Chapter Text
“DEE! Deanie wake up! wakeupwakeupwakup!!” Dean opened his eyes, throwing up a hand to block his face from the wild bouncing of the toddler on the bed. He sat up, stretching his arms over his head and was immediately tackled by a tousle-headed ball of energy. “Dee, I wanna play with Gabe and Cassie” Dean rubbed his eyes, before rolling Sam off him and standing up, checking the time on his phone. Four thirty. “we napped for three hours, kiddo, you’re not going to fall asleep tonight, are you.” Sam shook his head, grinning. “nope! bedtime is never and I wanna play with the angels!” He dropped to his his knees on the bed, folding his hands and mumbling an invitation to the heavens. Dean stared, chuckling. “you look like a cherub, Sammy, but I think the angels are probably busy toda-”
“Hello, Dean”
“Holy fuck, man!” Deann spun around, breath hitching as he takes in the very close planes of Cas’s face. He forced himself to step back and resume breathing normally as he heard Sam squeal and slither off the bed. “Gabe! Dean said you wouldn’t come an’ play but look!” Gabriel grinned, scooping Sam up and spinning him around.
“Hey there, Moose! did you and Dean have fun today?” The archangel asked, setting Sam on his shoulders.
“-nd then we had lunch, but I burned my tongue and had to eat slower and then i helped clean up an’ we watched tv an’ Dean told me it was nap time but I said I didn’t wanna sleep and then he said jus’ story time but-”
“That does sound like fun, Sammy, you know what else would be fun? playing with Cassie! I think your brother wants to talk to me” He winked at Dean, who looked like he needed more than a few questions answered and soon. Sam pouted for a moment but then wiggled out of Gabriels arms and bounced over to Cas, grabbing his hand tugging him into the living room, talking too fast to be comprehensible.
Gabriel turned to Dean, giving him a grin. Dean scowled in return.
“Really man? This is- What are yo- you’ve been gone for four years and you do this to let us know you’re back? Where have you been?”
“slow down, Dean-o. You’re missing a few key points. One, I’m not “back”, I never left”
Dean spluttered
“You never left? I saw your body! I saw the tape! what do you mean you , neve-”
Gabriel held up a hand, rolling his eyes.
“Blah, blah, Ye of little faith and all that. I wanted a way out, I made one. And now I’m here. I’ve been keeping tabs on you and your brother, and decided to step in.”
Dean glared, mouth opening and closing angrily.
“keeping tabs- why now?”
Gabriel seemed to grow a little taller, a new look settling onto his features.
“ I decided to step in now, because”
He stepped forward a bit
“because your brother isn’t doing so well. He’s fine physically, of course, but he’s been sad, what will all the leaving him for Crowley then trying to smash his head in, you know.”
He held up a hand to stop dean from talking, but dropped the scary archangel posure, grinning instead.
“He forgives you, he does, but it takes a toll. So I did a little snooping around in his memories, and I picked out a time when he was really happy, and justed sent him back there”
Gabriel smiled wider
“it helped that he’s so cute like this, isn’t he”
Dean sighed, looking chagrined.
“Yeah, he is really cute. Will this help with all the.. stuff?”
Gabriel nodded.
“When I bring him back, he won’t remember any of it exactly, but he’ll remember the feeling. Like a memory booster from when he was two, but now, you see?
Dean didn’t. Gabriel sighed.
“Basically, he’ll just be reminded that you love him, and he loves you. get it now?”
Assured Dean understood, Gabriel turned towards the door
“if that’s all, I’ll just go fix him up”
Dean grabbed his shoulder, looking down.
“uh, maybeyoucouldleavehimtinyforalittlelonger?”
He mumbled. Gabriel smiled softly.
“I can’t leave him too long, or his mind could get stuck at that age. Go play with him, you’ve got a couple more hours”
Dean nodded, mumbling a thank you and walking out to the dining room.
He froze. The table was covered in every imaginable colour of play-doh. Cas looked up, smiling guiltily “I’m sorry, Sam asked for play-doh, and he is.. very hard to refuse” Dean met the angels eyes, and cracked up. Cas looked bewildered
“Dean? are you- Dean?”
Dean bent double, gasping for breath.
“Dude, how much play-doh is this? there’s like twenty pounds of play-doh on this damn table”
This made no sense to Castiel, who still looked beyond confused. Sam, of course, saw his big brother laughing and joined in, not at all minding the fact that he didn’t know what they were laughing about.
“Dee, come make pizza with me!” he said between giggle fits. Dean stood up, taking a few deep breaths before shaking his head and chuckling softly, and sat down next to Sam, pulling a lump of orange play-doh towards him.
“Alright, Sammy. Let’s make some pizza.”