped his fingers to transport the two of them back to the Impala. Sam ended up in the driver's seat with Gabriel next to him and he was panting; still in shock from the abrupt shift from arousal to horror. Gabriel felt terrible. What were the odds of them winding up in a killer-clown movie like that? After huffing a few breaths, Sam turned to give Gabriel a glare.“What the hell, Gabe?!” he shouted.Gabriel was about to give a sincere apology when he looked down to see that Sam's pants were still open. The sight of Sam's wilted cock laying pitifully between his legs was just enough to make him burst into laughter. Oh, man! Poor Sammy was so close to an orgasm, and then a clown had to show up and ruin it. Gabriel tried to catch his breath so that he could tell Sam how sorry he was, but all he could do was hold onto the kid's arm and choke out a few words.“That... Ha, ha!.. I didn't know that was... Ha!... I promise I didn't know!” he chuckled. The sound of his laughter must have been persuasive, because Sam actually cracked an exasperated smile. The kid shook his head and brushed the stray popcorn from his jacket, taking the time to look down at his own soft dick.“I guess I had that coming,” he mumbled.“No, you didn't get to come. That's what's so funny!” Gabriel giggled.Sam gave a small chuckle. Gabe was so happy to see his husband slowly getting back into a good mood. After a moment of collecting himself, Sam leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.“I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks,” he mentioned.“Nah, don't be silly, moose,” Gabe purred, crawling over to cuddle up to him, “I'll always make sure you have sweet dreams.”Sam rolled his head to the side to give Gabe an honest smile. The archangel leaned up to press his lips to his human's, tasting the butter and salt from the popcorn on the tongue that slid out to meet him. Gabe ran his hand through Sam's hair and smiled when he pulled away.“Want me to try again?” he offered in a purring tone.“As long as there aren't any clowns,” Sam grinned, gesturing toward his open pants, “Be my guest.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Dean took a sip from his morning coffee as he stood with his husband at the kitchen counter. The newspaper he had been looking at was laying nearby, but his attention was on the teenagers across the room now. Jude and Clarence were sitting at the table and chatting a little over breakfast; all alone, since that Jessica had left with Sam and Gabe to go on her date. It was pretty damn obvious that they liked each other just from the way they sat angled perfectly towards one another; elbows on the table, feet turned inward, cheeks flushing every so often. Dean's little boy was getting his first taste of adult feelings and it was the cutest thing in the world.Though he was interested in the kids' interaction, Dean tried to look at them as little as possible. He didn't want Cas to catch him staring and start wondering what it was about Jude and Clarence that Dean found so admiring... That is, until Dean looked up and found Cas staring at the kids with the exact same expression. The angel's blue eyes were soft and his smile was warm as he blinked at Jude from across the room. Huh. Did Cas figure it out, too? Did he know that their son had a crush on the demon boy? Cas eventually noticed that Dean was looking at him and the two of them met suspicious eyes. How was Dean supposed to ask the question without giving it away?“... Do you know something?” Dean mumbled, nodding briefly toward the kitchen table.Cas gulped, making his throat quiver and eyes narrow even more.“I... might know something,” he carefully confirmed, “Do you know something?”“Yeah. Maybe,” Dean nodded, lowering his voice to a whisper, “About... those kids liking each other?”“Yes,” Cas agreed, suddenly wearing a gentle smile, “I believe Jude has a strong fondness for that boy.”“Boy?” Dean repeated, feeling impressed, “Wow, Cas, I think that's the first time you haven't referred to him as a demon.”Cas gave a tiny shrug and leaned his arm on the table, keeping the pleasant expression on his face.“I suppose so,” the angel murmured quietly.Dean was pretty surprised to hear what his husband was saying. What made Cas go from wanting Clarence gone to being totally cool with him? Maybe he and Jude had a little talk. Or maybe Cas could just see it for himself. After all, the tension between Jude and Clarence was almost tangible...A puff of black smoke suddenly filled the kitchen doorway, drawing everyone's attention.The dark cloud dissipated almost as soon as it appeared, leaving Bobby and Crowley standing in the room. By the serious looks on their faces alone, Dean could tell that something had happened. They must have had some news that needed to be shared in person, otherwise they would have called. Clarence immediately hopped out of his seat when he saw Crowley. The kid swayed around a bit and held his head like it was aching, but looked to the men in the kitchen with hopefulness. Crowley's dark eyes flickered toward Clarence... and a tiny smile appeared on his mouth.“We found her,” he purred.The sound of Clarence's gasp filled the room.“Y – you found her? She's alive?” Clarence asked, his eyes huge and full of excitement.“Indeed she is,” Crowley informed, “Go and get your things, boy. It's time for a reunion.”A huge smile flashed on Clarence face and he instantly dashed for the door. The guy ran past Bobby and Crowley, giggling like a kid on Christmas morning. In the meantime, everyone else's mouths were hanging open in shock. Holy shit, Meg was still alive? Dean was partly convinced that she had somehow died since the last time he saw her. He was almost certain that she would turn up dead. But as shocked as he was, Dean was also kind of glad. Clarence always wanted to be with his mom and now it was about to happen. And after everything he'd been through, the kid deserved it...“Meg is alive?” Cas asked out loud, turning to tilt his head fully at Bobby and Crowley, “How do you know?”“Mother has discovered her location via a bonding charm, which only works if both parties are alive,” the demon king explained, his voice pompously British as usual, “With some of the boy's hair, she was able to pinpoint Meg's whereabouts on the globe.”“Which is where?” Dean asked, rounding the island to get closer to his guests.“Right outside New York City,” Bobby answered with a huff, giving Crowley a sideways glare, “Somebody already popped over there to see for himself.”“Did you really expect me to leave something like that up to chance, love?” Crowley hissed back with a wink.“You've already seen her?” Dean asked.“Oh yes. From a distance,” Crowley replied with a nod, “I didn't want to get too close. The winch would flee at the first sign of me, guaranteed. When she sees her son, however, she may be more inclined to stay. In fact, I've set up a devil's trap to make sure of it.”Dean shared a small glance with his husband and could tell that Cas was equally skeptical. The angel stepped even closer to Crowley and gave him a stern look.“Why do you want Meg to stay?” he questioned, “Does she owe you something?”“Yes! Two decades worth of damned souls!” Crowley barked back.Bobby's hand quickly raised and grabbed onto Crowley's shoulder. The firm grip seemed to be just enough to make him change his tune. The king took a long, drawn out breath before glancing back to give Bobby a defeated look.“I have agreed, however, not to harm the insubordinate quim,” Crowley muttered, “Not until she is reunited with her child and provides some kind of explanation for her unauthorized absence from hell. Only then will I carry out the proper punishment.”“Good boy,” Bobby muttered under his breath.Dean opened his mouth to ask what kind of punishment Crowley was talking about, but the tug on his arm made it disappear. He glanced over to see Jude standing next to him with a look of concern and melancholy.“Does this mean Clarence is gonna leave, Dad?” he asked, sounding so upset.Dean swallowed harshly. Ah, crap. He didn't realize that sending Clarence to be with his mom would also mean sending him away from the bunker. And away from Jude. The anxious pain growing in Jude's baby-blues were enough to make Dean feel like shit.“Um... I don't know, Buddy,” Dean offered.Jude glanced around worriedly for a second like he was thinking hard, still clinging to his dad's arm.“Well, c – can we go with him? You know, just to make sure he gets to his mom safely and everything?” Jude quickly clarified, probably trying to cover up the fact that he had a crush on the guy.Dean raised his head and glanced among all the adults in the room. Jude's suggestion actually sounded like a good idea. They should probably all go with Clarence, especially since it sounded like Crowley was out for Meg. Dean and Cas needed to be there with Bobby just to keep the demon king in line in case he was thinking of harming Meg in front of Clarence or something.“Yeah. It wouldn't hurt,” Dean shrugged, reaching over to touch his angel's hand, “What do you say, Cas? Wanna fly us all to New York?”Dean was glad to see his husband nod fervently. Cas seemed just as eager to be there when Clarence reunited with his mother.“It would be easier if we were all seated in a vehicle,” the angel admitted, “but yes. I can transport us.”“Sweet. We'll pile in the Impala and go,” Dean agreed, “What do you say, lil' man? Sound like a plan?”Jude nodded with a breath of relief, but off to the side, Crowley scoffed loudly in protest.“Seriously? Are you trying to turn this simple reunion into a blasted 'hunting trip'?” the demon spat.“Call it what you want. Clarence is Jude's friend, which means he's part of this family,” Dean stated firmly, “and family sticks together.”Jude, Cas, and Bobby all beamed happily, seeming proud of Dean's fervent acceptance of the same kid he couldn't even get along with just a few days before. Crowley, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and huffed again.“Bloody Winchesters,” he mumbled under his breath, “Fine. Do whatever you'd like. But we need to get a move on before she decides to skip town ag-”Crowley's sentence was drowned out by the sound of fast footsteps rushing down the hallway. Clarence came bounding into the kitchen wearing his jacket, guitar case, and a huge smile. Meg's purple leather jacket was in his hand and he was almost jogging in place.“Okay, I'm ready. Let's go,” he said with a childlike tone of excitement.Anyone else might have thought that Clarence was about to go to Disneyland for the first time, by the way he was acting. The sad part was that the more excited Clarence behaved, the more depressed Jude looked. Obviously, Jude didn't want his new buddy to go. But Dean couldn't do much to help his child this time. Clarence had been ready to go from the moment he stepped foot in the bunker...“Shall we?” Bobby said, turning to gesture toward the hall.“Yep. To the Impala,” Dean instructed.Clarence was the first one out of the kitchen. The blonde teenager led the way down the hall and directly to the garage – which Dean found a little weird. How the hell did Clarence know where the garage was? Had he been snooping around the bunker? – where they all climbed into the Impala. Dean didn't even have to start her up. Crowley gave Cas some exact coordinates and the angel flew the entire Impala to the spot. In a flash, the vehicle was in a brand new place with everyone inside. Dean was used to being flown around, so he was indifferent to the change of scenery. Jude, though, clung tight to Dean's arm – just like he did when he was little – and didn't let go until they were safely on the ground again.The car full of people was now situated next to a river – the Hudson, if Dean had to take a guess – and a light sprinkling of rain started to cover the windshield of the Impala. It was a dreary overcast day outside, with gray clouds and moody atmosphere as far as the eye could see. Once again, Clarence was the first one in action. The blonde teenager practically jumped out of the backseat, leaving everyone to quickly follow him outside. Dean grabbed the demon knife from the glove box before stepping out for himself. He didn't know if Meg was going to be surrounded by other demons or not, and it was better to be safe than sorry.At first, there didn't seem to be anyone around. The New York City skyline was in the distance, so they were obviously down river. A small dock was off to the right and a large bridge was a few yards to the left. The Impala had landed at the end of a muddy trail that seemed to lead to a main road in the distance. Was Crowley sure that this was the right place? No one was here. Maybe he was losing his touch.“Where is she?” Clarence asked gleefully, spinning in circles and making the guitar case bounce on his back.“Over there,” Crowley answered.The demon king pointed toward the bridge to the left and everyone stopped to study it. Dean barely noticed the slight movement coming from the edge of the concrete pillar. There really was someone standing there. Clarence started to run toward the bridge, but Cas grabbed him by the shoulder to stop him.