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The world had not been an easy place for Jack to understand so far. It wasn’t so much things like technology or the concept of money or anything like that. No, human society itself was fairly understandable if a little odd. What caused him the most grief was people. Humans weren’t predictable and they didn’t have an instruction manual that explained why they acted like they did. Each person was different from the next and it was hard for Jack to figure out why each individual was the way they were.
Of all the people that Jack knew, Dean Winchester was the hardest person to read.
From the moment they had met, Dean had been quick to anger especially when Jack was involved. Dean was honest and direct which was a relief to Jack for the most part even when what he said was hurtful (whether he meant it to be or not). But recently things were... different. They weren’t perfect but they had definitely changed for the better. At first Jack had assumed Dean’s good mood had been just about their recent trip to Dodge City but it had persisted afterwards.
And then it occurred to him what the real reason was.
It was Castiel.
The angel’s presence had certainly changed the dynamic amongst everyone since he had returned. Sam was relieved to have another person to help teach and take care of Jack; Jack was glad to have a person who understood the angel side of himself and Dean was just happy, plain and simple. Everything seemed a little less heavy in the bunker, like there had been an invisible dark cloud hanging over all of them, threatening to storm and rage at any moment and now it had somehow magically disappeared.
It was just little things at first that Jack noticed. There were normal human signs of happiness that Jack recognised but had never seen Dean exhibit before. He was smiling, humming along to music and being nice to people. Then there was the way he interacted with Castiel which was different from the way he was with everyone else. Like how Dean would fuss with Castiel’s clothing, not in a way that was belittling but just like he cared. Or how much Dean touched Castiel. As far as Jack could tell, Dean had never been a “touchy-feely” kind of guy. But when Castiel was around, Dean was always greeting him with a hug or casually resting a hand on his shoulder.
Jack didn’t know Castiel well enough to say if he was acting differently upon his return to the living. In many ways Castiel was much easier to understand than Sam and Dean, probably because he was an angel. But when Dean was around him, Castiel was harder to read. Sometimes Castiel seemed annoyed with how reckless Dean was but he always followed alongside Dean no matter what. It was a contradiction that Jack couldn’t understand.
He watched as Castiel would hover about Dean, standing just a tiny bit closer than he did with everyone else and Dean would wink and grin at the angel in turn. Jack knew that this relationship was different than ones he had seen before. But he wasn’t sure how. It wasn’t like the sibling relationship between Sam and Dean though it was similar in some ways. The brothers would bicker and fight but they always found their way back to each other no matter the circumstances. They were bound to each other because they were all they had.
Similarly, the Winchesters were all Castiel had. He had been shunned by Heaven, his family, and had created a new one. Thinking this way made it easier for Jack to understand the relationship between all of them. Sam and Dean were brothers. Sam and Castiel were friends. And Dean and Castiel were... something.
It would need further investigation and it didn’t take long before an opportunity arrived to do just that.
They had gotten a call from Jodie asking if they could check out a missing persons case a couple states over. So they had all piled into the Impala (“Baby”) and driven the whole day until they needed to stop for dinner. It was an average scene as they all sat in the motel, eating takeout and doing research on their computers. Jack had been enthusiastic at first about the case but as the hours began ticking by with no new info to be found online, he was beginning to lose steam.
“I’m gonna go to bed and get a fresh start in the morning,” Sam said with a yawn as he closed his laptop and headed towards the bathroom.
“Good night,” Jack responded as he continued to click on different police reports, feeling bored but not sleepy. He stretched his arm over the back of his head and couldn’t help but take a peek at Dean and Castiel who were seated on the tiny couch provided by the motel. They had been sharing a laptop, which meant Castiel was doing most of the work while Dean was drinking a beer and peering over Castiel’s shoulder from time to time.
Once the bathroom door had closed behind Sam though, Dean knocked his knee against Castiel’s and had a look on his face that Jack had never seen before. His eyes were dark and he had an almost playful smile on his lips. Slowly, he leaned close to Castiel, whispering something in his ear, and the angel’s eyes appeared to glaze over as he listened. They were seated so close to one another despite having quite a bit of space on either side of them and Jack had never known Dean to not be sprawling all over any space he was provided. Dean moved a hand onto Castiel’s leg, resting it on the inside of Castiel’s thigh and the angel’s mouth parted as his breathing became heavier.
“Did you find something?” Jack asked, his voice seemed incredibly loud even though he had spoken at what he considered was a regular volume. Both Castiel and Dean jumped apart, Castiel closing his legs and Dean put his hands in his lap. “Oh, uh, sorry?” Jack apologized, confused by their response.
“Shit, I forgot he was there,” Dean grumbled and Jack felt the words like a stab.
Castiel smiled tenderly at Jack though and said, “It’s okay. And no, we haven’t found anything yet.”
