52. Chapter 52

Gabriel was right, though Castiel didn’t like it. Reluctantly, he set down the fork he’d been using to feed Dean and ran a hand through Dean’s hair. The baby turned his head, pulling his knees up and curling deeper into Castiel like he could hide through sheer force of will. His wings drooped and then drew in close to his body, a testament to how much Dean wanted to hide away from the world. Castiel couldn’t help a small smile at the sight, though he doubted Dean would appreciate how tell-tale his wings were.

“Come on, little one,” he said softly, rising to his feet and bringing Dean with him. “Gabriel, would you mind –”

“No problem. I’ll get a bottle ready and bring it out to you in a minute,” said Gabriel.

“Thanks,” Castiel said. He watched his brother for a moment, more amused than he wanted to admit. Gabriel had been pretty adamant in the beginning that he was only hanging around to see what happened: basically, he’d wanted to know if Castiel would be successful with his task. He hadn’t planned to become involved in the process, especially not to the degree that he currently was.

Even now, Gabriel was preparing a bottle by hand with all the ease of someone who had done it hundreds of times, which was a far cry from an archangel who previously did nearly everything by angel mojo. He’d also successfully gotten Dean into a diaper. Castiel was curious to know exactly where Gabriel had learned to do that, but he knew better than to ask. From experience, he knew that would only fluster his brother and right now things were going very well.

Because it hadn’t escaped Castiel’s notice that Gabriel had been interacting more and more with Dean, to the point where the instant Dean had had started to make his distress known in the bath, Gabriel had come to see what was wrong – even though he knew that Castiel was still with Dean. And Dean had actually reached out to him for protection that Gabriel had granted. That was huge as far as Castiel was concerned, though he could tell that neither of them had realized that.

Like it or not, Gabriel was definitely a part of this now. Any idea that he might lose interest in what was going on and take off was pretty much gone from Castiel’s mind. If he hadn’t already before, Dean now had his uncle completely wrapped around his little finger. Not that Gabriel would ever be willing to admit that. No, if asked he’d probably insist that he was still only here for protection or some other nonsense.

He turned away from the kitchen, leaving Gabriel to finish up, and carried Dean over to the couch. “We’ll let him have his delusion, baby,” he murmured to Dean, smiling to himself as Dean grumbled while they got settled. He set Dean sideways across his lap, unsurprised when Dean drew his legs up close to his tummy and buried his nose in Castiel’s throat. He seemed to like doing that a lot, and Castiel was willing to indulge him for the moment.

He noticed that Dean was having a hard time settling down, though. The baby kept squirming like he couldn’t get comfortable. It was possible that his wings were still bothering him – though the feathers were mostly dry now, with only a slight dampness remaining – but he suspected that Dean was just overtired. A nap would probably go a long way towards improving his attitude.

“Here you go, bro,” Gabriel came into the room and tossed the bottle to him. Castiel caught it easily with the hand not supporting Dean. As Gabriel threw himself down in the armchair, Castiel started trying to coax Dean out of hiding.

“Look what I have for you, sweetheart. A yummy bottle. You like those,” he coaxed, which may or may not have been a lie. Dean hadn’t really expressed an opinion on bottles. Knowing Dean, he’d claim to hate them while secretly enjoying them. And Castiel knew that the fact that he had started giving them to Dean, instead of allowing Dean to hold the bottle, would only increase Dean’s embarrassment about the subject.

But he knew that Dean liked sucking his pacifier and a bottle was no different, except that it provided him with nutrients and grace he sorely needed. So he didn’t feel too bad about the way that Dean’s face scrunched up when Castiel finally pried him away. He slipped the nipple into Dean’s mouth before Dean could complain, tipping the bottle up so that Dean got a good mouthful of milk and grace with the first suck. Dean swallowed automatically, sucking again.

“There you go. Good boy,” Castiel said softly, pulling him a little closer. Dean seemed to decide that the taste was acceptable and began to suck with more force, eagerly drinking the liquid. His eyes were half-shut, gaze unfocused, though he was staring up at Castiel the whole time.

“I flavored it with chocolate,” Gabriel said, tossing one of Dean’s toy balls in the air. He caught it and threw it up again.

“Whatever it takes.” Chocolate wasn’t exactly healthy as far as Castiel knew, but Dean was drinking the bottle without fussing so he wasn’t going to complain. He settled back against the couch and looked on as Gabriel lost interest in the ball, grabbed the remote and turned the television on.

For a few minutes, the only sounds in the room were that of the show Gabriel was watching and snuffly sounds Dean made as he drank. When the bottle was empty, Castiel set it aside and lifted Dean up onto his shoulder. He patted the baby’s back a dozen times until Dean burped. He melted against Castiel’s shoulder, wrapping an arm around Castiel’s neck, and Castiel decided to let him stay there. If Dean wanted to sleep sitting up, he didn’t mind.