“Wait,” the angel said, shaking his head, “Don't run. You might startle her. We must go slowly and as a group, alright?”Though Clarence made a classic 'argumentative teenager' face, he rolled his eyes and waited for everyone else to catch up. Dean could feel his own teenage son pressing close to his arm as the six of them walked toward the person in the distance. Jude still seemed bummed about letting Clarence go, even though Clarence was still all smiles. The blonde kid trotted happily up to the concrete pillar with a look of genuine hopefulness.The closer they got to the bridge, the clearer Meg became. Crowley was telling the truth when he mentioned putting down a devils trap because it seemed like she was trying her best to move but couldn't. Meg was kneeling down and digging at the ground, trying desperately to break out of the spell she was caught in; like an animal in a cage. Like Cas predicted, the sound of footsteps seemed to startle her because she looked up with a gasp when they approached...Meg was possessing someone different than Dean remembered. He didn't recognize the face that looked at him at all. The lady was ill-looking; skinny, pale, twitchy. Her eyes were sunken in when she glanced among the faces in front of her. Did she recognize them, too? Did she remember the Winchesters? She had to remember Cas at least, right?Clarence, who was unable to contain his excitement, yanked himself free from under Cas's arms and ran toward her with a wide grin.“Mom!” he cried, sounding so happy with his arms open wide, “I found you!”Meg's eyes flashed full of fear when she saw Clarence running toward her. Though she couldn't flee, she still reached up to swat his arms down.“Don't touch me!” she warned, shoving him away, “Who are you?! Back up!”“No, hey, it's me,” Clarence said, taking a step back, “I'm Clarence.”Meg narrowed her eyes at him from under her tangled hair, appearing completely lost.“Wh – who?” she asked again.“Clarence,” the kid repeated, his smile still as bright as sunshine, “I'm your son. The one you had to give away, remember? I've been looking for you my whole life and now... I can't believe it's really you!”For a second, Meg looked unable, or unwilling, to recall her own child. But Dean could see the information slowly sink in across her face. Stark realization bloomed in her eyes – along with unbridled horror. Her emaciated face turned even paler in the drizzling rain and her chapped lips fell wide open. Liquid seemed to pool in her eyes as she stared at the teenager in front of her in terror. Her reaction confused Dean. Why did she look so scared to see Clarence?“No,” she muttered breathlessly, slowly shaking her head, “No, I... I got rid of you... You can't be here... This isn't real...”Pain flashed on Clarence's face. He, along with everyone else, was disturbed by the words that had fallen out of Meg's mouth. She 'got rid' of Clarence? What the hell was she talking about? Was she hooked on drugs too? Was she losing her mind? Dean shared a look with Cas, who also seemed worried about Meg's state of mind. The angel stepped up to Clarence's side afterward, silently offering the kid some help.“Meg?” Cas began.When Meg turned to see Cas, a comforted look spread across her face. She seemed relieved to see the blue-eyed angel in the trench coat from her past.“Castiel...” she mumbled, confirming that she recognized the rest of them.“Yes,” Cas nodded, “Can you tell us what happened? I know it was a very long time ago, but try to remember. Who helped you conceive your child?”“H – helped?” Meg repeated with a horrified stare, her eyes leaking tears without her realizing it, “No... I was forced.”Dean's heart dropped as he stood in the cold, drizzling rain. Oh, shit. Clarence was the product of a rape? But Crowley said Clarence's father was human. How could any human have the power to rape a demon? With a gentle look of sympathy, Cas took another step closer.“Who forced you?” he asked quietly.“I don't know his damn name,” she scoffed, talking to Cas and refusing to acknowledge the teenager standing next to him, “All I remember is blonde hair... like straw... bits and pieces of being used... over and over... like a toy... kept in a box until he wanted to play again...”Cas gave Dean a brief glance, silently sharing the same pity, before returning his sight to Meg.“He held you in captivity?” the angel guessed.“In a spell just like this,” she answered, looking down at the devils trap on the ground, “The bastard caught me in the middle of a crossroads deal. And moved me to some kind of house... I remember the smell. Like flowers. He shot me full of heroin or something and... I don't remember much after that. Just an endless loop of sleep and no sleep. Not being able to move. Screaming. Begging... I was out for most of it... There were other demons too. Being used like me.”“I'll be damned,” Crowley breathed.Everyone turned to look at the king of hell in the back, who was suddenly pale. He glanced along every face with a sense of guilt.“I know who she's talking about,” he admitted shamefully, “The man was a lunatic with a demon fetish. He liked picking off my female employees and... playing with them. I tracked him down a few years ago and killed him myself, the dirty bastard.”After hearing the new information, Dean's sight wandered over to Clarence. He couldn't imagine what it must have felt like to find out that his father was a sadistic rapist and dead. But the kid was surprisingly – suspiciously – calm. Clarence only turned back to look at his mother, whose attention was solely focused on Cas. The blue-eyed angel stared back at her with a compassionate and caring look.“How did you escape?” he asked.“I didn't... I just woke up one morning on the side of the road,” Meg answered, her eyes filling with tears again, “and my... my stomach was huge. I was so doped up that I didn't realize until days later that there was... something growing inside me...”“You were pregnant,” Cas rephrased.Meg let out a sob and covered her face with her shaking hands. The heartbreaking sound echoed underneath the bridge, making goosebumps rise on Dean's skin.“It kept moving!” she squalled, “I had to get it out! It was growing inside me! I cut myself open and pulled it out... but then, it wouldn't shut up! It was so loud! Crying and crying! I was afraid he would hear it and come back for me, so I balled it up and threw it away. I watched my jacket float down the river to make sure it was gone...”Dean's mouth had run dry. He could hear his own heart thumping inside his chest like a drum, echoing against his ribcage. He couldn't believe Meg was talking about her child like that. She was calling her child 'it.' After watching his own child grow up and being so attached to him – after loving Jude so much for so long – Dean couldn't believe that someone would speak of their child that way. And while the same child was standing right in front of them, no less! Poor Clarence looked utterly devastated. His thin face was paler than usual and he was already blinking away tears of his own. His trembling hand slowly reached into the pocket of the jacket in his hand and he pulled out the crinkled piece of paper from inside.“But... but you wrote this note for me,” he reminded, his voice cracking, “Y – you named me. And told me you loved me...”Meg turned away from Cas long enough to look down and see the note in Clarence's hand. She scrunched her nose and shook her head, only pausing to give Clarence a snarled expression.“That? That wasn't for you,” she spat, turning to look at Cas with brimming, gentle eyes, “It was for you.”Another wave of shock swept over Dean and he suddenly felt sick at his stomach. Holy shit. Of course Meg wrote that note for Cas. She was always calling him 'Clarence' for some dumb reason. Dean thought she just liked the name, but no. It was always meant as a pet name for Cas... Dean couldn't tear his eyes away as he watched Meg reach out to grab the front of Cas's coat with both hands.“I wanted to be with you, Castiel,” she breathed, speaking so softly as she eyed his mouth, “So many times, I wanted to tell you. I even wrote it out and kept meaning to give it to you... but then it was too late,” she said, slowly letting go of his coat and leaning away, “It's all messed up now. And I just want to be alone. Please, let me go! Let me out of this damn trap! Please!”Dean flinched at the shrill tone of fear in Meg's voice. She was starting to pant like she was on the verge of having a panic attack. Cas took the time to glance back at everyone else, probably to see if anyone was going to try to stop him, before using his foot to rub out part of the devils trap. Meg disappeared as soon as the sigil was broken, leaving the six people to stand by the river in the aftermath of her brutal honesty.At first, Dean was too disturbed by the thought of Meg being in love with Cas to think about anything else. Cas was Dean's angel. Cas was Dean's husband. And imagining a universe in which Cas belonged to someone else made Dean raw with fury and sick to his stomach. It wasn't until he heard the sound of ripping paper that Dean was able to turn his attention to Clarence.The poor kid had tossed the jacket down and was furiously ripping up the note in his hand. He was destroying the same piece of paper he had been clinging to his whole life; the same letter that filled him with hope and drove him to find the Winchesters. He hated it now and Dean couldn't blame him. After everything they just heard, Clarence was understandably emotional. After he let go of the ripped paper and let it dance away in the breeze, he looked like a statue. Clarence just stood there and stared into nothing, blinking away a few stray tears from the corner of his eyes. Cas took a half-step closer to the demon with a look of sympathy.Before anyone could say anything, Clarence started walking away. It wasn't a fast or angry walk. More of a numb walk. A bland, empty walk. The kind of walk that someone took when there was nowhere left to go but the only relief they could find was by simply moving. Dean had seen that walk before. Hell, he had taken that walk before. That walk led to nowhere, and Dean couldn't just stand by and watch the poor kid go.Clarence was already a good distance away by the time Dean regained function of his motor skills and walked back to get to the Impala. Jude stayed right on Dean's heels and got into the car with him, acting just as heartbroken and afraid. Dean started up the Impala and carefully pulled around to drive up next to Clarence. The demon kid didn't even notice the vehicle, even when Dean rolled down the window and started talking to him.“Get in the car, kid,” Dean said.Of course, Clarence was too distraught – or defiant – to do what Dean said. He just kept a brisk pace and let the tears roll down his emotionless face. The rumble of the Impala's engine spiked a few times as Dean tapped the gas pedal to keep up with him.“C'mon, man. I'm taking you back to the bunker,” Dean said a little louder, using just a touch of his 'dad' voice.Still, Clarence refused to acknowledge the demand. His feet just kept sloshing through the wet brush, guiding him away from everyone else; away from the life he used to know. Dean could understand the kid's unwillingness to take orders from an acquaintance, but he really wanted to take Clarence back to the bunker before he did something stupid to hurt himself even more. But what could possibly convince the kid to listen?Dean paused to look at his teenage son next to him in the front seat, who had been present the entire time. Jude was clearly worried about Clarence too, and now was the perfect time for him to say something. Dean nodded toward the walking demon outside the window with a pair of raised eyebrows, giving Jude a silent nudge. Jude gulped, but turned his attention to the blonde kid in the rain.