Jack felt somehow calmed by Castiel’s answer and glanced at Dean who definitely did not look like the interruption was “okay”. He was swiping at his phone screen as if the device had offended him and his mouth was pressed into a thin line. It was perhaps the most annoyed Jack had ever seen Dean since Castiel’s return. Castiel seemed to notice Jack’s attention was lingering and said, “We’ll let you know if we find anything.”
Jack frowned but nodded.
The rest of the case went on like normal. They talked to the police in the morning, got a hint that the person they were looking for might have been involved in some “weird stuff”, found out the person used to be part of a coven of witches, and they were not happy that the person had found a new coven. It all came to a head in a small suburban cul de sac where the witches from the old coven and the new one wiped each other out leaving the Winchesters to deal with the questions from the police. Hours later, they had been free to return to the bunker.
In the car, Jack sensed that perhaps Dean was still annoyed with him. They had left the motel the morning after the fight with the witches but there had been no other confrontations. Dean and Sam had fallen asleep upon their return while Castiel talked with Jack about his mom. The past night had left Jack feeling emotionally drained and he had taken a short nap on the couch before they set out on the road.
“Did you finish watching Star Wars , Jack?” Sam asked from the passenger's seat of “Baby.”
Jack took a glance in the rearview to look at Sam but could only see Dean, a deep frown on his face. Jack decided to continue looking out the window as he spoke, “Yes, and The Mandalorian .”
“Oh wow, I haven’t even watched that one yet,” Sam sounded impressed and Jack enjoyed the subtle praise. “Have you heard of Indiana Jones?”
Jack furrowed his brow as he tried to remember if he had ever run across it and vaguely remembered seeing it on one of his journeys through the Internet. “That has the same actor as Star Wars .”
“Yeah,” Sam said. “We can try watching it when we get home if you want?”
Jack felt a small warmth in his heart. It was nice to be included when everyone went to investigate a case but it always felt as if he was being babysat. Being at the bunker was no better as everyone had their own routine and Jack was often left by himself with nothing to do. So having a movie night like a normal person with a friend made Jack smile a little and he had to hide how excited he was as he responded, “Sure.”
Sam smiled over his shoulder and Jack looked back out the window, buzzing just a little bit.
***
Having never attended a movie night before, Jack began to feel a little nervous as the event drew closer. It was only Sam though and this helped Jack relax. He wasn’t sure he could handle sitting next to Dean for two hours in a dark, quiet room. Taking a breath, Jack tried to calm himself down at the sheer thought and opened up one of the laptops in the library to do a quick search. According to Google, movie nights required snacks so he went to the kitchen and microwaved a bag of popcorn and grabbed a few cans of soda. He piled everything in his arms and set out for his room where Sam said he would be waiting with the movie.
Jack walked carefully down the halls but drew up short in front of Dean’s room.
Dean had always been a loud sleeper; he snored and grumbled during the late hours of the night. However the sounds that were coming from his room now were different from the ones he usually heard. There was heavy breathing like Dean was exerting himself somehow and Jack knew these weren’t normal sleeping noises. The harsh breaths were punctuated by soft sighs and Jack felt a growing concern. It sounded like there was another person in the room with Dean, maybe an assailant. Then Jack heard a grunt and the creak of the bed straining under the weight of someone moving.
It sounded like the violence inside the room was escalating and Jack panicked, juggling his treats in his arms as he tried to open the door. It was locked and Jack’s concern only grew. “Dean!” he shouted, rattling the door knob but to no avail. Practically throwing the popcorn and soda onto the ground, Jack raised his hand towards the door and his eyes blazed with light as he blew the door open, knocking it off its hinges.
The door landed on the floor of the bedroom with a sound that echoed throughout the entire bunker. Jack stepped into the room and had his hand out in front of him, ready to take down the intruder.
Dean sat up in his bed with a shocked expression on his face, looking at the broken door and then at Jack. Everything seemed normal. Dean was a little red faced and sweaty but he didn’t appear to be in any sort of danger. Jack scanned the room in confusion, searching for the invader or some other cause of Dean’s earlier distress. His hand fell to his side as he came up empty.
That’s when Castiel sat up in the bed next to Dean.
He looked just as flushed as Dean did and was presumably just as naked, although the blanket from the bed was covering everything below the waist.
“What the hell, Jack!” Dean shouted.
“I, uh...” Jack stammered. “I’m sorry, I thought--”
“Just fix the door!”
Jack nodded and lifted his hand towards the door, his eyes glowing golden as it rose off the floor and back into place.
The hallway was still and silent as Jack stood in front of Dean’s room for a moment longer as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Inside he could hear Dean fuming while Castiel tried to calm him down. Jack felt embarrassed more than anything at his mistake and berated himself for acting so impulsively. He picked up the popcorn and soda he had put down earlier and walked towards his room, feeling childish.
