Archive of Our Own

Cas knew he was never going to win the fight, his opponent was just to quick and wiley, yet he fought on any way.

“Charlie, no! It’s ridiculous! Easter’s still eight weeks away!” 

“Come on Cas, just wear the ears.” She said as she fought to position the stupid head band and ears onto his head.

“Rabbits have nothing to do with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ!”

“Come on Cas!”

“No!” Castiel finally managed to dislodge his pest of a best friend.

“Why do you hate Easter so much anyway?” Charlie whined as Castiel pulled the bunny ears from his head and tossed them back at her.

“You know why, Charlie.” He said as he tried to fix the mess his hair had become during their struggle with the ears. “My parents were zealots! They were completely fixated when it came to Easter. Shrove Tuesday, Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, the Stations of the Cross,fasting, all night prayer vigils, sunrise services, did I mention the fasting? I bet you didn’t know we did that!” Cas listed everything off on his fingers as he spoke. “All the crucifixes in the house had to be covered with purple cloth, and don’t even get me started on Lent! Did you know they made me give up reading one year? I had to give a book report on the Bible because it was the only book I was allowed to read?”

“Didn’t you go to like a super religious school?” Charlie asked.

“Doesn’t matter to eighth graders, you’re still gonna get beaten up. Our cook baked us hot cross buns one year and they fired her on the spot! And don’t even get me started on the fact that my parents hated the ‘commercialization of our most holiest of days’ and refused to by us any chocolate eggs!”

“Yeah, I know Cas, parents are the worst.” Charlie sighed.

“Oh, I’m sorry Charlie, I know I should be grateful, at least they’re still here.” Cas replied, all the heat gone from his voice.

“Yeah, but hey, the thing about being an orphan is your parents can’t throw you out because of your sexual preferences.” 

The short redhead reached up as she spoke and replaced the bunny ears on Castiels head. The man gave his friend and co-worker a fond smile and shook his head. A small voice had him pausing his hand midway to remove the fluffy head band and look around.

“Oh look daddy! He’s a bunny!”

A small girl of about four or five was approaching the counter, her long dark blonde hair floating around her shoulders and she was dragging a tall man by the hand.

“I know honey, but it’s rude to point.” The guy said smiling down at the little girl before looking up to Castiel.

And holy crap! Wasn’t he the most gorgeous man Cas had ever laid eyes on? Cas’ stomach did a weird slow motion flip when the guy turned his green eyes upon him. Castiels mouth dried and his brain short circuited as the guy approached the counter in all his bow-legged beauty, dressed in a worn pair of jeans, maroon button down shirt and scuffed work boots. Fortunately Castiels customer service training kicked in just a nano-second before the guy and little girl made it to his counter, the balled up napkin bouncing off the side of Cas’ head helped too, damn Charlie.

“Welcome to the Daily Grinder…Grind! Daily Grind.” He quickly corrected. He could feel the blush creeping up his neck and heard Charlie snort behind the coffee machine. “How may I take you order?”

The guy smirked a little.

“I’ll take a grande coffee, black but just wave some milk over it.” He said looking up at the board above Cas’ head. “What do want sweetheart?” He asked the little girl, now balanced on his hip.

“I want that!” She said excitedly pointing at the cardboard promo on the counter.

The guy looked at the sign dubiously.

“That? Are you sure?”

“Yup!” The little girl nodded then looked at Cas. “Can I touch your ears?”

“Emma!” The man chastised her. “You can’t ask people stuff like that.”

“But why daddy? They look soft.”

Cas smiled at them then leaned across the counter, tipping his head. 

“Of course you can pet them.” He said.

Emma reached out and gently rubbed her fingertips against the furry bunny ears Cas was still wearing, then pulled back and giggled.

“They’s soft!” She said.

“They are aren’t they?” Cas answered as he stood back up. He looked back at Emma’s father. “So a grande coffee with a splash of milk and one Easter hot cross chocolate egg-stravaganza?” Cas asked mentally rolling his eyes at the over the top name for the promotional drink.