“Clare?” Jude called, his voice so tender and sweet, “Please come home with us.”Dean was relieved to see Clarence finally slow to a stop. The Impala rolled to a stop in the mud too, rumbling quietly as an invitation. With his wet blonde hair stuck to his face, Clarence eventually turned to blink toward the open window. He looked at Jude, who stared back with a desperate, pleading expression, before bowing his head and climbing into the backseat. The door slammed shut behind him and Dean breathed in a sigh of relief. Clarence might not have been welcome with Meg, but he sure as hell was welcome with the Winchesters.With Clarence safely in the backseat and Jude keeping both eyes on him, Dean drove around to pick up the rest of the guys under the bridge. They climbed in without a word, all too dumbstruck to really say anything. But Dean found that he couldn't even bring himself to look at Cas. His stomach ached too much...Being disliked – borderline hated – by a parent was a hard thing for Jude to understand.Jude's parents always loved him and cared for him. Always made sure he didn't have to worry about being cold or hungry. Dad and Papa were the best parents anyone could ask for. And learning that Clarence would never have that type of bond with his real parent made Jude unbelievably sad. Clarence wasn't a bad guy. He deserved so much better than what he had been through. His mom was so mean; calling him a 'thing' instead of a person. It made sense that Clarence was hooked on drugs, since his mom was hooked on them when she got pregnant. Still, she could have at least been nice to him instead of throwing him away. The thought of poor baby Clarence being all alone in the cold water made Jude so mad and upset. He wished he could go back in time and fish Clarence out of the river himself...In the privacy of the bunker kitchen, the adults all sat around and finally talked about what happened. Uncle Gabe and uncle Sam came home just in time to hear the news, too. Uncle Crowley mentioned that he might 'take action against Meg after all,' but uncle Bobby told him that there was no point. Meg was already a slave to addiction and left completely alone. She was already serving her punishment for being a terrible mother.Still, everybody was worried about Clarence. Dad said that they were all going to take turns keeping an eye on him. 'Suicide watch,' uncle Bobby called it. Though he had come back to the bunker, Clarence still wasn't talking to anyone. He stayed in the same room he chose earlier, where Jude heard him playing the guitar. But he wasn't playing the guitar anymore. He was just sitting in silence, staring at nothing. Many times, Jude tried to gain the courage to go and talk to him; to offer some kind of comfort and let him know that he was still important to other people. But Jude's stupid bashfulness kept holding him back. Jude was so worried that he might make things worse somehow...Luckily, his want to talk to Clarence gradually outweighed his shyness, and Jude suddenly found himself standing at the demon's open door. Uncle Sammy – who had been on 'suicide watch' duty at the time – welcomed him over with a small smile.“Hey,” he whispered, low enough so that Clarence couldn't hear, “You wanna hang out here for a minute?”Jude swallowed a gulp and forced a nod, still trying to hang onto the small bit of courage he possessed. Uncle Sammy patted his shoulder and nodded as he walked away.“I'm gonna take a leak before I send Gabe down here,” he mentioned.Jude watched him go with wide eyes. Oh. Maybe uncle Sam was deliberately giving Jude some time to be alone with Clarence... After Sam slipped down the hall, Jude turned his attention to the only other person in the area. Clarence was sitting at the small desk on the other side of the room, facing the blank wall in front of him. Jude could only see the back of his head, but he was sure that Clarence was upset. Who wouldn't be upset after hearing that their parent never wanted them? Jude nervously rubbed his hands together and glanced around. What could he possibly say?“Hi,” Jude offered quietly.There was only silence from Clarence's part of the room, but Jude understood the lack of words. At least he was listening. But now what was Jude going to say? The teenager wanted to make his friend happy again; to help him understand that there were other people in his life that might help him forget that his mom was so mean to him. Maybe Jude could borrow some words from his dad...“M – my dad says that... love is about devotion,” Jude stuttered, trying so hard to change his thoughts into coherent words, “I'm sorry your mom wasn't devoted to you, like you were to her... But other people are. And that's what matters.”Jude hoped that his words would be enough to at least make Clarence turn around. But the demon didn't move. He just sat there like a statue. Jude took a deep breath. Maybe he had to try something else.“Real parents are always there for you,” he continued, “Like my Dad and Papa. They were always there for me -”“Save it.”Jude flinched at the sound of Clarence's interruption. The demon finally stood up from the chair and turned around to look at Jude. His greenish-brown eyes were red again, this time from crying, but his expression was flat.“I don't need your shitty pep talk,” Clarence breathed, “I know you've had a good life, Jude. And I'm happy for you. But I'm fine. So just leave me alone.”Jude gulped down the rest of his argument, but didn't move. Clarence wasn't fine at all. He was drowning in sorrow and pain and Jude hated it. It wasn't fair that Jude had such a good life while poor Clarence drew the short straw. There had to be some way Jude could show Clarence how good his own life could be. Jude wanted him to feel how nice it was to be loved. Just before Clarence turned away, Jude found his voice again.“Can I show you something?” he asked, “Please?”Jude was grateful to see Clarence slowly turn back around. His expression stayed empty, even when he cocked an eyebrow. But at least he was giving Jude a chance to help him. Though his heart was beating hard and he wasn't quite sure exactly how to use his grace, Jude quietly walked close to Clarence. He gently reached up to brush some of Clarence's pretty blonde hair back so that he could touch two fingers to his temple. Afterward, Jude closed his own eyes and started to cycle through some of his own memories; using his grace to transfer the emotions from them to Clarence's mind.Jude started with his very first memory; the one where he was inside a warm, light place, hearing his dad's voice for the first time. The muffled lyrics of 'Hey Jude' lit up his whole body and made him feel so warm. Dad had the best singing voice in the whole world... Then, he remembered flashes of being spoon fed in a high-chair. Dad and Papa made cute, silly noises; always 'flying' food into Jude's mouth and smiling at him. Jude remembered giggling so hard at their terrible acting... Then came memories of riding his first bike and seeing Dad beaming with pride when he could ride it all by himself. And Jessie giggling so hard that her cheeks were pink and wet with happy tears. And uncle Sammy calming Jude down after he woke up from a nightmare. And uncle Gabe sneaking him candy even when Dad and Papa told him not to. Uncle Bobby always bringing him a gift when he came to visit; patting his shoulder and telling him how tall he was getting. And Uncle Crowley and Aunt Rowena fighting over who would get to teach him magic first...But more than anything, Jude tried to focus on the memories of Dad and Papa. Dad always being so protective and Papa always being so caring. Hiding behind Dad's arm during the scary parts of a movie, and climbing inside Papa's trench coat when he wanted to feel safe. Jude tried his best to remember each and every hug in detail, wanting Clarence to feel all the love and devotion inside them. That was how Jude knew his parents loved him; not just by their words, but by their constant display of affection too. They didn't have to say 'I love you' all the time. Jude already knew it from their hugs alone...The very last thing Jude wanted to leave in Clarence's mind was how Jude felt toward him. Jude pictured the bookshelf incident clearly in his mind; recalling how terrified he was of falling, but how grateful he was to have landed in Clarence's arms. After that was the sound of Clarence playing 'Hey Jude' on the guitar. Jude remembered how much he adored the sound, and how nervously happy he was just to talk to Clarence. Jude even included what happened in the alley in Lebanon, and watching Papa cure Clarence of his disease in the garage. He made sure that Clarence could feel the weight of his own importance in the Winchester's lives. In Jude's life. Because he was very important. Jude cared for Clarence just as much as he did his own family...After the last memory passed through his mind, Jude let his hand fall away and opened his eyes. In front of him, Clarence's face was actually full of emotion. He was blinking away a few new tears – happy ones, Jude hoped – and his lovely eyes were studying Jude's face in disbelief. Clarence's mouth was hanging open but he didn't say anything. Maybe he was too stunned to speak. Or maybe Jude's attempt to make him feel better failed. The silence between them seemed to stretch for a little while before Jude coughed.“Well... That's what love is supposed to feel like. I think,” he mumbled, looking down, “I'll, um, leave you alone now.”Jude turned to leave, afraid that he had worn out his welcome. He only made it two steps before Clarence grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back. Jude looked up to see why Clarence had pulled him – and suddenly felt lips pressing against his own. Jude blinked several times, seeing the soft light strands of blonde hair before his eyes. Holy crap! Clarence was kissing him! On the mouth! Jude could feel Clarence's warm, moist lips suctioned to his own, pressing in with enough force to make Jude light headed. Clarence's hand let go of Jude's arm and came up to hold the back of his head while they kissed; running his fingers through Jude's hair and sending chills down his spine. Jude was almost too shocked to respond, but he managed to at least taste Clarence's mouth. Their tongues only met for a brief second, just one tiny, timid lick, before Clarence pulled away to breathe.Jude panted a little bit too, realizing that he hadn't breathed at all during the kiss. The two of them looked at each other afterward while Clarence's hand finally fell away. His beautiful eyes were so full of emotion – full of love. When he spoke again, his voice practically dripped with honesty.“Thank you,” he whispered, nodding his head with a smile as another tear leaked from his eye.Jude gulped again, this time from gleeful nervousness, and nodded quickly.“Y – yeah. Anytime,” he smiled back, his voice high.While the two of them shared a small moment of unspoken shared affection, the sound of footsteps came shuffling up to the door. Jude quickly turned around just in time to see uncle Gabe slide around the corner. He was holding a tray in his hands that was full of junk food. Candy, brownies, muffins, even some of Dad's pecan pie and a glass of Sunny D.“Hey, Clare-bear,” Gabe sang, holding up the tray, “I thought you would like some goodies from our secret stash. Interested?”Clarence coughed a bit and ran a hand through his hair, still wearing the smile from his and Jude's kiss.“Hell yeah,” he nodded, gesturing to the desk, “Bring it on.”Though uncle Gabe looked a little surprised to see the smile on Clarence's face, he slipped into the room to put the tray down. Jude carefully edged his way around Gabe to get to the door, feeling his face burning hot with embarrassment and utter joy. He didn't want his uncle to know that he and Clarence had just shared a steamy first kiss.“I – I'm gonna go,” Jude said, accidentally bumping into the door frame and rubbing his arm, “I'll, um, s – see you later, Clarence.”“Yeah. Okay. Later, Superman,” Clarence grinned.Jude smiled brightly back at the blonde guy in the room, feeling so happy that he could make him feel better. Once he finally pulled himself away, Jude practically floated down the hall. He wasn't aware of where he was going or how he was walking, he was just stumbling along like an idiot with a stupid smile on his face. Oh, man, he just had his first kiss! And it was with Clarence; the pretty demon boy with a guitar!Jude eventually found himself stumbling into Jessie's room, where she was laying sideways on her bed. The teenage boy barely noticed that his cousin was wearing the same smile until he plopped down on the mattress next to her and they rolled to look at each other. From a single glance, Jude was able to tell that she was feeling the exact same way he was.“You kissed Ollie,” Jude guessed.Jessie immediately nodded and giggled, filling the room with the beautiful sound.“Yep,” she smirked, “You kissed Clarence?”“Yep,” Jude repeated, unable to stop the chuckle that fell out of his own mouth, “How was yours?”“Amazing,” she sighed, blissfully closing her eyes for a few seconds before looking back at him, “And yours?”Jude took a large breath of his own and rolled his head to look at Jess's ceiling. In his mind, he was picturing the kiss he just had a few minutes prior; the touching lips, licking tongue, and all the moisture. But the part that made him most happy was seeing Clarence smile afterward.“Amazing,” Jude breathed back.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Hold on a second. Let's recap,” Gabriel interrupted, sparing a glance among the faces in the kitchen, “Meg was held captive, drugged, raped, and left pregnant on the side of the road. But instead of accepting that she was pregnant, she freaked out, ripped Clarence out of her body, and threw him off a bridge? And his name is only 'Clarence' because of a note she kept in her pocket that she meant to give Cas but never did?”Castiel, Dean, Bobby, and Crowley nodded in unison, all wearing the same vague and saddened expression. Hearing the whole story condensed into such a blunt version made Castiel feel worse. He was glad that none of the children were around to hear it; especially Clarence himself. Gabriel sighed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the far wall in disbelief.