“Humans find the weirdest stuff to care about,” Gabriel said, breaking the peaceful silence. “If I were that girl, I would be playing all those guys against each other. Instead, she’s just sitting back and watching them do it for her. Where’s the fun if she doesn’t actively have a hand in it?”

“Not everyone thinks the way that you do,” Castiel said wryly, though he had to admit that watching a dozen humans make fools of themselves was a little bit amusing. He rubbed Dean’s back, grateful that Dean wasn’t one of them.

Dean stirred at the touch, turning his head to a more comfortable position before settling back down. A moment later, Castiel became aware of a curious sensation. He stiffened a little as he realized what was going on, and Gabriel glanced over at him. Castiel didn’t look back at him, too focused on what was happening. Other angels had tried to describe this before, but there weren’t really words for how peculiar it felt. And since he’d never expected Dean to be willing to do it, he’d never put much thought into it.

“Cassie? What’s wrong?” Gabriel asked.

“Dean’s nursing,” Castiel said, hardly believing those two words had come out of his mouth. Judging from the expression on Gabriel’s face, his brother couldn’t either.

“What?” he hissed, just barely remembering to keep his voice down. He jumped up and came over to the couch so that he could see for himself. Castiel turned his head slowly and both of them looked at Dean.

His upper body was leaning heavily against Castiel, but Dean had angled his head so that his face was closer to Castiel’s wings. He’d sucked the tip of a primary into his mouth and was lightly suckling at the black feather, eyes closed. There was a look of complete contentment on his face. His throat worked every ten or so seconds, indicating that he was swallowing grace.

“Oh, that’s weird,” Castiel murmured. His vessel shivered, which was also an unusual feeling, but he didn’t know how else to translate the sensation physically. He tightened his grip around Dean's waist.

By nursing on Castiel’s wings, Dean was drinking pure grace. It was good for him, of course: while his wings and feathers had been growing, Dean had barely consumed any grace at all. Nursing would probably provide more than he really needed, particularly if done regularly, but any excess wouldn't hurt Dean either. He'd just never thought that Dean would want to nurse. There was something so intimate about it.

"What does it feel like?" Gabriel said, coming around to the other side of the couch for a better view.

"I don't know how to describe it. Like something's tugging on my grace, but it doesn't hurt and I don't feel the need to lash out to stop it." He shifted the baby a little bit, tucking Dean closer to him. "It's... peaceful?"

"Peaceful?" Gabriel repeated, sounding skeptical.

Castiel thought about it and then nodded. "Yes, peaceful. I can feel Dean," he added, a little surprised. His bond with Dean was always active, particularly now that Dean was a hatchling. But he could actually feel Dean's soul right now. It was full of warmth and pleasure. This was making Dean very happy. "And I think that he can feel me. It seems to make him feel safe."

"Huh," Gabriel said, crossing his arms and backing off a little. He tipped his head to the side, then shook it. "Nope, sorry. It's just weird."

"It's not weird," Castiel said, despite the fact that he'd said that himself not two minutes ago. "Actually, now that I'm getting used to it, it's not that bad." Being able to sense the baby's contentment was actually making him feel very relaxed.

"Right. I'll take your word for it."

"Honestly, Gabriel. Are you telling me you wouldn't let Sam nurse if he wanted to?"

Gabriel winced. "Nope. Not in the slightest. Sammy will have to make do with bottles or sippy cups of grace. My wings are not up for grabs." He drew his wings around himself protectively. "And I like Dean, but I'm very glad it's your wings he's gnawing on, not mine."

"He's not gnawing on them!" Castiel said, laughing. "He's suckling like he does with a bottle. It doesn't hurt at all."

"Still going to just take your word for it."

Castiel rolled his eyes but let it go, turning back to the television. He didn't bother pointing out that it hadn't taken Dean long to ensnare Gabriel's heart, and Dean was just Gabriel's nephew. He was positive that when Sam and Gabriel finally moved to the stage where Sam was consuming grace, Gabriel would do just about anything for Sam - and that included letting Sam nurse if he desired. But he kept those thoughts to himself for the time being. It would be much more fun to tease Gabriel when it finally happened.

Dean nursed for a little while longer before falling into a deep enough sleep that he stopped. Castiel gently moved his wing out of reach, glancing at the feather that had been in Dean's mouth. It was a little damp at the tip, but otherwise unharmed. And his grace didn't feel depleted. If anything, he felt slightly stronger than before Dean had nursed. Curious.

"I'm going to put Dean to bed," he said to Gabriel. "He needs a change."

Gabriel just nodded, already absorbed in the show. Castiel stood, picking Dean up with him, and carried the baby into the bedroom. Dean slept right through the diaper change, thumb tucked into his mouth, hair falling over his eyes. He didn't even stir when Castiel tucked him back into bed and put Dean's bee and fox into the bed with him, or when Castiel turned on the mobile. The soft, twinkling sound of 'Hey Jude' filled the room as Castiel quietly slipped out.