Emma’s dad studied the sign.

“Hot chocolate, made with real melted chocolate, fresh 3% milk, cinnamon and nutmeg, topped with a swirl of whipped cream, mini marshmallows, sprinkles and a mini egg.” He read. “Are you sure? That’s a lot of milk, are you sure your tummy can handle it?” He asked his daughter.

“Uh-huh!” She nodded enthusiastically.

“We can make it vegan, if your little girl has a lactose intolerance.” Charlie said popping her head out past the machine.

“Nah, it’s okay but can you do it with almond milk just in case? Then hopefully her mom won’t spend half the night yelling at me cause this one’s gassing up the place.” He asked.

“We sure can.” Charlie answered, nodding just as enthusiastically as the little girl.

“Okay, we’ll try one of those then please. In a small.”

Cas entered the order into the register then asked the man for his name.

“Dean.” He replied putting Emma down carefully.

“Dean.” Cas repeated with a smile.

He completed the order and told Dean the total. Dean tapped his card.

“It won’t be long.” Cas said.

“Thanks.”

“Daddy? Can I has one of them?” Emma asked tugging Deans sleeve with one hand and pointing to a cookie shaped and decorated to look like a rabbits head.

“Oh I don’t know honey. You’re probably going to have to run home as it is to get rid of all the sugar in your drink.” Dean replied.

“But it’s for mommy. I’s been away all day and she’ll know I missed her.” Emma replied dramatically holding her hands out to the side.

“Oh, for mommy? Really?” Dean said bending down to look his daughter in the face. “Don’t  think for one minute I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here.” 

Emma looked back at her father with wide eyes.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She replied flatly, staring at him quite earnestly.

Dean shook his head and stood up, pulling his wallet back out of his pocket.

“One cookie please.” He said.

Cas bagged up the cookie and took the cash Dean was holding out, quickly handing back his change.

“I hope your mommy enjoys the cookie.” He said down to Emma.

Dean snorted.

“Lydia won’t eat that and this little scammer knows it. She’s going to end up getting the cookie for an after dinner treat.”

“I’ll shares it with you, daddy.” Emma offered.

“Like it’ll last that long.” Dean mumbled to himself.

Charlie placed the drinks on the counter and Dean dropped a handful of coins into the tip jar before picking up the drinks.

“Thanks guys.” He said.

“Yeah thanks guys!” Emma echoed.

“All right Gremlin. You can drink this then it’s two hours at the park to wear of the sugar so mommy doesn’t blow a gasket at me.” He said as the headed for the door. “And no spilling it in Baby.”

“Okay daddy!” Emma agreed then waved one last time before exiting with her father.

“Man he was cu-ute!” Charlie said coming to lean next to Cas.

He shot Charlie an inquiring look.

“What? Just because I’m into chicks doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a fine specimen like that. I wonder if he’s on Grindr?” She said pulling out her phone.

“I don’t think so, Charlie.” Cas said.

“Tinder?”

“Learn to read the subtext Charles. Dotes on his little girl plus, buying treats to take home, wants to keep mommy happy? All that equals up to a happily married, straight man.” Cas said with a sigh.

“Ashley-Madison?” Charlie suggested.

§§§§§

 Castiel had thought he’d seen the last of Dean and Emma and was pleasantly surprised when they appeared again two days later, ordering the same drinks, although Dean unsuccessfully trying to convince Emma to choose water or juice, and Dean, once again allowed himself to be scammed into buying a treat ‘for mommy’. 

After their next visit, when Emma expressed her disappointment that Cas wasn’t wearing his fluffy ears, the barista made sure to keep a pair under the counter, just incase, ‘because he didn’t want to disappoint a little girl’ and nothing to do with keeping in the ridiculously good-looking fathers good graces as Charlie suggested.