“Damn,” the archangel muttered, “I knew she wouldn't be 'Mommy' material, but wow. I never expected her to be practically psychotic.”“It's the heroin,” Bobby mumbled, his head bowed toward the table, “That shit'll make you do things you'd never dream of doin' if you were clean. Messes with your head like crazy. I've seen it destroy enough lives to know.”The old man was tilting his empty coffee mug and staring down inside with a forlorn expression. The sight of Bobby's heartache pained Castiel, who had always admired the elder man's strong will and stoic composure. It was rare to see Bobby freely display such a private emotion. Wishing to cheer him up – or at the very least, temporarily take his mind off things – Castiel retrieved the pot of freshly brewed coffee from the counter and walked over to refill the man's mug. Bobby mumbled a soft 'thank you' before taking a drink of the warm liquid. Afterward, Castiel refilled Sam's mug as well, who was equally grateful. The only other person in the room with a mug was Dean, and there was just enough left in the glass pot to refill his to the rim.But even as Cas poured the rest of the coffee into Dean's cup, the angel noticed that his husband refused to look at him. Dean's lovely green eyes remained fixed on the mug in his hand, watching the liquid rise with a sense of slight discomfort. Even when the interaction was over, Dean only offered a tiny nod instead of verbal gratitude. His distant behavior was starting to worry Castiel. It seemed as though Dean had been avoiding eye contact with Cas ever since they had that terrible meeting with Meg. But why? Did he blame Castiel for something that she mentioned? Was he upset with Castiel for not doing enough to help?“What's Clarence going to do now?” Sam asked from the table, briefly regaining Castiel's attention, “Is he gonna go back to Chicago?”“I highly doubt that, Sammy-boy,” Gabriel spoke up, “The Windy City wasn't exactly nice to him.”A small silence occupied the room, in which Sam took a sip of coffee and shook his head. On the opposite side of the table, Crowley drummed his fingers on the wood and glared toward the wall across the kitchen.“The boy's father must have been some kind of nomad,” the demon king breathed, seemingly to himself, “Chicago, New Orleans, Denver, Seattle, New York... My girls were disappearing all over the map. I finally caught the bastard in Las Vegas. Butchered him and left his carcase in the desert... Still, it baffles me how he was able to capture and keep so many possessed women at once. He must have been...”Crowley seemed unsure about finishing his sentence. Bobby, who had been listening closely to the demon's monologue, swallowed a bit of coffee and raised an eyebrow under the bill of his hat.“Into witchcraft?” he offered.Crowley met eyes with his husband and nodded.“It would explain a lot. Clarence's gift for the craft being one of them,” he replied.“Clare-bear said he was raised by a coven though. It could have come from them,” Gabe reminded.“There's a difference between learning magic and being born with it. Just ask my half-wit mother. I have to hear her complain about my 'wasted potential' all the bloody time,” Crowley explained gruffly, “Clarence will need training with it, though. Just as he will with his demonic abilities. The boy simply doesn't know what he is capable of.”“You sayin' you wanna teach him a thing or two?” Bobby interrupted, hiding a subtle smile beneath his beard.Once again, Crowley met eyes with the elder man and batted his eyelashes with a smirk.“If he shows loyalty and dedication, perhaps,” the demon king reluctantly answered, “God knows his mother never possessed those qualities... If Meg had just stayed in line where she belonged, she might not have had to endure such senseless torture... What say you, Castiel?”Cas raised his own head to look at the demon at the table. Crowley's question had triggered everyone else's attention and they were now staring between the two of them. The angel felt a hint of bashfulness on his own face. Why was Crowley pointing him out?“Me?” Cas questioned.“Yes, you,” Crowley purred pompously, “It sounded as though Meg thought highly of your righteous arse. Since the two of you used to be close, perhaps you might have seen this coming?”Before Castiel could open his mouth to actively deny Crowley's accusation of him being closely affiliated with Meg, a firm 'clank' echoed from the counter. Dean had forcefully placed his mug down and was now walking toward the doorway. The sight of his husband carefully fleeing the room made Castiel's chest ache. Perhaps Dean wasn't mad at Castiel for not doing more to help the situation. Perhaps it was because he couldn't tolerate the thought of Castiel being close with Meg...“No,” Castiel briefly turned to answer aloud, making sure everyone could hear the stern honesty in his voice, “I couldn't have predicted any of this. I didn't know her that well at all.”Though his statement seemed to be accepted by the people near the table, Dean didn't hear it because he was already out of the room when it was said. Castiel's feet made way toward the hall at once, guiding him to follow his husband's footsteps down the corridor. The angel felt like calling the man's name to stop him, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Dean usually sought refuge in solitude when he had a personal issue he needed to work out. Still, Castiel followed him all the way to their bedroom and loitered outside the door for a few seconds, in an effort to give Dean at least a moment of personal reflection, before slowly easing his way through the door.Inside their shared bedroom, Dean had walked over to stand at the dresser. His head was bowed and he was leaning forward with both hands resting on the wood, as if a very heavy weight was on his shoulders. Castiel paused at the foot of their bed to search for words. What could he possibly say to make Dean feel better? Did Dean truly think that Castiel was associated with Meg in a romantic way, because of the things she said earlier? No. Meg may have felt that way for Cas, but Cas could never have reciprocated those feelings. Dean was the only being in the entire universe – of any universe, past or present – that Castiel could ever love...“Dean,” the angel began in almost a whisper.At the dresser, Dean's head raised an inch but he remained facing the opposite direction.“I want you to know that I never shared Meg's feelings,” Castiel explained as gently as possible, “I never thought of her as anything more than an acquaintance at best. Dean, you are the only person that has ever held my heart. I've always belonged to you.”Once he gave his affectionate admission, Cas waited patiently by the bed. He wasn't sure if his words were enough to convince Dean of the truth. Luckily, Dean's head raised completely and he turned to finally look at Castiel for the first time in hours. His eyes were moist and weary with pain.“... I know,” he replied quietly.Castiel was confused by Dean's reply. He knew? But if he knew of Castiel's true feelings, why did he look so saddened? The angel stepped toward his human, slowly closing the distance between them.“Then why are you upset?” Cas asked.Before he spoke again, Dean looked down, shook his head, and reached out to take hold of Castiel's hands. Dean's fingers were warm and gentle around Cas's, tangling themselves between them.“Because... She made me realize how much I take you for granted,” Dean admitted soberly under his breath, “Hearing Meg. Watching her hold onto you. Seeing that look in her eye... It reminded me of how lucky I am. My life would be hell if you were with someone else. If I didn't have you, Cas,” Dean paused to let out a shaky, terrified chuckle, “I wouldn't have anything. No love, no home, no son... Cas, you've given me everything. And I'm so sorry that I don't tell you how grateful I am. You deserve to hear it everyday. You are the most important -”Castiel drowned out Dean's mumbled speech by slowly capturing his mouth with a powerful, meaningful kiss. The angel wanted to sooth his husband's troubled mind with a calming gesture. There was no need for Dean to say any of those things. Castiel already knew of his appreciation and love, even without him ever saying a word. Their actions spoke louder, which is why Castiel decided to announce his understanding with a kiss.Cas reached up to hold Dean's head as their mouths danced, wishing to coddle him further. In response, Dean's hands found their way to the front of Castiel's white shirt and held on tight. The man stepped forward, causing the angel's legs to bump against the bed and make them gently topple onto the mattress behind them. Their mouths disconnected for a moment but rejoined when Dean crawled up to hover over Cas's body. His hands were tugging at Castiel's white shirt again, delicately undoing each button with steady precision. After swirling his tongue around Cas's, Dean's mouth eventually broke free and began a slow decent down the angel's neck. In the meantime, Castiel clung to Dean's broad shoulders and bit down a few noises of approval. He was certain that this lusty embrace was headed toward intercourse.But surprisingly, when Dean finally managed to expose the front of Castiel's torso, the man paused to stare at the angel's bare olive skin from above. Cas studied Dean's lovely eyes, watching the green orbs drink in the sight of a certain area of Cas's stomach. One of Dean's hands slid over to rub the spot with his fingertips, making a sentimental expression bloom on his face. Castiel raised to his elbows so that he could look down and see that Dean was touching his scar; the scar he received from giving birth to their son.The tips of Dean's fingers felt soft and warm against the jagged pink line on Cas's abdomen. After a moment of silent gazing, Dean lowered his head to press his lips to the scar. Both of his hands snaked their way under Cas's back as he kissed the angel's body, hugging him horizontally on the bed. Dean gave the scar a few more pecks before completely laying down on Cas's stomach. Once more, Castiel reached up to cradle the back of Dean's head, using the physical touch to let Dean know that he appreciated the embrace.The two of them laid together in peaceful serenity for a few moments, just feeling each others' hearts beat and hearing each other breathe. Castiel hoped that Dean knew how grateful he was in return; how much Castiel adored the life that he and Dean had built together. Cas couldn't imagine what would become of him if he didn't have his husband...“I'm grateful to have you in my life as well, Dean,” the angel whispered as he raked his fingers through Dean's soft hair, “The magnitude of your importance to me simply cannot be matched. I love you more than words could ever say.”Beneath him, Castiel could feel Dean's hands tenderly rubbing his back.“You don't have to say it, baby. I already know,” he mumbled.Cas smiled down at the top of Dean's head. He was right, as he usually was. Love wasn't about words. It was about action. Forgiveness. Patience. And devotion.A small knock came from their bedroom door.Dean instantly raised his head to share a baffled look with Castiel before carefully getting up. The top of Cas's trench coat and shirt slid down his shoulders as he sat up on the bed to watch Dean get the door. The man only opened it slightly, just enough to converse with the person in the hall. Castiel didn't know who was there because they didn't speak very long. Dean closed the door only seconds later and turned to look at Castiel with a mixture of surprise and worry.“What's the matter?” Cas asked at once.Dean paused to run a hand through his spiked hair.“That was Crowley,” he answered, “He and Bobby want to offer Clarence a room at Bobby's house.”Castiel and Dean shared another stare, each pondering on the suggested living arrangement. To be honest, Castiel thought it sounded like a perfect solution. Clarence needed a home, teachers, attention, and affection that he desperately deserved. And Bobby's house had a spare room with tons of knowledge in the form of lore books. Clarence would be able occupy their time in a health way. It was a very fitting adoptive situation. There was only one problem...“Jude won't like it,” Castiel stated.The angel could already picture the devastation on his child's face when he found out that Clarence might leave the bunker. Jude would not approve of being so far apart from his new love interest, and it seemed that Dean agreed with Castiel's unspoken conclusion. His green eyes, however, slowly began to fill with hopefulness.