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For the first time in a while, Cas, Gabe, Bobby, and Ellen all manage to get the same Saturday off. They decide to celebrate by taking the little boys out to the big park in the next town over. It’s one of those adventure parks with multiple areas for different age groups, and even a splash pad area. The best part though is that it's Little friendly. No one is ever mean to the boys about who they are, and there's usually plenty of others just like them there. It’s Dean and Sam’s favorite place to go, and they haven’t been in months since the weather is just finally getting warm enough again.
Gabe wrangles an overly excited Sammy into a bright green bodysuit and shorts-overalls that are blue and white pinstriped with an adorable alligator on the bum. His big, wiggly toes fight the training shoes Gabe tries to get him into but Gabe eventually wins. Then he stuffs the kiddo into his car seat and gives him a bottle of milk to drink during the drive, smiling at the happy expression on his boy’s face.
Cas stands back and watches as his very independent, stubborn little boy dresses himself in bright pink drawstring shorts and a blue t-shirt with a big red firetruck on it. The boy grumbles and huffs and wiggles around, but he surprisingly gets into the clothes without giving into frustration and asking for help. He argues with Cas that he should be able to wear his sparkly rain boots but gives in when Cas points out that his sneakers would be better for running around and climbing things. Then he straps Dean into his booster seat and hands him his toy airplane.
It’s a pretty good start to what seems like it’ll be a perfect day.
----
Dean loves going to the park, but sometimes his daddy is pretty annoying when they’re out and about in public. His daddy is a worry wart. That’s what Uncle Gabe calls him at least. His daddy doesn’t let them do much of the fun stuff. Sometimes it’s because Sammy is too little, but even when Sammy isn’t around, Dean’s daddy always finds excuses! Something is too tall. Too slippery. Too busy. Too far away. Too dangerous looking.
That’s why, when his daddy gets swept up in a long argument with Uncle Gabe about something adult and boring, Dean grabs Sammy’s hand and tugs him along to go on an adventure. He’s been watching Dora lately and he packed his little purple backpack, so it’s the perfect chance!
“We goin’?” Sammy whines, looking at Dean in confusion as he holds tight to Dean’s hand.
“We goin’ on a ‘ventuwe!” Dean stops and fumbles with his little backpack until he can pull out the adventure map that’s just like the real Dora’s! He’s so excited to do this. He’s been planning and planning ever since his daddy got him the cool backpack. This is going to be the coolest thing ever!
Dean opens up the cloth map and shows it to Sammy. He explains it as Sammy smacks a curious hand against a picture of a farm. “Dis ouw map, Sammy. We gonna go ‘ventuwe!”
“‘Ven’ure!” Sammy agrees, clumsily clapping his big hands together. He grins wide at Dean. “Ven’ure!”
Dean studies his map for another minute before taking Sammy’s hand again and pulling him along. He thinks the big kid area with the cool climbing wall and rope bridges would be the perfect place for their adventure!
It takes them a while to reach the spot Dean had in mind, because Sammy stumbles a lot and gets distracted by way too many things like butterflies and other kids and picking his gross boogers out of his nose. When they get to the rope bridges, though, Dean takes his map out again and informs Sammy, “We gotta watch outs fow Swipa!”
Then, Dean gasps and points at the air to their left. “Swipa! Oh no! Sammy, huwwy! Say ‘Swipa no Swipin’!”
“Swi’p no swi’n!”
“Swipa no swipin’!” Dean yells again. Then he grabs Sammy and starts to run again, pulling him along. When they get to the water fountains, he bounces on his feet and proudly smiles at Sammy. “Sammy, we gots past Swipa! Now we can finish our ‘ventuwe ‘n go see ouw daddies!”
“Daddy!” Sammy squeals, nodding up and down. “Daddy!”
“Let’s go!” Dean starts to walk again but only makes it a few steps before stopping. He looks around the area, his heart beginning to race as he realizes he doesn’t recognize any of it. He can’t see the big purple rocket slide they always go on, or the swing set. He can’t see the bathrooms where Sammy gets his diapey changed a lot. He can’t see the lot where they parked their cars. He can’t see the table where his family was sitting.
He can’t see his daddy!
Trying to keep calm, Dean asks Sammy, “Do - do you see youw daddy?”
Sammy frowns at Dean. “Daddy?”
“You see him?” Dean asks again, pointing off in the distance. “Whewe your daddy?”