Sure enough they appeared again the next Tuesday afternoon and Cas just had time to put his ears on before they reached the front of the line. Emma pet his ears, they ordered their drinks - the suggestion of water or juice once again scorned- Dean purchased the obligatory treat for mommy and they left with their matching ‘light the room’ grins.

And so began their new routine. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (not Wednesday because Emma has gymnastics) at 2:52pm Cas would reach under the counter and put on his ears. At about 2:57pm Dean and Emma would enter the coffee shop and place their orders, buy mommy’s treat and leave, although if it wasn’t busy and often it wasn’t, Dean would lean against the counter and chat for a minute or two. Cas learned that Dean didn’t come in on Monday’s because his roster was Tuesday to Saturday, coincidently the same as Castiels. He learned he was a mechanic who worked for his uncle, which was great because it meant he could start at 5am so he could finish at 2pm in time to pick Emma up from Nursery school. 

He also learned that if Dean wasn’t straight and married he could easily fall in love with the man.

This had been their routine for four weeks straight, never wavering until one day Dean came in alone. 

Charlie was trying to convince Cas to wear a bunny nose, with whiskers and big teeth, and Cas was doing his best not too.

“You should wear the nose, Cas.” Deans voice sounded from beside him.

Cas snatched the nose off his face before Charlie could get the elastic around his head and turned quickly to face his customer…friend?… scrunching the nose in his hand and shoving it beneath the counter.

“Hey..hey Dean! No Emma today?” He asked. The ears were already on his head as he’d taken to wearing them almost all the time, probably why Charlie thought she could convince him to wear the nose.

“Nah. She wasn’t feeling well today so Lydia kept her home.”

“Aww, that’s a shame. Tell her we missed her and hope she feels better soon.” Charlie said.

“Thanks Red.” Dean replied with a smile.

“So your usual today?” Cas asked already entering it into the register.

“Yeah thanks.” 

“And will you be needing the usual treat for your wife? We have these carrot shaped brownies today.” Cas suggested.

“My who?” Dean asked looking up from his wallet.

“Lydia? Your wife?” Cas prompted.

“Oh! No! No, no,no. No. No. Noooo!” Dean shook his head. “Lydia’s not my wife. Emma…Emma was the result of a one night stand. I bumped into Lydia about a year later, did the whole paternity test thing and bam! Insta-dad! That’s why I moved across this side of town, to help Lydia out with Emma after school. I mean Lydia can be a bitch but she never gives me shit about the child support, which I totally pay every week!” Dean was quick to add as he handed Cas some cash. “And she never restricts my time with the Gremlin. She pretty much let’s me see her whenever I want.”

“Oh, well that sounds awesome.” Cas said and handed Dean back his change as Charlie put the cup down beside him.

“Yeah it is. But if there was one lesson I learned from all this, it’s stick to men.” Dean tapped his a dollar bill on the counter, before he dropped it in the tip jar and gave Cas a wink. He picked up his drink and took a sip. “Well, gotta go guys. Seeya!”

He raised a few fingers from around his cup as a wave goodbye and headed to the door. He paused before he opened it.

“And dude, you really should wear the nose.” Dean grinned and exited the shop.

A high pitched squeal began to emit from beside Cas and he turned to find its source.

“Oh! My! God! Cas! He’s into dudes!” Charlie squealed and gripped Castiels arm tightly as she bounced up and down. “Caaaaas!! He’s into dudes!”

§§§§§

Cas was strangely nervous the next day, but Dean didn’t show, nor did he on Thursday but on Friday Cas could hear his voice when he entered the coffee shop as he was dealing with the line of customers. Cas looked up in time to see a three foot blonde pushing her way to the front, followed by a harried Dean.

“Emma, wait, get back here!” He said as he made up yet another unsuccessful grab for his daughter. “Dammit!”

“But I want to see the bunny man! I did miss him!”

Cas smiled and tried to concentrate on the convoluted order of the person in front of him.