“No, he won't,” Dean agreed, “... but I've got an idea.”When morning finally came, Jude was the first one out of bed. As soon as his eyes opened, he was instantly refilled with all the dizzying, joyful emotions he went to bed with. The kiss he had with Clarence the night before – his first kiss – was playing in an endless loop in his mind, making him rush to throw some clothes on and greet the day. He couldn't wait to see Clarence's messy blonde hair and pretty olive eyes again! Did Clarence have a restful night? Did he fall asleep picturing their kiss, too? Would he still be upset about his mom, or happy to see Jude this morning?With his head and heart buzzing, Jude quickly made his way to the kitchen. He hoped that Clarence might already be awake but the kitchen was empty and dark. Since he was too jittery to sit and wait for Clarence to get up, Jude decided to go ahead and make some breakfast. Dad taught him how to cook eggs and toast a long time ago. Plus, if Jude was quick enough, he could bring breakfast to Clarence's room and surprise him with it. That would make Clare's day start right, wouldn't it? Being surprised with breakfast in bed?Working quickly, Jude flipped the light on and pulled a bunch of ingredients from the fridge. He scrambled a few eggs, put the bread in the toaster, and even started a pot of coffee for his parents and uncles. Before he knew it, Jude found himself whistling 'You're The One That I want' from the Grease movie as he cooked. Man, it felt so good to have someone to love; someone to spoil and smile about. Jude was so happy to have Clarence in his life. And he was pretty sure Clarence felt the same way. That was what made their bond so special. The fire in their stomachs were connected, fueling each other with mutual heat.“Well. Somebody is up early.”Jude spun around at the sound of his Dad's groggy voice. He and Papa wandered into the kitchen wearing their robes and scratching their messy heads of hair. Jude smiled and waved the spatula in his hand toward his parents.“Mornin' Dad, Mornin' Papa,” Jude sang, “Have you guys seen Clarence yet?”Jude noticed that the smiles on his parents' faces dimmed instantly. They gave each other a small, sad look but eventually looked back to Jude.“Uh, no. He must not be up yet,” Dad replied.Jude nodded and shrugged before turning back to focus on the stove. He turned the scrambled eggs over a few more times before removing the skillet from the heat and reaching for a few plates. He filled as many as he could – not wanting to leave his family out – just as the toast popped up from the toaster. He put more bread in and started buttering the prepared slices when Dad spoke again.“Listen, Jude,” he said with a deep breath, sounding worried, “There's something I need to -”“Mmm.”Jude nearly gasped at the sound of Clarence's voice. The teenager spun around again at the unexpected interruption to see Clarence standing in the doorway. The blonde guy was still wearing his holey black t-shirt and ripped jeans, but his hair was so much smoother and cleaner than Jude remembered. His cheeks were pink, eyes were clear, and lips were actually moist for once. Clarence looked healthy. The demon smiled a little when he met eyes with Jude across the room.“Smells like heaven in here,” he mentioned, voice deep from just waking up.Jude's heart started beating like crazy as he watched Clare walk up to the island and sit down. Aww, Clarence liked the smell of his cooking!“I – I made you breakfast,” Jude stuttered, feeling his face flare with heat.He quickly finished getting a plate ready before whipping around to place it in front of Clarence. While Clarence eyed all the steaming food on his plate, Jude rushed over to the fridge to pour a glass of Sunny-D. When he placed the orange glass next to Clarence's plate, the guy seemed equally shocked and happy. His greenish-brown eyes traveled all over Jude's face as he grinned.“Holy shit, man,” he scoffed, sounding genuinely impressed, “Thanks? I mean, you totally didn't have to -”“I know,” Jude interrupted with a bashful shrug, “I wanted to.”The two of them locked eyes in a small stare while Clarence took his first bite of toast and chewed it. Jude really hoped that Clarence woke up remembering their kiss too. It was almost impossible for him not to think about it, right? That was the best kiss in the history of forever, as far as Jude was concerned...A soft sigh drifted from Jude's mouth as he eased over to sit in the chair opposite Clarence. Watching the guy eat and enjoy the food that he made for him made Jude so proud and happy. He felt like he could sit there for the rest of his life and stare at Clarence while he chewed, swallowed, and drank from his glass. Jude was almost unaware that anything else was happening in the kitchen... until uncle Bobby, Crowley, and Rowena showed up.“Clarence?”When the handsome blonde guy sat his last bite of toast on his plate and turned around, Jude realized that Crowley had called for him. He, uncle Bobby, and aunt Rowena were all standing side-by-side near the doorway, staring at Clarence with hints of playfulness and excitement. Huh. Why did they want to talk to Clarence? Did they have some good news for him?“Yeah?” Clarence asked as he took a sip of juice.“The three of us have been up all night talking,” uncle Crowley began, his accent rich and eyebrow raised.“And after a few cups 'o tea and a wee bit of arguing – mostly on Fergie's part,” Rowena mentioned, giving Crowley a nudge.“We've decided to offer you a place at our house,” Bobby finished with a smile.Jude's fast paced heartbeat nearly came to a halt. His mouth fell open right along with Clarence's. What? They wanted Clare to go home with them? But, what about the bunker? What about Jude? Clarence was fine here! He didn't have to leave! Clarence's lovely eyes glanced along all the people at the doorway with disbelief.“What?” he muttered, voice low.“We want you to live with us, lamb. At Robert's house,” Rowena repeated with a smirk.Clarence gulped and his face turned pale. He seemed really surprised by everything he was hearing; like he truly couldn't believe it.“M – me?” he asked, “Why?”“Because, like a lost little pup, you need a place to live. And we've grown quite fond of your mangey arse over the last week,” Crowley explained, still smiling with his dark eyes narrowed, “If you're willing to listen and obey, we can train you to be one of the most dangerous hounds on the block.”Jude's heart ached when the tiny smile flashed on Clarence's face.“Really?” Clare asked, “You'd teach me stuff?”“Of course, lad,” Rowena stepping forward with her hand on her hip, “Do ya really think we'd take you in without giving you a few lessons? Yer in for quite the treat, Clarence. These hands have been performing magic for well over three hundred years,” she purred, flashing all ten of her fingers up with a smirk, “By the time I'm done with you, you'll be making blood rain from the sky.”“And in case you haven't heard by now, I'm literally the king of hell,” Crowley added, “Being a demon myself, I can teach you anything you'd ever need to know about what you truly are. And what you can do. Wait until you meet my personal hellhound, Juliet. Perhaps we can find you one of your own.”Clarence actually let out a small chuckle and the sound nearly broke Jude's heart in two. Clare looked so happy, but no! He couldn't go anywhere! He needed to stay in the bunker! With Jude!“I ain't got no fancy spells or magic,” Bobby admitted, “But I do run a salvage yard from my house, in South Dakota. I've got a pretty nice collection of cars and a library full of, well, everything. Just ask Dean and Sam,” he said, pausing to nod toward Jude's dad before saying, “I don't have the biggest house in the world, but it does have room for one more. If you're interested.”Clarence gulped again and seemed to actually ponder everything he just heard. In his own mind, Jude was freaking out. He really hoped that Clarence would rather stay in the bunker. There was so much more room here. He didn't have to go.“We'd love to have yeh, lamb,” Rowena gently added, batting her long eyelashes, “You'd make a perfect addition to our tiny coven.”The word 'coven' seemed to be all Clarence needed to hear. He took a few extra minutes to think about it, pausing to glance around and smile at the floor, but eventually raised his head again and nodded toward the three people at the doorway.“Y – yeah,” he grinned, “I mean, sure. I've never been to South Dakota before, but... Yeah. Are you sure you want me to actually live with you?”“Why not? I've raised a few boys in my time,” Bobby said, giving Dad another smile, “Now, there'll be rules while you're livin' under my roof, 'o course. No stayin' out past midnight, no lyin', no sneakin' alcohol from my stock. Stuff like that. Is that somethin' you'll be able to live with?”“Yes,” Clarence answered, actually standing up from his seat to nod, “I'll listen. I swear.”“Good,” Bobby smiled, making his eyes gleam under the bill of his hat, “Then go get yer stuff, boy. My truck's waitin' in the garage.”Clarence let out another small chuckle before dashing passed the people at the doorway to get to the hall. He returned a second later to run back in and give Bobby a huge hug.“Thanks! Oh man, a salvage yard! And witchcraft! And my own room! I can't wait to get to South Dakota! Holy shit, it's gonna be so...”Clarence's voice faded out as he ran down the hall, leaving all the adults in the kitchen to stand around with smiles. But Jude wasn't smiling. In fact, he was on the verge of tears. Uncle Bobby's house was so far away! Jude would almost never get to see Clarence! Why couldn't he just stay in the bunker? Why?! Feeling panic starting to swell in his chest, Jude quickly turned to throw himself into his dad's arms.“N – no, Dad,” Jude denied, trying so hard to hold the warm liquid in his eyes as he shook his head, “Clarence can't go. He just got here. He – he has to stay here with me. With us,” Jude quickly revised.Dad was already wearing a comforting expression, as if he knew that Jude was going to be upset.“Shh, it's okay, little man,” Dad soothed, hugging Jude close, “He's not going away forever. He's just gonna live with uncle Bobby. You can still see him anytime you want.”“But he won't be here. And I'll miss him,” Jude squeaked, only wanting Dad to hear.“I know, buddy,” Dad replied softly, patting Jude's back, “It's gonna take some getting used to, but I promise everything is gonna be okay.”Jude closed his eyes tight, still trying to keep the tears inside. He didn't want anyone to see him crying and figure out how much he liked Clarence – how much he loved Clarence. Jude wanted to be strong and keep his feelings to himself. Because even though Jude was sort of losing him, Clarence seemed more excited than ever about getting a new home. And Jude didn't want to ruin it...It only took Clarence less than fifteen minutes to get his things together. The astoundingly short amount of time left Jude mentally scrambling to cope with his eminent departure. Before Jude knew it, the whole family was standing in the garage with Clarence and giving him their goodbyes. Uncle Bobby, Crowley, and Rowena stood by Bobby's truck and waited with smiles, watching their 'newly adopted' son say goodbye to all the Winchesters. Clarence started with uncle Sam and uncle Gabe, and Jude's heart hammered faster as he made his way down the line toward him.“You be good out there, Clare-bear. Don't do anything I would do,” uncle Gabe winked as he patted Clare's shoulder.Clarence chuckled a little bit as he held onto the guitar strap against his chest.“You got it, archangel-guy,” he smiled, “See ya.”Jessie was next in line. She was still dressed in her pajamas with her blonde hair a mess. She seemed kinda bummed about Clarence leaving too, but still managed to smile when he stepped up to her.“Barbie,” Clarence nodded.“Clare,” Jessie smiled back.“You keep kickin' asses, alright? Don't let any boys try to boss you around,” he said, giving her a playfully stern look.“Never,” she replied, reaching out to pull him into a hug, “Bye, Clare. I'll see you soon.”Clarence seemed a little surprised by Jess's sudden embrace, but patted her back as she let go. They shared another soft smile before Clarence came to Jude's Papa. As usual, Papa seemed unsure of how to say goodbye. He formally held his hand out and met Clarence's eyes with a nod.“I hope you have a safe trip, Clarence,” Papa mentioned quietly.Clarence smiled down at Papa's hand before taking it and shaking it like a well-behaved grown-up.“Thanks, Pops,” he muttered back, “Seriously. Thank you for everything.”Jude knew that Clarence was probably trying to subtly thank Papa for curing him with his grace. And it seemed like Papa knew it too, because his expression turned softer as they shook hands.“Of course,” Papa replied simply.After they finally let go of each others' hands, Clarence came to Jude's Dad next. The sight of Clarence stepping so close to the end made Jude's panic spike again. Oh, no! Clare was so close to saying goodbye! So close to leaving!“Grandpa,” Clarence said toward Dad, giving him a wink, “Thanks for letting me crash in your Batcave for a while.”Though Dad rolled his eyes at Clarence's awful nickname, he still managed to smile. He held out his fist, to which Clarence bumped it with his own.