Chapter Text
Jack picked up a random crystal off the shelf, its bright saturated blue had drawn his eye from among the paler stones in its presence. He held it up, inspecting it. The sunlight streaming in through the windows reflected off its smooth polished surface.
“You done playing with the rocks kid?” Dean muttered as he walked up behind him.
Jack glanced up and raised his brows in confusion; having not paid enough attention to hear Dean’s chastising. Dean only rolled his eyes and gestured for Jack to follow him out of the small store. He gently grabbed the stone from Jack’s hand and began to place it back on the shelf.
As he did, Mindy; the eccentric store-clerk he’d been questioning; walked up to them. They’d already been taking for a while, which is why Jack had wandered away in the first place. He didn’t understand most of their conversation and they’d stopped talking about the case a while back.
“Ah, you were drawn to the Lapis Lazuli, a powerful stone.”
Dean smiled playfully at her, tilting his head. “Really?”
“Oh definitely. It can help you tap into your inner strength and endurance.” She let the sentence draw out slightly before continuing. “Like I said I could definitely give you some pointers on all this stuff sometime.” She smiled, looking up at him through her lashes.
Jack glanced back and forth between the two, frowning slightly. Was this flirting? He’d seen it on TV a lot, but he couldn’t always tell in real life. He tried going back over the bits and pieces of their conversation he’d listened in on earlier, but that didn’t give him any more clarity.
He furrowed his brow in contemplation. As far as he knew you weren’t allowed to flirt with people if you were married.
Before he could consider further, Jack was snapped out of his thoughts by Dean’s voice directed at him. He hadn’t realised that the other two had finished their conversation.
“Well Agent, let’s get going.” Dean patted Jack on the shoulder lightly.
“See you around agents” Mindy called out as they walked away.
Dean chuckled to himself lightly, toying with a piece of paper in his hands as he walked out the door and up to the Impala.
“What’s that?” Jack questioned as he trailed behind him.
Dean looked up, lost for a moment before it clicked. “Oh, it’s the crystal chick’s number.”
“Mindy? Why did she give you her number? Were you two flirting?” The disapproval in Jack’s tone did not go unnoticed.
Dean raised a brow and glanced around confusedly. “What? You going all protective on me kid?”
Jack frowned slightly. A pout was threatening to come forth, which caused Dean to cave and answer the question properly. Not before rolling his eyes, however.
“I mean, well yeah- I guess we were.”
“But what about-“
Before Jack could finish his sentence, Dean’s phone started ringing. He held up his hand gesturing for Jack to wait, as he stepped away and answered it. Meanwhile, Jack stayed in place; bubbling in his confusion and concern as the other man’s phone conversation droned on nearby.
So they had been flirting! Did that count as cheating? Jack didn’t know much about the topic. He decided that he’d have to go find out more back at the bunker. As he drafted his plan, he was snapped out of his thoughts again by Dean’s voice.
“It’s Cas, he was asking for updates. I told him this was a bust so we’re on our way back.” Dean explained as he walked back over. He scrunched the paper he’d been holding as he did so, absentmindedly dropping it before sliding into the driver’s seat of the Impala.
“Oh, okay.” Jack halfheartedly responded before getting into the car.
As they drove off Jack decided it may be better to ask Sam about this. Dean may not answer properly, and he didn’t want to tell Cas about it yet. He could be wrong about the cheating thing; in which case he didn’t want to upset Cas for no reason.
“So what was that little interrogation about?”
“Sorry?” Jack looked over at Dean.
“About the chick from the store?” Dean countered.
“Oh! Oh, nothing.” Jack smiled tightly at Dean. It wasn’t convincing, and Dean’s face said as much. However, he didn’t press for answers.
…
As they walked back into the bunker, Castiel approached the two of them. He nodded at Dean and looked over at Jack.
“Hello Jack, how was-“
“I have to go talk to Sam!” In the time he’d had to stew in the Impala, Jack had grown more and more panicked. So, he hurriedly bolted past Cas, rushing towards the direction of Sam’s room.
This left Cas and Dean looking at each other and then back at Jack’s retreating form concernedly for a moment. Ultimately, Dean shrugged and began to head over to the kitchen while Castiel eyed him incredulously.
Meanwhile, Jack reached Sam’s doorway and gushed out in one breath the question plaguing him: “Are Dean and Cas getting divorced!?”
Sam whipped his head up suddenly at Jack, who stood in his doorway with a sorrowful expression on his face. 'Kicked puppy' was the description that popped into Sam’s head.
“I- What?” Sam sputtered out.
“Are they getting divorced?” Jack stepped forward, his voice growing more panicked.
Sam stared blankly at him, opening, and closing his mouth several times before he was able to answer.
“Jack, relax. Why do you think…“ He blanked again for a moment before continuing. “Why do you think Cas and Dean are married?”
This time it was Jack who looked confused. He frowned at the question.
“What do you mean?”
“Jack – Cas and Dean aren’t married” Sam spoke slowly, narrowing his eyes. He stepped toward Jack gently as if he were approaching a skittish animal.
Jack glanced around at the ground; his face strained in concentration. He finally looked up a moment later with a puzzled expression.
“So they’re not married yet?” Jack asked, emphasizing the last word.
Sam was again, at a loss for words momentarily.
“No I mean- They aren’t actually together. They aren’t a couple.” Sam responded almost apologetically.
Jack frowned at him, disbelief clouding his features. He slowly stepped inside the room and sat down on the edge of Sam’s bed.
“That makes no sense- they seem in love?”
“Tell me about it.”
At this Jack tilted his head at Sam questioningly. Sam sighed, sitting down next to him as he began to explain.