“I know you do sweet heart, but…sorry…excuse me…we have to wait our turn.” Dean finally wrangled his daughter and hauled her up onto his hip and back to the end of the line.

Cas tried to work his way quickly through the people in the queue and tried to keep the chit chat to a minimum without seeming rude. At some point he managed to put on the stupid nose that Charlie had been forcing on him all week because he knew Emma had been sick and it might make her happy. Finally Dean made it to the front of the queue. Emma took one look at Cas and squealed happily.

“Look daddy! He’s the Eaker bunny!”

“Easter bunny sweetheart. Eas…Eas..s.s.s. Easter bunny.” Dean corrected her.

“Hi Eaker bunny Cas! I drewed you a picture today!” The little girl said, wriggling until Dean placed her on the ground.

Emma placed a sheet of paper on the counter with a flourish and grinned at Cas. He pulled the sheet closer and looked at the colorful drawing.

“Wow Emma! This is amazing! You are a very good artist.” He flicked his eyes up to Dean who was shaking his head and mouthing ‘no she’s not’, his body shaking with silent laughter. “Would you like to tell me about your picture?”

“Uh-huh!” She nodded enthusiastically. “That’s you, an that’s daddy, an that’s me, an that’s a big, big, big, egg,” She demonstrated by spreading her arms up wide, then resumed pointing out each of the elements of her drawing. “An…an…look! You’s got your bunny ears on!”

Cas squinted at the strange pointy things sprouting out from the messy black birds nest that was apparently his hair.

“Oh yes, I can see that.” He agreed. He looked up at the little girl and smiled. “Do you know what I’m going to do with this?” He asked. Emma shook her head. “Because this is about the bestest piece of artwork I’ve ever been given, I’m going to hang it over here on the board for everyone to see.”

“Really?” Emma asked wide eyed and earnestly.

“Yes, really.”

“Daddy! Bunny Cas is gonna put my picture on the wall.” Emma exclaimed turning to Dean, as if he hadn’t been there for the whole conversation.

“I heard Sweetheart. That’s great.”

“I’s never had my picture put on the wall at before.” She said turning back to Cas and looking at him with wonder. “Thank you Bunny Cas!”

“You’re most welcome, Emma.”

Cas picked up the picture and turned to put it on the bulletin board behind him. He stepped back to admire it for a moment.

“There, now everyone who comes into the coffee shop can see how brilliant you are.”

He smiled back at Emma who turned suddenly shy and tucked herself against Deans legs.

“Thanks man, that was really cool of you.” Dean said.

“No problem. You guys want the usual?” 

“Yeah, sure.”

“Oh, and before I forget.” Cas said after he entered the order in the register. “Emma, your dad told me you weren’t feeling well and I was telling the Easter bunny and he got real sad about that so he dropped this off for you.” 

Cas reached under the counter and pulled out a cellophane bag and held it out to Emma. Her eyes widened and she gasped at the basket shaped cookie, brightly decorated  with a wicker pattern, flowers and Easter eggs that Cas was holding out for her. She looked up at Dean and after he gave her a nod she slowly reached out and took the cookie.

“Can you read what it says?” Cas asked.

“It says ‘Emma’! It has my name on it!” The little girl replied. “Did the Eaker bunny really give it to you?”

“He sure did.” Cas said as the little girl gasped happily.

“What do you say Em?” Dean prompted.

“Thank you Cas!” Emma excitedly turned around and held it up for Deans inspection. “It’s so big!”

“Sure is.That thing is as big as your head!” Dean agreed.

Cas just leaned on the counter and watched the father and daughter interact.

“Hey Gremlin, why don’t you grab us a table while I pay for our drinks.”

“Okay daddy!” 

Dean smiling as he watched his daughter skip away, clutching the massive cookie to her chest, was about the best thing Castiel had seen in days.

“Thanks again man, that was awesome. How much do I owe you for that monstrosity?” Dean asked.