“You've always got a home here, kid. Stop by anytime,” Dad offered kindly, “And be good to Bobby, alright? He's seen his fair share of hard times. Listen to what he says, okay? He's got a lot of wisdom to share.”“Wisdom. Got it,” Clare nodded.“Be good,” Dad almost warned, “Maybe next time, I'll introduce you to some real music.”Clarence laughed a little at Dad's suggestion as he raked some blonde hair out of his face.“Something to look forward to. I like it,” he nodded, “Thanks again, man.”Dad nodded too and gave Clarence's shoulder a small pat. Afterward, Clare's bright eyes turned to Jude – and his smile dimmed dramatically. The guy could probably see the heartbreak on Jude's face. Clarence seemed to realize what his choice meant when they looked at each other. It meant that they wouldn't be together everyday like they had been. Still, Clarence started to walk toward Jude like he was going to say goodbye, and it made Jude feel like crying again. Ugh, he didn't want Clare to go. But if Clarence was determined to go, what could Jude possibly say? What could he do to make Clarence know how much he loved him? That's when an idea suddenly popped into his head.“Wait,” Jude blurted, holding both of his hands up.Everyone turned to look at Jude, which made his cheeks grow red with heat. But he kept his eyes on Clarence, who seemed eager to hear why he was so animated.“Wait,” Jude said again, slowly stepping away, “Don't go anywhere, okay? Please hold on. I'll be right back.”Luckily, Clarence seemed to take Jude's plea to heart because he didn't move a muscle. Jude quickly ran toward the bunker corridor as fast as he could, not wanting to keep Clare waiting much longer. The teenager was on a mission. He knew he couldn't keep Clarence with him, but maybe he could send a piece of himself with Clarence instead. Inside Jude's room, the two stuffed otters he got from the zoo years before were sitting on the top shelf of his bookcase; hands still clasped together with magnets and smiles still sewn on their mouths. Jude grabbed both of them and sprinted back out the door, holding them close to his chest.In the garage, all eyes were on Jude when he came running back. He noticed that both of his parents caught sight of the stuffed animals in his arms and they both smiled brightly; especially Papa, who appeared to be in awe. Jude's main focus was Clarence, though. He met eyes with the handsome demon as he slowed to a stop in front of him again.“Here,” Jude panted, breaking the otters' paws apart so that he could hold one out to Clarence, “S – Something to put in your new room when you get home.”Clarence's throat quivered with another gulp as he slowly took the stuffed otter from Jude's hand. His eyes were big and watery when they looked back up at the teenager in front of him. Jude was glad to see that his gift meant a lot to Clarence, because it sure meant a lot to him. In the blink of an eye, Jude was wrapped inside a hug. Clare's thin arms were holding on as tightly as they could and his mouth found it's way to Jude's cheek, where he planted a firm but gentle kiss.“Thank you, Jude,” he whispered, low enough so that only Jude could hear, “for saving my life.”Jude swallowed harshly, unable to keep the tears from sliding down his own cheeks. He clung to the back of Clarence's jacket beneath his heavy guitar case and breathed in as deeply as he could, wanting to remember the smell of Clare's hair and the feeling of their chests pressing together. He could almost feel Clarence's heartbeat. Jude never wanted to let go.Before Jude could say 'you're welcome,' Clarence's arms slowly slipped away. Jude quickly dried his own tears, not wanting anyone to see. Once they were parted, Clarence smiled down at his new toy otter again. He squeezed the otter's tiny belly a few times and then tucked it behind his guitar strap, lodging it between the strap and his chest where it continued to smile brightly.“I think he's excited,” Clarence mentioned.Jude gave a small chuckle. Clare was right. His otter looked really excited for the road trip ahead. Clarence looked at Jude again with a more serious expression and nodded.“I'll see you again soon, Superman,” he promised.Jude held onto his own otter and forced a nod. He tried to keep the sound of that promise on loop in his mind, using it as a way to stay calm as he watched Clarence finally turn to walk away. The blonde demon was welcomed by Bobby, Crowley and Rowena, who ushered him to the truck to help him load his guitar and get inside. Clare paused at the door to search for Jude's eyes and gave him a wink before climbing into the vehicle.Jude's heart ached again when everyone chorused goodbyes to Bobby's small family. When the truck doors started closing, Jude frantically scanned for Clarence's face through the windows, wanting to see him one last time. But the truck was starting up and pulling away before Jude could find him. He watched the taillights slowly grow smaller as Bobby's truck rolled out of the garage, carrying Clarence with it.Clarence was gone. And Jude had no idea when he would get to see him again.Jude stood and stared at the sunshine beyond the open garage door, holding his lonely stuffed otter to his chest. Tears were trying to blur his sight again, but he tried his best to hold them back. Why was it so hard to say goodbye to Clarence? Jude only knew him for a week. Should it have been easier than this? Jude almost forgot that his parents were standing next to him until he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.“Jude,” Dad said.With a bracing breath, Jude finally tore his eyes away from the garage door to look up at his father. He was surprised to see Dad wearing a smile. Was he glad that Clare was gone or something?“Here. This might make you feel better,” Dad murmured as he reached into his pocket.Jude sniffled a little as he watched his dad pull out a small object. It was a cell phone that Jude had never seen before – and it had a cool Superman cover on the back. When Dad handed it to him, Jude was confused. Where did it come from? Why was Dad giving it to him?“It's yours,” Dad winked, “For calls and texts only, okay? Oh. And make sure you check the contacts.”Dad tossed his arm around Papa's shoulder and started walking away with a grin before Jude could ask any of the questions buzzing in his mind. Instead of getting answers from his parents, Jude turned to his new gift for information. He pressed the button on the side of the cell phone and swiped the front to reveal the home screen. He tapped the 'contacts' feature at the bottom, which brought up an alphabetical list of names; Names that Jude recognized instantly, such as 'Gabe', 'Sam', 'Papa', and 'Dad.' but one name stood out from all the rest.Clarence.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It had been quite a while since Bobby had a teenager in his charge. Jude and Jess came to visit every so often, but they only stayed for a few days at best. Having Clarence in his house all the time was going to be a drastic change. Bobby knew that. And he knew that he was much older than Clarence, and probably wouldn't be considered 'hip' or 'cool.' But he just couldn't stand to see the kid without a proper home, especially after what happened with Meg. Besides, the thought of having a kid around full time made Bobby feel kind of giddy. Part of him hoped that Clarence might fill the void of loneliness that he had to deal with when Crowley and Rowena were away.Surprisingly, it seemed like Bobby wasn't the only one who was looking forward to having Clarence around. For most of the trip back to South Dakota, Crowley and Rowena talked the poor kid's ear off; asking him questions about himself, telling him about hell, mentioning old war stories and tall tales. Clarence seemed glad to be the center of attention for once. In fact, Bobby could tell that the guy's whole attitude had changed. Clarence wasn't the arrogant brat that Bobby met a few days before. Now, he was talking like a happy little kid who was eager to see his new home.By the time the truck rolled back into the driveway at the house, Clarence was leaning forward in his seat and staring through the windshield in awe. He must have caught sight of the 'Singer's Salvage' sign because his eyes lit up and he grinned like a Cheshire cat.“Is that it? Is that your house?” the blonde kid asked, pointing toward the building in front of the truck.“Yep. Home sweet home,” Bobby answered as he shut off the engine.“Admittedly, it's not much to look at from this angle, dearie. But it's a lot nicer once yer inside,” Rowena assured, “Come along, puppet! Ya've got lots of sights to see!”Bobby was proud to hear the tiny chuckle that Clarence gave when he quickly followed the red-head witch out of the passenger side door. Like always, Crowley slid out of Bobby's side and straightened his black suit like a professional gentleman. When he shut the door, the demon grabbed a hand full of Bobby's vest jacket and pulled him close to whisper.“Are you still sure about this, love?” Crowley asked, searching Bobby's face with dark eyes, “Because now would be an appropriate time to back out. Before he gets attached and all.”Bobby could tell that Crowley was only saying that because he was nervous. Taking care of a complete stranger – letting them into your house, feeding them, providing for them, supporting them, loving them – may have been a challenge for Crowley, but Bobby had been doing it for most of his life.“Don't get your britches in a bunch, darlin',” Bobby whispered in the most comforting voice he could muster as he reached out to pat his husband's ridged shoulder, “You don't have to worry about a thing. I've got this handled.”Although it looked like Crowley wanted to argue, Bobby only tossed him a wink and made his way around to the hood of the truck. Rowena had looped her arm around Clarence's and was slowly guiding him into the salvage yard, pointing toward various spots.“And over there is where Robert works on his machinery. The lad's practically a wizard with a wrench,” she hummed, “And over there is where I'm planning to plant a garden in the spring. He doesn't know it yet, o' course, but I'm running out of spices and the like, and ya can't very well make potions without a proper stock...”Bobby only rolled his eyes with a smile. He knew it would only be a matter of time before that old witch took over his yard. Next to Rowena, Clarence almost gasped.“That's what Sarah always said,” the teenager smiled, “One of the witches I lived with. She always kept a garden too.”“Oh, it sounds like you were raised by a well-trained coven, lamb,” Rowena mused, “Perhaps we can find you a caldron of your own soon, hmm?”Bobby could see a red tint rising on Clarence's smiling face when the kid glanced away. He obviously liked getting all of this attention and praise. It made Bobby wonder how long the boy had gone without a doting parental figure in his life. While Rowena and Clarence walked and talked, Crowley edged closer to Bobby's side to whisper again.“At least he's keeping mother entertained,” he muttered.Bobby was glad to hear the hidden joy and relief in Crowley's voice. Aw, the ol' demon-bat actually did care about the boy. Maybe, in time, he might actually admit it out loud...As the four of them rounded a stack of cars to get to the backdoor of the house, a man in a suit appeared almost directly in front of Crowley. Everyone turned to look at him, including Clarence and Rowena. Bobby had seen this particular person before. He was one of Crowley's lackeys; always running to Crowley when there was news from hell. When Crowley saw his demonic servant, he huffed a gusting sigh.“Oh, for Chuck's sake. I can't leave the throne room for ten minutes without one of you imbeciles popping up,” he growled, “What is it this time?”“Forgive me, sir,” the demon squeaked, “I wanted to inform you that Rhodes is refusing to give up his souls again. I thought you might like to carry out his punishment yourself.”“You're bloody right I do,” Crowley snapped, “Damn greedy fool... Go ready The Rack for me. I'll be there shortly.”“Yes, sir,” the demon nodded.Once the lackey was gone, Bobby huffed a breath and turned to give his husband a stern look. Torture? Again? Why couldn't Crowley just kill someone and be done with it? Crowley must have known exactly what Bobby was thinking because he rolled his eyes and groaned.“Ugh, don't give me that look,” he grumbled, “You know very well that I have to assert my authority over those hooligans. Besides, that bastard has had this coming for a while now.”Bobby crossed his arms and shook his head in disappointment. He really did love Crowley with all of his heart, but torture was one of the things they still couldn't agree on.“If you bloody up that suit, don't ask me to wash it again,” Bobby replied.“Who was that? What's going on?” Clarence asked, sounding curious.“Nothing,” Crowley answered, briefly rubbing his forehead, “Just a minor inconvenience. Mother, let's go. I'm going to need your assistance.”“Aw, Fergus, now? But we've only just received our new sweet baby lamb,” Rowena attempted to argue as she pet Clarence's arm.