For a moment Jack had forgotten about the movie night completely and was surprised to see Sam seated in the wooden chair in Jack’s room, long legs crossed at the ankle. The laptop was open at the foot of Jack’s bed with Raiders of the Lost Ark all queued up but his earlier excitement for the movie had vanished. “Everything okay?” Sam asked as Jack continued to just stand in the doorway. “I thought I heard Dean yelling.”
Jack’s shoulders slumped at the mention of Dean and he hung his head low as he murmured, “It’s fine.”
He took a seat on his bed, laying the snacks on the desk, while trying to ignore the way Sam was studying his expression. Jack couldn’t help but run through what he had just seen in his mind over and over again. Even though Jack couldn’t quite figure out what he had interrupted, he knew it had been something private. One of the first things Jack had learned about humans was that they found nudity inappropriate and embarrassing. So if Dean and Castiel had been naked together, in bed, then they were probably doing something that they didn’t want anyone else to see.
Suddenly, a thought came to Jack. He had never seen this scenario in real life but he had seen it in movies. Just as Sam cracked open the tab on his can of soda and lifted it to his lips, Jack turned towards him almost excitedly.
“I think Dean and Castiel are having sex.”
Sam nearly spat out his drink.
After narrowly avoiding choking, Sam swallowed what he had in his mouth and then began coughing. Jack didn’t understand Sam’s reaction at what he had just said. Was he wrong? Was he really so off the mark that Sam had been shocked at the idea of it? Sam recovered from his coughing fit, wiping his chin with the back of his hand and then asked, “Where did you even hear about sex?”
Jack shrugged, “Internet and movies.”
Sam’s eyebrows were high on his forehead. “Right.”
“Am I wrong?” Jack asked. “It’s just, I went into Dean’s room earlier and Castiel was there and they were--”
“Oh, whoa,” Sam said and held up a hand to stop Jack from talking. “I don’t... really want to hear about that.”
An awkward silence filled the room as Sam was clearly trying to think how to best handle this conversation. Jack didn’t understand why this was such an issue. People had sex all the time in movies and it never seemed like it was a huge deal. Unless a character got pregnant but neither Dean nor Castiel could bear children. “Should I not have said anything?” Jack asked after what felt like an eternity. “Are we still gonna watch the movie?”
Sam shook his head, “No, Jack. Sorry, I just... Dean is my brother and I don’t normally want to think about him sleeping with people. Even though he does. A lot.”
Jack furrowed his brow. “Does he sleep with people other than Castiel?”
“He did,” Sam said.
“Does he love Castiel?”
Sam visibly softened. “I think so although I don’t think he’s ever said it.”
“Does Castiel love Dean?”
“Uh...” Sam appeared to be a little surprised at Jack’s enthusiasm on the topic and the never ending barrage of questions. Of course there was no way Sam could have known that Jack had been trying to figure out the nature of Dean and Castiel’s relationship for the past few weeks. “Maybe we should watch the movie and you can ask Cas about this sometime?”
“Okay,” Jack said. “Should I ask Dean too?”
“No,” Sam said firmly. “That’s probably not a good idea.”
Jack nodded in understanding. He had already known that that would most likely be the answer but he couldn’t help but hope for an opportunity to bond with Dean.
“Give Dean some time,” Sam said kindly. “He’ll come around.”
Jack was beginning to doubt that Dean would ever come around to the idea of Jack being a part of their little group. But he didn’t fight Sam on the topic and instead settled against the headboard of his bed, looking a little like an angsty teen.
Raiders of the Lost Ark was nothing like Star Wars and, at the same time, exactly like Star Wars . Watching movies with another person was fun but very different from watching a movie by himself. Sam would interrupt every now and again to tell Jack that certain aspects of the movie were sexist or racist or “not okay.” It was nice Sam cared so much about him but he wished that he didn’t turn every activity they did together into some sort of lesson. That being said, Jack tried to remember all of the things Sam told him until coming to the conclusion that copying what he saw in movies was probably bad. Period.
The movie ended and Sam put the empty soda cans into the popcorn bowl to take to the kitchen, wished Jack good night and headed out leaving Jack sitting in his room. Before attempting to sleep himself, Jack decided to venture out into the halls of the bunker in the hopes that Castiel may also be up. The bunker was quiet though and only seemed to amplify the loneliness Jack was feeling. Castiel was nowhere to be found and Jack figured maybe he had stayed with Dean in his room for the night. Although he couldn’t imagine sitting in anyone’s room, doing nothing for literal hours as the person just slept. With a defeated sigh, Jack returned to his room and tried to keep himself busy until dawn.