“Nothing, Dean.” Cas replied honestly, holding Deans green eyes with his own, for probably a moment longer than necessary.

“Oh come on dude, that thing must have cost you a fortune.” Dean argued, breaking the deadlock.

“Nuh-uh.” Cas shook his head. “I told you the Eaker bunny gave it to me.”

 Dean chuckled.

“Fine, have it your way.” He paid for his drinks then dropped a generous tip in the tip jar. He grabbed his drinks and poked his tongue out at Cas before he walked away.

§§§§§

Charlie was the only one manning the store when Dean walked in.

“Hey Deano! What brings you in today?” She asked.

“Had an appointment so I figured I would call in.” He answered looking around.

“He’s not here today.” 

“I know, it’s Monday.” Dean replied with an eye roll. “Sure is quiet in here.”

“Yeah cause it’s 10:17 on a Monday. You should have been here at 7:30. Complete mayhem!” Charlie said.

“Don’t doubt that.” Dean mumbled.

“You want the usual?”

“Thanks.” 

Charlie didn’t even bother to put the order into the register and just began making the coffee.

“Hey, what are your plans for Easter?” She asked.

“Nothin’ much. Got Em Friday then Saturday morning she’s going away with Lydia to spend Easter with her psycho sorority sisters.” Dean said. “Why’s that?”

“Oh, Safe Haven, this place Cas and I volunteer at, are having a family fun day on Good Friday and I was wondering if you and Emma wanted to come along?” She said handing Dean a flyer.

“Safe Haven?”

“Yeah it’s a…halfway house for kids and young adults in the LBGTQIA+ community that have nowhere else to go.”

“Huh, never heard of it.” Dean replied looking at the brochure.

“Oh, see, a couple of years ago the city council purchased an old backpackers hostel and gave some funding to convert it into safe and supportive housing for kids that have been kick out of home because, you know, they came out. Of course that council was promptly voted out and now the funding has been cut so this is a major fundraiser for them.”

Dean looked shocked.

“That really happens?”

“Yeah, it sucks, kinda makes me glad to be an orphan.” Charlie said shaking her head.

“Preach.” Dean said holding out a fist.

“You too?”

Dean nodded and Charlie bumped his fist with her own.

“Anyway this place is doing so much to help them. They offer counseling and stuff, help to keep the kids in school, or at least keep up some sort of education, it also gives them a safe place to stay until something more permanent can be found. Some kids stay until they go to college.” Charlie said.

“And you and Cas help out there?”

“Yeah, I just wish there was something around like that when Cas came out.” Charlie muttered with both anger and sadness in her voice.

“Seriously?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.”

They were both quiet for a moment until Charlie pushed the forgotten coffee in front of Dean.

“Okay, well tell me more about this fun day.”

Charlie brightened immediately.

“It’s at the park, tickets are ten dollars and that includes the egg hunt or just a donation at the gate. Gates open at ten and the egg hunt starts at 11:30. There’s also food stalls, a market where the kids and some local vendors sell stuff,  and there’ll be games and rides. It’s a pretty awesome day.”

“Sounds like it. Count me in, I’ll take two tickets.” Dean said reaching for his wallet.

“Oh, Emma’s covered by your ticket.” Charlie said.

“I know, but…consider it a donation.” Dean answered pushing a twenty across the counter.

“You are one amazing dude, you know that?” Charlie asked.

“Not really, I just like the thought that there’s something like that around if Emma ever needed it, not that she ever would, mind you.” Dean added quickly.

“Yeah, with a dad like you I don’t think she would.” Charlie smiled at Dean and handed him his ticket.

§§§§§

Dean pulled his Baby into the car spot as far away from any other vehicle that he could. It was a Saturday and time for his annual yearly trip to Costco to stock up on underwear, socks, toilet paper and other essentials. Bobby had given him the day off after he’d mildly wrenched his shoulder undoing a stubborn nut the day before. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder towards the shopping mall that housed the Daily Grind and considered stopping in later to grab some lunch just as him phone began ringing. He pulled it from his pocket and checked the caller I.D., frowning when he saw Lydia’s name flashing on the screen.