“Listen there’s definitely something there. But I don’t think either of them has realised it yet.” Sam smiled at him, shaking his head lightly.
“So they- they do love each other? But they don’t know it?” Jack asked sadly.
“I think so.” Sam nodded before confusion suddenly clouded his features again. He looked over at Jack. “Wait, why did you think they were getting divorced? Did they have another fight?”
Jack shook his head before responding solemnly. “Dean was flirting with the lady at the crystal store. I thought he was cheating on Castiel.”
Sam coughed down a chuckle, before shooting Jack a curious look. “Did you ask Dean about all this?”
“I did ask him if he was flirting with her, but not about Cas.” Jack considered for a moment. “Should I have?”
“Ah, it’s probably for the best you didn’t. I don’t think he’d handle the direct approach well here.” Sam pursed his lips slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“He might freak out. I think he needs to realise it on his own.” Sam sighed as if he wished that weren’t the case.
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then, suddenly, Jack’s eyes widened, and he looked over at Sam with a smile.
“I think I have an idea.”
…
“What’s going on with Jack?”
Dean put his beer down on the kitchen counter, glancing up at Castiel who’d just walked through the kitchen door. Dean shrugged in response.
“I don’t know, but the kids been acting weird today.”
“Weird how?” Cas questioned. His worry was apparent.
Dean waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing bad, he’s just been- I don’t know- weird. He was asking me all these questions about why I was flirting with the chick at the store. Then he just ran off to Sam as soon as we got back, I don’t know.” He picked up his bottle, taking a sip.
An unreadable expression crossed Castiel’s face for a moment, but it faded away just as quickly as he responded.
“Should I talk to him?”
Dean sighed, putting the bottle down again. He walked up to Cas. “Listen, man, I’m sure he’s fine. He went to talk to Sam, didn’t he? I’m sure whatever it is, Sam’s got a handle on it. He’ll talk to us if he wants to.” He attempted to give Cas a comforting expression.
It seemed to work, as Cas relaxed slightly.
“I’m sure you’re right.” He sighed. His shoulders were less tense, but his brows were still furrowed. He frowned at the floor.
For a moment Dean was overcome with the urge to reach out and touch the other man’s face. Just to see his expression soften. As if he could caress the worry off of him.
Then Castiel looked back up, and the weight of that thought and the blue eyes upon him became too much. He backed away to the safety of his beer.
“So the crystal shop was a bust. Didn’t get anything useful from there.” Dean stated, hoping that the added buffer of conversation would distance him further from the previous moment.
“Well, not entirely it sounds like” Cas stated blandly.
Dean raised his brows in question.
“I’m sure you got the store clerk’s number.”
Dean snorted, nearly choking on his beer.
“Cas buddy, was that sass? You’ve been hanging around Sam too much.”
Cas only shrugged stiffly in response.
Dean chuckled at him, shaking his head. There wasn’t any humour in it. He felt tense for a reason he couldn’t quite place.
Before he could say anything, however, Jack walked in. He smiled widely at the two men in the kitchen.
Dean frowned slightly. The kid looked way too happy, almost conspiratorial.
“Hello Dean. Hello Cas. I was wondering. Could we please go out for family dinner?” He looked back and forth between the two of them, his grin not faltering for a moment.
“What?” Dean asked, his frown deepening.
“A family dinner. The four of us. Somewhere nice.” He responded as if he were reading off a list, or a script.
Cas and Dean glanced at each other for a moment before Cas spoke up.
“I don’t see why not Jack. If that’ll make you happy.” He stated earnestly, smiling at Jack and then back at Dean.
Dean started to interject, but Jack cut him off before he could get the first word out.
“Great! I’ll tell Sam! He can pick a place.”
And with that, he skipped out of the kitchen leaving the two men confusedly staring at his retreating form again.
“What was that about?” Dean asked.
Cas looked at him, squinting.
“You don’t think he was acting off?” Dean questioned incredulously, pointing his beer bottle in the direction of a long-gone Jack.
“Maybe. But perhaps he just wants us all to spend more time together. We haven’t had a movie night or anything of the sort in a while. That may be why he was acting strange today.” Cas offered, sounding partially unconvinced, yet smiling lightly.
“Yeah, maybe” Dean responded.
“I’ll go get more details from Sam.”
Dean detected a hint of excitement in Castiel’s tone. Clearly, he too quite liked the family dinner idea.
He watched Cas walk towards the kitchen exit before a thought from earlier grappled him.
“I didn’t by the way-” He called out quickly, almost unwillingly. He hoped for a moment that Cas would miss it. He didn’t.
Cas turned back around and tilted his head in confusion. A moment passed before Dean could continue.
“I didn’t keep her number.“ He fiddled with his beer bottle, unsure why he’d felt the need to clarify. He suddenly felt very warm and cursed himself internally. It’s not like Cas cared, it made no sense to bring it up.
Cas looked at him questioningly for a moment before realization hit, and his face straightened out.
“Oh. The store clerk?” He asked carefully as if didn’t seem to understand where Dean was going with the topic. Dean didn’t either.
He huffed out a laugh. It was strained. “Yeah. I didn’t, I uh- You and Sam are always assuming things.”
He hadn’t meant for that last sentence to come out defensive, but it did. He felt cornered. It was his own fault, but he didn’t know how to get back to safety and so he pushed.
Cas blinked. “Oh um. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“Yeah well. It’s whatever.” Dean took a swig from his bottle.
“I’ll go find Sam now.”
“Okay, yeah.”
He watched Castiel awkwardly make his exit.