Chapter Text
Six years later…
Castiel gently rocked the porch swing he was sitting on, sipping from his mug of tea, eyes on the frolicking figures in their backyard. Normally he wasn’t a huge fan of ginger tea, but this time around it was downright delicious, particularly with a spoonful of honey mixed in. It also helped soothe his stomach when morning sickness hit.
When Jack was five they’d built a playset in the backyard, one with swings and a slide and a rope ladder and a sandbox. Their eldest was in the process of seeing how high he could get on the swings before jumping off. His sisters were clambering up the ladder and throwing themselves down the slide, again and again. Periodically one would shout, “Switch!” and they’d change course. Dashing up the slide, something that took repeated attempts, and scuttling down the ladder.
As it turned out, knowing multiples were more common when you had more than one Alpha and actually birthing multiples were two different things. The twins had been a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. Not after they started sleeping through the night, at any rate. Claire was a golden-haired tomboy if there ever was one, the sort of pup who preferred Monster High and Wonder Woman over Barbie. Alex was a little more traditional, for all their parents had already gotten a call from their school. A week after they’d started kindergarten, they’d both gotten into a fight on the playground after a first grader had pushed Alex down. She’d come up swinging, and Claire had jumped onto his back. The boy’s parents had actually wanted an apology for beating him up, which they hadn’t got. To say their fathers had been proud would be an understatement.
Eyeing his midsection, which was already starting to swell with his third pregnancy, Castiel drawled, “You aren’t going to be much trouble, are you?”
He was only three months pregnant, so they didn’t answer him. They had agreed this would be the last time, or so Castiel hoped. He’d sworn the twins would be the last, but then his mates could be very…persuasive. Besides, once they were out of him he adored the hooligans. He blamed Jack for his weakness in that regard, his firstborn was the easiest of his pups. Jack was energetic, but cheerful, friendly. Rarely did someone who met him not like him, which worried his mother sometimes.
Jack had been a year old when Castiel had finally given up on working. He was currently very happy in his role as homemaker. It certainly kept him busy, and while they had to get more creative in their sex life with three pups running around it was still going strong.
A thud drew Castiel’s gaze from his pups to the converted barn. He waited a moment, then called, “Dean?”
“Dropped a door,” he called back.
Castiel sighed quietly, grimacing as Claire abandoned their game to run towards the barn. Dean was currently restoring an old model Mustang, the latest of several he restored and sold for what he called ‘milk money’. The Impala was the only one he’d ever kept for himself, but there was a steady rotation over the years. Claire was fascinated by the process, spending hours watching him work.
Sam came out onto the porch as she disappeared, asking, “He drop something again?”
“Yep.” The Omega took a sip of his tea as his mate sat next to him on the swinging bench, a mug of coffee in hand. “You talked to Mick?”
“Yeah.”
Castiel’s eyes narrowed as the Alpha innocently sipped his coffee. “And?”
“It’s me.”
A broad smile lit the Omega’s face. “That’s great news! Why aren’t you excited?”
“I guess it’s still processing.”
Castiel leaned over, pulling him into a congratulatory kiss. “You earned this. You’re the reason that firm is still afloat. Gloat a little.”
Sam gave a wry smile at that. Dean would agree with him and they both knew it. Sam had taken work at a small local firm a few years before Castiel had met them, and had done well for them in his tenure there. Recently one of the two older attorneys who ran the firm had announced he’d be retiring, and before he left a replacement would be appointed. Mick Davis, personal assistant to the partners, was due to make announcements today. Why they felt the need to do it on a Saturday Castiel wasn’t sure, but it was still good news. He’d been confident Sam would be chosen, but then his competition had been Brady Johnson and Ava Wilson. What they’d lacked in skill and know-how they’d made up for with combining ass-kissing with wheeling and dealing. The only reason they still had jobs was because Brady had connections and Ava made a point to always wear low-cut blouses.
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Later.”
Rolling his eyes, Castiel called, “Dean?”
The rhythmic banging from the barn paused. “Yeah?”
“Can you come here for a moment?”
After another pause, Dean came out, mallet still in hand. His hands were streaked with grease, his skin sheened with sweat. Claire followed on his heels, trying to tug the mallet from his hands and whining about why she didn’t get a turn to use it.
“Something wrong?” he asked, not letting her have it.
Turning to Sam, Castiel gave him his most blatantly expectant look.
“Mick called?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
Apparently his brother’s expression was all he needed to see. Dean’s face split in a wide grin as he laughed, striding over to the porch. “See? What’d I tell you?”
“What happened?” Claire demanded, bouncing as she tugged at his wrist.
Setting his mallet on a table, Dean clapped his brother on the shoulder as Sam stood to return his embrace. As he pulled back, still beaming as he gave Sam’s shoulders a shake, he answered, “Papa got the job.”
“What job? He’s already got a job.”
“He got a better job.”
“How come?”
“Because he’s awesome.”
This seemed to satisfy her, so she went to hug his waist before running back to rejoin her sister. As Sam sat back down, picking up his mug, Dean asked, “Want me to make that stir fry stuff you like? Since celebratory drinks are off the table?”
“Don’t let me hold you back,” Castiel assured them.
“It’s fine,” Sam protested.
The Omega raised a brow. “You sure? We can have a nice meal, and then while Dean watches the kids you and I can have a celebration of our own. But if you’re not interested that’s alright too.”
Sam coughed on his coffee as Dean beamed. “That’s a great idea, Cas.”
“You, uh, sure you’re up to it?” the younger Alpha asked, clearing his throat.
Castiel rolled his eyes. It was either endearing or irritating, how they tended to fret when he was pregnant. “I’m horny and we haven’t been able to get any alone time in almost a month. Yes, I’m up to it. I suggest you take full advantage.”
“Yeah, Sammy, get while the getting’s good,” Dean urged with his most lecherous grin.
“Alright, alright. But only if you promise you can keep quiet.”
Castiel chose to ignore that, hiding his blush in his tea mug as Dean snickered. “I’ll put on a movie or something.”
“It was one time,” the Omega grumbled. “And it was your faults.”
“I thought it was my fault,” Sam mused thoughtfully.
“It was my fault,” Dean argued.
Castiel rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to his pups as he sipped his tea. He’d stopped asking certain questions about a year after mating them. Like ‘are they honestly arguing about who made our pups think someone was torturing me at midnight?’, or ‘did Sam just lick my face so he wouldn’t have to share my mouth tonight?’.
It was a price, yes, but one he was more than willing to pay. Granted it did sound cliché on the rare occasion they were asked how they met, Dean always took particular pleasure in giving a dramatic “It was a dark and stormy night”, but he wasn’t wrong. As far as Castiel was concerned, it was easily the best possible outcome to the darkest part of his life. All brotherly bickering aside, it was something he never regretted.
THE END