Sammy looks around, his eyebrows pulling in. “Daddy? No daddy?”
Hearing the sad, panicked tone of his little brother’s voice, Dean forces himself to be brave. “We a little lost, Sammy… but it okay! I gonna get us back to ouw daddies.”
Sinking down to his bum, Sammy balls his big body up and tilts his chin back to look at Dean with big, watery eyes. He sniffles, his bottom lip wobbling. “We - we - we lost, Dee?”
----
“-ridiculous that you even think that’s the case, Gabe. I can’t-”
“Wait!” Gabe cuts Castiel off, turning his head side to side. “Do you see the boys?”
“What?”
“The boys!” Gabe moves away from Cas and begins to turn in a slow circle, eyes scanning the area near them, looking for the boys. He wishes they had come to a regular park. This park is known for adult littles and their caregivers because it’s a safe place for them and there’s a lot to do that they’re not too big for. It’d be so much easier to find Dean and Sammy if they stuck out around a bunch of tiny kids. “Where are they?”
“I don’t - Bobby? Ellen?” Cas asks, his voice going high like it usually does when he’s getting close to going hysterical. “Have you seen the boys?”
Gabe looks over to find both of the adults staring at Cas with wide eyes, shaking their heads.
What were they thinking? How did two boys slip away from five adults? Where could they be? They’d know to yell. Sammy might not, not if the people distracted him, but Dean would. Dean would know, right?
“Dean knows about stranger danger, right?” Gabe asks in a panic.
“Yes!” Cas is sobbing now, his body trembling as he starts making his way through the park. Everyone follows him. “He would be yelling. He knows. He’s a good boy. He would yell!”
This leads to Gabe and Cas both beginning to yell, the boys’ names ringing through the air.
“You need to calm down,” Bobby tells them as Ellen continues to look around, starting to wander off in a different direction as she searches. “You boys are losing your damn heads. That ain’t gonna help anyone!”
Knowing Bobby is right, both Gabe and Cas take deep breaths, trying their best to calm themselves down enough to think properly.
That’s when Gabe sees them just a few feet away.
A man their age is kneeling beside them both, Sammy curled up against Dean while Dean hugs him tight. They’re both sobbing, and the man seems to be trying to comfort them, his hand rubbing circles on Dean’s back. A wave of fierce possessiveness washes over Gabe. It must wash over Castiel as well, because he lurches forward when he sees the scene and shouts, “Get away from them!”
The man immediately stands up and takes a step back, his hands going in the air. A woman beside him dressed in a flower onesie and a tutu, a pacifier clipped to her top, whimpers and scoots closer to him. She wraps her arms around his leg and he gently hushes her before telling Castiel, “I was just trying to help them. They were clearly upset and lost. I swear, I meant no harm.”
“We know,” Gabe assures the man, because he doesn’t think Castiel is even listening. He already has Dean wrapped up in his arms, Sammy crawling over to Gabe’s feet as quickly as he can between his shivering and sobbing. “Thank you.”
The man excuses himself as Gabe scoops his Sammy up and holds him tight. He and his brother stay that way for a while, the world fading away as they cling to their little boys.
It isn’t until later, when they’ve packed up and are heading to the cars, that Gabe thinks to even ask, “What happened? What were you doing?”
Sammy sniffles and murmurs something about, “Ven’ure.”
“I jus’ wanted be wike Dowa…” Dean says quietly, looking sad and ashamed. He gives Castiel puppy dog eyes that seem to work at least a little magic since Castiel rains kisses on Dean’s forehead. “You mad, daddy?”
“Very, little one. But we don’t need to talk about it right now. We can wait until we’re home.”
Gabe knows what that means, and he can tell by Dean’s expression that Dean knows it too. Sammy is too little. He’ll get a stern talking to, but nothing else. Dean on the other hand is bigger. Smarter. He knew better. Dean’s going to get punished.
Gabe holds Sammy a little tighter, not looking forward to that age. Maybe his Sammy will just be content staying this little forever.
----
No matter how many times he had to punish Dean, it never got easier for Cas. Clearly it doesn’t get any easier for Dean either. The boy is already crying softly, big fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he holds in his whimpers, by the time Cas has him out of his seat and into the house. Even though his boy is smart, he’s also charming, so it’s not a surprise that Dean tries to turn the tables.