“Stow it. You're coming with me,” Crowley barked.Bobby nudged his husband's shoulder, silently reminding him that they were in the presence of a child they had just taken in and that he needed to make a good first impression. As usual, the gesture made Crowley change his tune.“But we'll be back before dinner,” the demon king reluctantly added.Rowena sighed dramatically and turned to give Clarence a woeful look.“I'm so sorry, pet. I suppose Robert will have to finish giving you the tour,” she said.Bobby's eyes widened a bit. Ah, hell. Rowena was right. Bobby would have to finish showing the kid around. The two of them would be alone for the very first time. That was going to be awkward...Crowley led the way over to the closest garage, which contained the portal to Hell that the boys built years before. It was still set up in the back of the room like an old statue, just needing a little blood to reopen the entryway. Rowena finally let go of Clarence's arm long enough to go and get everything ready for their departure. In the meantime, Crowley grabbed Bobby's vest again to pull him down into a kiss. It was just a little peck; nothing vulgar or spectacular. But it still made Clarence go beet red next to them.“I'll return in a few hours, old friend,” the demon king purred, giving Bobby that familiar churn in his stomach, “Perhaps now would be a good time to show Clarence his room and give him that little present from Dean, hmm?”A smile spread on Bobby's face. Just thinking about the kid's reaction to Dean's gift made him giddy. Not to mention all the new stuff he and Crowley got for him.“I s'pose I could,” Bobby winked back.After the sweet goodbye, Crowley turned his attention to Clarence, who was trying his best not to pay attention to the two older men nearby.“I'm afraid it's a bit too early to show you around my dwelling, boy,” Crowley began, giving the blonde teenager a mild grin, “Unfortunately, I can't take you with me today.”“Oh, I get it. It's fine. I'm still getting used to the salvage yard,” Clarence respectfully assured.“I suppose you're right. Baby steps,” Crowley nodded, flashing a secret smile of approval toward Bobby, “I'll see both of you tonight.”“Later,” Clarence waved.Crowley waved back a bit as he joined his mother at the portal. Rowena waved eagerly toward Clarence, making the long sleeves of her dress sway around.“Be good for Robert, love, and I'll bring ya back a few goodies!” she sang.Bobby chuckled as he watched his husband and mother-in-law disappear through the black veil of the portal. He always thought that Rowena would make a good grandmother. He just never thought she would actually get to be one in this odd way... With Crowley and Rowena gone, Clarence slowly turned around to look at Bobby. The kid was hanging on to his guitar case strap with a smile on his face.“So. Where to next?” he urged, looking so excited.Bobby paused to dig around inside his pocket and retrieve his house keys. He was going to take Crowley's advice and show Clarence to his room, so that the kid could finally settle in and get that heavy guitar off his back. The old man gestured for the teenager to follow him as he made his way outside and up to his backdoor.“This door gets locked at eleven o'clock every night,” Bobby mentioned as he slid in the key, “I'd prefer it if you'd be on the other side when it does, okay?”“Eleven o'clock. Got it,” Clarence instantly agreed.Bobby hoped that he didn't sound too 'parental.' Maybe he needed to lighten his tone a bit...“After you've earned a little trust, I might extend it to midnight,” Bobby carefully added.He turned back to look at Clarence and saw that the kid was actually beaming ear to ear. Man, Bobby had never seen a kid so darn happy to have someone boss him around. Did Clarence actually like having rules?Almost as soon as Bobby opened the backdoor to his kitchen, the thunderous sound of paws hitting the floor came rumbling through the house. Pete, Willy, and Humphrey all came bounding up to him from the study with tails wagging and mouths open. They barked and jumped up and down around Bobby's legs like they did every time he came home. They were probably expecting some kind of gift, because he usually brought them some raw meat from a hunt.“Yeah, I'm home. Settle down, boys,” Bobby smiled down at his dogs.Clarence stood wide-eyed in the doorway, staring down at the three mutts in shock. Bobby forgot that Clarence had never seen a hellhound-Jack Russell mix before. The red eyes and sharp teeth were probably creepy to him. Willy was the first one to notice the new boy at Bobby's back. The little dog pranced over to sniff Clarence's leg – where he proceeded to latch on and hump it. Bobby immediately reached down to nudge the dog off the poor kid.“Don't you dare!” Bobby barked, “You behave yourself, Willy!”Willy whined a little bit but got back in line with his brothers. Clarence, who was still a little confused and surprised, scratched his head.“Uh, what the hell are those?” he asked, “Killer zombie dogs? Tiny werewolves?”“They're, uh, part hellhound,” Bobby tried to explain, bumping his hat up a bit so that he could scratch his forehead, “You know Gabe's dog, Dickie?”Clarence nodded, making his stringy blonde hair fall in front of his face. Boy, he really needed a haircut.“Well, he sorta knocked up Crowley's hellhound Juliet. And these are her pups. This is Pete,” Bobby said, pointing to the one at his feet, “Willy's the one who just violated you. And Humphrey is the one tryin' to fight with himself over there.”Clarence laughed a little when he looked up to see Humphrey growling at his own reflection in the glass part of the stove. Bobby, though, was pretty used to it. The poor dumb dog growled at himself all the time.“Nice names,” Clarence mumbled, bobbing his head, “I've never had a dog before.”Bobby's heart ached a bit. Never had a dog? Every kid needed to have an animal at least once, so they could learn responsibility. Plus, the companionship wasn't such a bad thing to learn either. But no dog ever? That was an awfully sad thing.“Well, I heard Crowley say something about finding you one of your own,” Bobby reminded with a smile, “C'mon, kid. I'll show you to your room.”The old man didn't miss that the teenager's eyes lit up as they started to walk down the hall. Clarence held on tight to his guitar case strap and followed closely at Bobby's back, stretching up to steal a peek over Bobby's shoulder to see where they were going. Bobby could feel his own heart picking up pace, too. How were kids able to make happiness rub off on grown-ups like that? Bobby couldn't remember the last time he was this excited.When he came to his spare guest room – now Clarence's room – Bobby paused to step to the side so that he could see the boy's face. The night before, when Bobby and Crowley decided that they were going to bring Clarence home, they spent most of the night shopping and making room for him. Inside, the spare room was now full of open storage space, fresh clothes, a new dresser, and a complete bed set. Plus the gift that Dean got him. Bobby really hoped that the kid liked the color black, because that was the theme they went with. And now that he was getting ready to show Clarence all his new stuff, Bobby was actually a little nervous.But thankfully, when he finally opened the door, Bobby was proud to hear Clarence's gasp of surprise. For a second, the blonde guy just stood there and stared at all the furniture inside with his mouth hanging open. His greenish-brown eyes eventually wandered back to look at Bobby with absolute awe.“This... This is my room?” he breathed.“Sure is,” Bobby nodded, “Go on in.”Clarence gulped and shuffled forward, still clinging to his guitar strap and looking around at everything like he was in a museum. He briefly reached out to touch the edge of the bookcase, the dresser, and slowly stopped next to the bed, which was made with a brand new comforter and pillows.“Holy shit,” Clarence smiled, pointing toward the corner, “Is that a guitar stand?”Bobby smiled. The metal stand didn't cost much at all and he knew the kid would like it.“Yep. Picked it up last night for you,” the old man answered.Again, Clarence turned to give Bobby that look; a strong stare that said 'thank you so much' without actually speaking the words. Bobby only gave another stoic nod. He didn't have to be thanked. He just wanted the kid to feel at home and be happy. Clarence went back to looking at all his new stuff and eventually found the little gray gift bag sitting on the dresser.“What's that?” he asked.“That's a gift. To you from Dean,” Bobby answered.“Dean?” Clarence repeated, his expression skewing with confusion, “Jude's dad? Why? What is it?”Bobby shrugged his shoulders, even though he knew exactly what it was.“Best way to find out is to open it, son,” he grinned.The smile slowly crept back over Clarence's face as he rounded the bed to get to the dresser. Bobby eased over to stand behind the kid, wanting to see the gift for himself. He knew what it was, but not what it looked like. Clarence opened the bag and reached down inside to pull out a cell phone. It was one of those newer models, with the glass screen instead of buttons – which Bobby found very difficult to use, even though the kids today liked them. The phone had its own cover too; a black case that had a fancy Led Zeppelin logo on the back. Clarence laughed out loud when he saw the words.“Holy shit,” he chuckled, “It's a cell phone! Wh – why did he get me this?”“Maybe 'cause he wants you to keep in touch,” Bobby casually mentioned.After looking over the outside again, Clarence slowly turned it on and swiped the front. The screen lit up, revealing that Clarence already had a text message waiting for him. Bobby tried to keep his distance, but couldn't help watching Clarence open it up to see what it said. The message was from Jude. It contained a picture of a stuffed otter sitting by itself on Jude's bed, and the words underneath read, “Hope your otter likes his new room. We miss you both.” There was a blue heart after the words, too. Bobby smiled at Clarence, who looked like he was over the moon with joy. The kid stared at his screen like a love-sick puppy for a second – before realizing that Bobby was staring at him.“Uh, do you mind?” the teenager asked, clearly wanting some space.Bobby, remembering that it was rude to look at someone's phone over their shoulder, quickly cleared his throat and backed away.“Right. Sorry. I'll, uh, just let you get settled in, then,” the old man said, making his way toward the door, “I'll be makin' steak for supper tonight, but don't get used to it. It's for special occasions only.”“Steak? Like, real steak? That's awesome! I don't think I've ever had it,” Clarence said, his smile dimming a bit before saying, “Bobby?”The old man stopped in the doorway to look back at the teenager, who was holding his new cell phone to his chest. There were a million different words in his expression; a million different things he wanted to say but couldn't decide on what. After a few seconds of silence, Clarence eventually just mumbled,“Thank you.”Bobby knew that the kid had been through a hell of a lot – too much – and he was just happy to help. And hearing the kid's genuine gratitude made him feel proud.“You're welcome, son,” Bobby replied, finally backing into the hallway, “You gimme a holler if you need anything.”The old man pulled the door almost all the way shut, leaving just a tiny crack. Out in the hall, Bobby's dogs were waiting patiently. All three pairs of red eyes were beaming up at him energetically, glad that he was home with a new human to annoy.“I think he likes it here,” Bobby whispered to his dogs.Jude jogged up the stairs as quickly as possible to get to the front door of the bunker. Whoever was outside knocked a few more times before he got to the top. A tiny part of Jude hoped that it might be Clarence on the bunker doorstep. Maybe the handsome blonde guy had accidentally left something behind and came back to get it. Jude paused to take a quick bracing breath before opening the door to look outside.But Clarence wasn't there. It was Ollie, dressed in a warm sweater and wearing a huge smile.“Hey, Jude,” Ollie sang, holding up his hand, “Mom just dropped me off to hang out with you guys for a while before I go to my dad's place. Is that okay?”“Oh. Hey,” Jude replied, feeling slightly disappointed, “Uh, yeah. Come on in.”It was a little strange seeing Ollie again. Jude hadn't seen or talked to him since the Halloween party, which felt like such a long time ago. Lots of things had happened since then and Jude wasn't sure how to start a conversation with his best friend. Should he talk about Clarence? Or Ollie and Jessie's ruined dance? Or the Harvest Festival date they went on? Luckily, it seemed like Ollie knew exactly where to start. As soon as he stepped into the bunker, his smile dimmed and he scanned the lower room to make sure that no one else was around.