The morning came slowly, Jack had gotten a couple of hours of sleep but had woken up somehow feeling more tired than he had been before he’d fallen asleep. The bunker was just as quiet as it had been in the late night hours as Jack made his way to the kitchen to wait for everyone to wake up. Sam was the first to get up at sometime after 7AM. He said hi to Jack before going for a jog, coming back to eat breakfast, taking a shower and then going on his computer to see if he had gotten any messages about a case. Jack was used to Sam having his own morning routine and there was something comforting about the predictability of it all. However Dean had always woken up whenever the mood struck him, never sticking to a schedule as far as Jack could tell. A few more hours passed by and Jack began to wonder if Dean and Castiel would ever wake up. Thankfully, around 11AM, Castiel finally made his way into the kitchen.
“Morning, Jack,” Castiel greeted.
Jack felt himself suddenly nervous about asking any questions. He remembered the night before and how angry Dean had been. Maybe this was all a bad idea. The last thing he wanted was to make Castiel mad at him by asking personal questions about something he didn’t fully understand. Then again, Castiel was the one who was supposed to help him and look after him so maybe he would be happy to have Jack ask questions. He settled for just murmuring a small, “Good morning,”
Castiel didn’t seem to notice Jack’s internal distress and went over to the coffee machine as he grabbed a new filter from the cupboard. The appeal of coffee alluded Jack. There were so many steps to make it and then the final product was just a bitter cup of liquid. Sam explained once that coffee was sometimes more of a social activity and had laughed when Jack asked why they couldn’t just socialize about how much they all hated coffee instead.
“I’m sorry again about last night,” Jack said as Castiel turned the machine on.
The coffee maker whirred to life and began to drip slowly into the pot placed below it. Jack may have been wrong but he thought Castiel’s ears seemed a little pink at the mention of the night before. “It’s alright, Jack,” Castiel said.
“I...” and Jack wasn’t sure how to continue.
As if summoned to the kitchen by the smell of coffee, Dean shuffled into the room, interrupting whatever Jack was about to say. Dean’s eyes were barely opened and his hair was sticking up every which way, which was impressive because his hair was pretty short. He wore a worn out looking t-shirt, boxers and a threadbare housecoat. “Hey,” Dean grumbled.
“Hello, Dean,” Castiel said, pouring out some of the coffee and handing a mug to him. Dean yawned and took the drink, leaning in and giving Castiel a kiss on the cheek. It was the first real public display of affection Jack had ever seen from Dean. Before this he had only seen what he now knew were stolen moments between him and Castiel but this was the first indisputable act of romantic affection. Jack noticed he was staring and turned to look away quickly.
“Jack,” Dean said as he turned to leave the kitchen.
“H-hey, Dean,” Jack greeted.
Dean didn’t say anything more and left the room. Castiel took a seat at the kitchen table across from Jack and began to look at his phone.
“I think Dean hates me,” Jack said in a defeated voice.
Castiel tilted his head. “Dean doesn’t hate you.”
“Really? He’s always so mad at me...”
“Dean is...,” Castiel thought about it. “He has a hard time expressing himself and it sometimes comes off... badly”
“Then why do you like him?”
“Dean was the first human I had ever meant,” Castiel explained and his face looked a little sentimental at the thought. “In Heaven we were always told the people on Earth were selfish and cruel. That they had forgotten God’s teachings and chose to live by their own set of rules. And they were right in some ways. But Dean showed me that humans aren’t bad. They cared about others.”
Castiel’s eyes were clouded over as if looking back on the memory fondly. Jack had never seen this emotion before and it was overwhelming. There were of course movies he had seen where the characters were in love but seeing it in person was another thing entirely. Castiel was normally not very expressive unless he was confused or angry but it was clear that he was currently feeling a warmth that Jack could barely imagine.
Even though Dean had never shown the same feelings in such an open and vulnerable way before, Jack thought he had seen him maybe express the same sentiment differently. Jack thought about how Dean must have felt when Castiel had died. To have the person you love taken away from you without warning and then to have to burn the body. To have no trace of that person, like they had never existed. It must have been devastating.
It didn’t excuse Dean’s behaviour towards Jack but it did help explain it. The feeling of loss Dean must have been experiencing and how Sam had tried so hard to get him to open up. It had all culminated in an angry and aggressive Dean Winchester. Sort of like a cornered animal with no other option but to try and fight its way out, hurting anyone that got in its way.
Now seeing Castiel, an angel that had existed for thousands of years willing to give up everything for a human, it made no sense and yet looking at him, Jack started to understand.
“You love him.” Jack said, without question.
Castiel looked up as if he was surprised Jack was still there. “Yes, I do,” he said.
Jack sighed in relief as he stood up from the kitchen table. “Thank you, Castiel.”
Castiel looked confused but responded, “Of course.”
There was nothing else Jack needed to hear. Seeing Castiel’s face had been answer enough.