“Daddy?” he asks before sniffling. He does the little thing where he holds his hands in front of him, puts one foot up so his toes are against the ground, lowers his chin and looks up at Cas with puppy dog eyes, sticks out his bottom lip, and sways side to side while batting his eyelashes. Cas will admit he’s a weak man. This signature move has gotten him plenty of times. “I so sowwy… I pwomise I no do it ‘gain.”
“I know you’re sorry, and I do hope you won’t ever do it again.” Cas tries his best to maintain his stern expression. It’s so damn hard when Dean looks at him like that… “Dean, you know daddy loves you, right?"
Dean lights up, sniffling as he smiles. "Biiiig much, daddy. You love me big much!"
Castiel's heart melts. "Yes, little one. Big much. That's why it's daddy's job to take care of you, and part of taking care of you means teaching you how to make good decisions and how to be safe. Do you understand?"
"I tink so daddy…"
"Daddy needs to make sure you remember this lesson. He needs to make sure you never ever forget about your bad decision. He needs to make sure you remember to be safe next time, instead of giving yourself over to wanting naughty fun time."
Dean blinks rapidly, tears pooling in his eyes again. "B-b-but daddy, I pwomise I member!"
"You broke a big rule, little one. What happens when you break rules?"
"I - I gets in twouble…"
"And?"
Dean's bottom lip starts to wobble. "Spanks. I gets spanks owr - owr times outs. Bof of dem if I supew bad…"
"Yes. And then it’s over, and you’ve learned your lesson, and daddy forgives you.”
Dean sniffles and rubs a fist against his eye. “Daddy, pease no spanks. No times outs.”
“Come here, little one,” Castiel says instead of acknowledging his plea. “Let’s get it over with so we can cuddle.”
The boy shuffles forward until he’s standing between Castiel’s legs, looking down at Castiel where he’s sitting on the edge of the bed. Castiel hooks his fingers into Dean’s stretchy waistband and coaxes his shorts down his long legs. Then comes the boy’s pull-up, Castiel pushing it down until it’s bunched up in the middle of Dean’s thighs. With his boy’s naked bum on display, Castiel guides him to lay down over Castiel’s lap, his cute bum in the air as he rests his tear-stained cheek on the mattress.
Gripping the sheets hard, Dean shivers in fear. Castiel gently strokes along the boy’s spine and over the curve of his bum until he gets him to relax.
“Ten spanks,” Castiel says softly, smoothing his hand over Dean’s soft cheeks. Then he brings down his hand against Dean’s left cheek before the boy can tense up again. Dean jolts, making a whining sound in his throat. The next hit brings out a cry. The third unleashes watery sobs.
Castiel spanks his boy through the tears and cries and promises to never ever ever be bad again. By the time he gets to ten, he has a shuddery, shaky, sad little boy in his arms. He holds him close and presses kisses to his face before easing Dean back to his feet. He pulls the boy’s shirt off, then helps him out of his pull-up and shorts.
“Daddy is going to get you a fresh pull-up and some pjs,” Castiel says softly. He presses a gentle hand against the small of Dean’s back and walks him over to the corner of the bedroom. The boy hangs his head and brings his hands to his front, fiddling with his fingers as he gnaws on his bottom lip and continues to softly cry. The sight of him breaks Castiel’s damn heart.
After picking out Dean’s favorite pjs - the light pink shirt and pants with the pretty glittery tutu over it and the image of a big rainbow unicorn on the belly - Castiel goes to the bathroom and grabs wipes, powder, arnica, and a fresh pull-up.
Castiel puts the items on the bed and says, “Alright, little one. Time out is over.”
With a gasp, Dean whirls around and runs straight to Castiel, throwing his arms out and wrapping himself around his daddy. He tucks his face in Castiel’s neck and sniffles through an apology. Castiel hushes him, giving him lots of kisses and hugs.
He lays Dean out on the bed once he’s calmed down. The boy’s big legs spread wide as he looks up at his daddy through his lashes. He hums in appreciation when Castiel wipes his private area with baby wipes, then giggles when the baby powder is puffed onto him. He happily turns over on his belly and offers his bum up in the air for the arnica, cooing as Castiel rubs the gel in.
Soon enough, the boy is dressed in his pjs and ready for his cuddles. Castiel scoops him up and walks to the couch in the living room where he sets up one of the Scooby Doo movies and grabs his boy some chocolate milk in a sippy cup. While Dean enjoys his movie, Castiel enjoys the feel of his boy nice and safe in his arms. He’s never going to let him go.