“Hey, uh, do you still have that bag I gave you at the party?” Ollie whispered.Jude gulped. The black bag? Oh boy. Ollie wasn't going to like hearing this...“Not exactly,” Jude carefully admitted.Just as Jude suspected, Ollie's eyes grew wide and his freckled face paled even more.“Wh – what? What do you mean? Where is it?” he squeaked.Instead of telling Ollie, Jude figured he might as well just show him. Jude gestured for his friend to follow him and led the way back down the stairs and into the study, where Dad and Papa were doing some research on the computer. The closer they got to the adults, the more Ollie's face turned red. The truth seemed to slowly dawn on him when Dad looked up with suspicious eyes. Jude nodded toward his friend and raised his eyebrows, silently letting his dad know that Ollie was here for the bag. Dad, having understood Jude's unspoken request, got up from his seat, walked over between two bookshelves, and came back with the black bag in his hand. The moment Ollie saw the familiar luggage, his mouth fell open in horror. Jude felt bad, of course. He never meant for his parents – and uncles, and cousin, and Clarence – to find out about Ollie's secret bag, but he couldn't stop it.“You told them?!” Ollie hissed toward Jude, looking absolutely terrified.“No. Dickie ratted me out,” Jude explained, “Sorry, Ollie.”Dad finally finished the walk over to the two teenagers and held out the bag to Ollie with a stern look on his face.“Oliver,” he began, “I don't care what's in this bag. And I don't mind you hiding stuff in the bunker. But if you're going to do it, at least tell one of the adults about it, alright? We don't keep secrets around here.”Ollie seemed too stunned to reply right away. He only blinked at Dad with confusion as the red slowly disappeared from his face. Jude found his reaction kind of amusing. Did he really think that Dad would be mad at him? Jude's dad would never get mad at Ollie; especially not as mad as Ollie's dad would be... Ollie slowly reached out to take the black bag with a nervous nod.“Y – yes, sir. It won't happen again. I promise,” he shuddered, his red hair shaking around with his bobbing head.“Good,” Dad smiled. He paused and turned his sight to Jude, where his eyes turned hopeful, “Heard anything yet?”At Dad's question, Jude's hand instantly reached into his pocket, where his new phone was sitting patiently. As soon as he got his new phone from his parents in the garage, Jude raced back to his room to send Clarence a text message. But so far, he hadn't gotten a reply yet. Dad said it was because uncle Bobby's house was at least four hours away and it would be a while before Clarence made it there. Still, Jude had been waiting nervously for a response the whole time. And now, Dad was asking if he heard anything from Clare. Jude took out his new cell phone – which was so shiny and nice that he felt bad about even touching the screen – but it was the same as before. No new messages. Clarence probably hadn't made it home yet. Jude sighed and shook his head, to which Dad nodded and patted his shoulder.“Don't worry. It'll come,” Dad promised.Before Jude could provide a hopeful reply to his dad, a shrill gasp burst from the entry way. Jude, Ollie, and Dad all turned to see Jessie standing at the top of the steps with a huge smile on her face. Her wide eyes were dancing all over Ollie's face from the small distance.“Ollie!” she sang as she raced down the stairs, “When did you get here?!”“Oh, hey Jess,” Ollie hummed, his face going red yet again, “Just a minute ago. I came over to get -”Ollie couldn't finish saying the rest of his sentence because Jessie nearly tackled him with a hug – and kiss. When Jude saw that their lips were connected, he bashfully turned away with a smile of his own. Oh boy. Seeing his two best friends kiss was going to take some getting used to... When Jessie backed away, she covered her mouth like she was surprised.“Oops,” she said, voice muffled by her hand, “I keep forgetting that we're not that close yet.”Ollie, who strongly resembled someone who had just stepped off the best roller coaster ride of his life, didn't seem to hear what Jessie said. He was too busy blinking blissfully and smiling like a dopey idiot. Clearly, he wasn't expecting the kiss but was very glad to get it. As if on cue, uncle Sammy strolled into the study, holding his open laptop.“Dean, there's a town in Arkansas that sounds like it has a zombie problem and it – oh,” he stopped upon seeing Jess clinging to Ollie's arm, “Oliver? Where did you come from?”“H – hi, Mr. Winchester,” Ollie waved, “I, um, just came to, uh -”“Hang out with me and Jude,” Jessie finished for him, “That's okay, right Dad?”Uncle Sam swallowed a bit and straightened his back, but gave Jessie a warm smile.“Yeah. Sure,” he slowly agreed, “Have fun. Just keep the bedroom doors open, okay?”“Okay!” Jessie agreed happily, already tugging on Ollie's arm, “C'mon, Ollie-pop! Let's go watch Netflix!”Uncle Sam's smile vanished as he watched his daughter and the red-haired teenage boy dash passed him.“Netflix is fine, but there will be no 'Chilling!' Are we clear?!” Sam called.“Yes, Dad!” Jessie called back from down the hall.Jude covered his mouth to hide a chuckle. Poor uncle Sammy. He was always worried about his little girl getting too close to boys. When Jessie and Ollie were gone, Sam sighed and finished walking down the stairs, where Dad welcomed him with a grin.“The joys of parenting, huh, Sammy?” Dad winked.Uncle Sam only rolled his eyes and restarted his story about the town in Arkansas. With everyone else distracted, Jude finally turned his attention back to the cell phone in his hand. He was hoping there would finally be a text message from Clarence, but the screen was still blank. Jude sighed and started to shuffle up the library steps toward the control room.Man. What was taking Clarence so long to get to Bobby's house? Did he get Jude's message? Should Jude send another one? Or did Clarence get the message and just not care about it? Doubt and worry were trying to cloud up Jude's mind, but he tried to keep it away. Clarence wouldn't be mean like that. Not to Jude...Just as Jude started down into the bedroom corridor, the phone in his hand made a whistle noise.With a gasp, the teenage boy raised the phone and quickly swiped open the home screen. There was one new message from Clarence! A tiny giggle escaped Jude's smiling mouth as he opened the text to see a picture of the spare room in uncle Bobby's house. The bed had a brand new black comforter on top, and a familiar stuffed otter was sitting at the pillow. Clarence's guitar case was laying open on the bed too, showing off the exact same instrument that Jude had grown so fond of hearing. The message underneath the picture read, “He misses his Otter half.”A swirling gust of happiness burst inside Jude's chest as he stared down at Clarence's message. The guy had finally made it to Bobby's house. He was finally home, with his new stuffed otter. And he really missed Jude as much as Jude missed him... Jude held the phone to his chest and closed his eyes, breathing in a deep breath of relieve and joy. Knowing that Clarence felt the same way he did, no matter how far apart they were, made him feel so much better. He only wished that he could see Clarence in person to tell him that, so he could finally -“Jude?”Jude's eyes flew open at the sound of a familiar voice – and he suddenly found that he wasn't standing in the bunker hallway anymore. Somehow, Jude was standing in the middle of uncle Bobby's spare bedroom, where Clarence was sitting on the bed next to his otter and open guitar case. A tidal wave of shock washed over Jude as he looked around with his mouth open. Holy cow! He just flew to uncle Bobby's house! Without even meaning to!Clarence, who seemed just as surprised to see Jude, slowly stood up with a huge smile. He looked the same as he did a few hours before; same soft blonde hair, same perfectly pink lips, same evergreen-chestnut eyes that seemed to radiate affection. Jude could only cling to his cell phone and stare at the handsome demon in shock.“How did you get here?” Clarence asked, sounding genuinely surprised.Jude gulped. How did he get here?! One minute he was standing in the bunker, thinking about Clarence and being all happy. And the next minute, he was standing right in front of the very person he was thinking of. Maybe it was just happy thoughts, like Ollie always told him. Happy thoughts made him fly...“I... I guess I f – flew,” Jude timidly admitted, watching Clarence slowly step closer, “I didn't mean to. I mean, my grace just kinda does its own thing. I can't really control it. It has more power than I can handle. And I really like you... So it... it must have thought that I... wanted to... to be with you... and...”Jude's voice slowly faded away when Clarence's warm hand reached up to touch his cheek. The blonde guy gently cupped Jude's face and smiled down at him, searching his eyes with admiration and heat, before slowly lowering his head to press their mouths together. Jude was suddenly drowning in a new kiss; being swept away by the sweet taste of Clare's mouth and the smell of his soft hair. The flames in Jude's stomach raged like a wildfire, heating his entire body from the inside out. Jude closed his eyes to indulge in the moment, feeling his heart race and goosebumps rise on his skin. Their kiss seemed to go on forever and ever. Jude wasn't sure how long he was wrapped up in it until Clarence gently pulled back to smile at him again.“Damn,” he breathed, “I love doing that... I wanted to do it when I said goodbye earlier. But your parents were there and I figured you wouldn't want them to watch.”“Hmm,” Jude hummed, nodding a bit and trying to find coherent words to put together, “That... yeah... I'm glad you waited.”Clare chuckled, filling the room with the beautiful sound.“You have no idea how glad I am that I waited for you, too,” the guy replied, sounding borderline serious.Jude smiled up at Clarence's lovely face. He was so glad to see the same sad and lost boy that wandered into the bunker a few days before was now a bright and hopeful bundle of bliss. Like Dad said, Clarence was part of the family. And Jude tried to make sure that everyone in his family was happy.“So,” Clare smirked, slowly letting go of Jude's face so that he could plant both hands on his own hips, “Is the almighty Superman gonna stay for dinner?”The smile on Jude's face faltered a bit. Stay for dinner? He never planned to actually fly to Bobby's house, let alone stay for dinner. But that persuasive, pleading look on Clare's face – piercing eyes, lifted brows, pouted lips – made him want to stay for as long as possible.“Bobby's making steak,” Clarence added, as if the meal would convince Jude not to go.But the only incentive Jude needed to stay was Clarence himself.“Y – yeah,” Jude nodded, “I... I mean, I'll have to call my dads and tell them where I am first. And Papa will probably have to help me fly home later, but... I'll stay with you. If you want me to.”“Oh, I want you to. I'll even make your plate and pull your chair out for you,” Clarence agreed immediately, his smile growing even more, “'Cause, like a very wise and sexy superhero once told me, love is about devotion. And that's one bandwagon I'm planning to ride into the sunset.”The bonfire in Jude's stomach seemed to glow blue all the sudden. His smiling expression faded into awe as he stared up at the demon boy he admired. He almost couldn't believe what he just heard. Was it true? Did Clarence really mean that?“You... love me?” Jude whispered, wanting to make sure.Clare scrunched his eyebrows and blinked hard. It seemed like a lifetime worth of emotions were suddenly playing out on his face as he gazed directly into Jude's soul.“More than anything,” he nodded, voice low and honest, “I've never loved anyone so much in my whole life.”Jude's lungs were inflating slower now, to the point that he couldn't feel his arms or legs. Hearing those words made him feel like a bowl of jello; like his body wasn't sure how to respond. His heart seemed to be the only part of him that actually remembered what to do, and it soon took control of his mouth.“I love you too,” Jude admitted out loud for the very first time, both to Clarence and to himself, “Like, a lot.”A tiny laugh came from Clare's smiling lips as they stared at each other. It seemed like he really enjoyed hearing Jude say it, too. After a second or two of sharing mutual tingles, butterflies, and burning stomachs, Clarence casually reached out to slide his hand into Jude's. The feeling only made Jude's goosebumps spread.“Shall we?” the blonde demon asked, nodding toward the door.Jude forced a timid nod and let Clarence tug him forward. As he stumbled along with Clare's soft hand and gentle steps, Jude felt like he finally understood what his dad was talking about. Love was weird. It was complicated. Confusing. And sometimes difficult.But moments like this – when Jude felt like he could take on the entire world just because Clarence was holding his hand – definitely made it worth it.