“Lydia? What’s up?” He asked. It wasn’t his weekend with Emma and as far as Lydia was concerned he should be working and mostly their communication was via text.

“Dean? Emma’s gone!” Dean froze as Lydia’s panicked words sunk in.

“What do you mean gone?” He asked, panic curling up his own spine.

“I swear I only let go of her hand for a minute to check out the winter coats and when I turned around she wasn’t there! We have security looking and I think the police are on their way, but Dean…what if…” Lydia broke down into sobs.

“Where are you?” Dean asked already pulling Baby’s keys from his pocket.

“Town Central.” 

Dean looked up at the shopping mall in front of him and began walking in that direction. Thankfully it wasn’t a huge place and Dean had a slight suspicion as to where the little girl might be.

“Do you know the Daily Grind.” Dean asked.

“Wha…what?” Lydia stammered.

“The Daily Grind, Lydia! It’s a coffee shop.” Dean snapped, fear overriding everything else.

“I….I think so.”

“Meet me there. I’m on my way.”

Dean disconnected the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket as he broke into a sprint. He hurdled the low boundary fence and raced across the two lane feeder road that separated Costco from the rest of the shopping precinct. Without breaking stride he slipped between two food stalls and dodged around the tables running at full speed along the alleyways that were lined with shops either side. He skidded around a left turn and cut across on an angle to make a right, racing down that section towards the Daily Grind. He grabbed at the door handle and skidded slightly as his momentum threatened to carry him past his destination. Dean ripped the door open and ran inside. 

“Emma?” He called.

“Daddy!”

With wild eyes, Dean turned his head in the direction of his daughters voice and spotted her at a table, her legs swinging happily as she sat across from Castiel. Dean raced across the room in just a few strides and swept his daughter up into his arms, relief flowing through him.

“Oh god Sweetheart! Don’t you ever do that again!”

Cas stood beside him.

“I’m sorry Dean. She just turned up here. We kept her safe, but I didn’t have your number.” He explained.

Dean didn’t even look at the other man as he fumbled his phone from his pocket and somehow manager to unlock it before he shoved it at Cas.

“Text yourself, then save the number.” He said, still rocking his wayward girl.

The door behind them opened and a relieved cry filled the room.

“She’s here, Lydia. She’s safe.” Dean said as Lydia moved quickly to the small group followed by one of the mall security guards.

Lydia took Emma, who was completely baffled by her parents behavior, and hugged her tightly, sobbing into the girls hair.

“I was so scared. Emma. Don’t you ever do that again!” She said once she had some semblance of composure back.

“But I wanted to see bunny Cas.” Emma said as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world.

Emma smiled over at Cas who had stepped to the side both to give them some privacy and to talk to the guard. Lydia turned to look him over as well.

“I’m sorry. I…I..” Cas trailed off because what was he supposed to say to convince a scared and protective mother he wasn’t some sort of weirdo who lured children away. He was suddenly very aware of the ears he was wearing and hurriedly reached up and took them off.

“That’s okay man.” Dean said as he placed his hand on his shoulder. “You kept her safe for us. Thank you.”

Dean pulled Cas in for a hug and felt all the tension drain from the other man. After a quick slap on the back he stepped back.

“Why don’t you guys sit down and I’ll get you all some tea?” He suggested as he handed Dean his phone back.

“That’d be great man, but I’ll take a coffee.” Dean said gratefully as he collapsed into the closest chair, his adrenaline having finally run out.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll gratefully take a camomile tea if you have one.” Lydia said also dropping into a chair but refusing to relinquish her grip on Emma.

While Castiel was making the drinks, the guard came and talked to them, confirming that Emma had be found and calling through on his radio that the lost child had been located. The police also arrived and had a quick chat to Lydia and Dean then a stern talking to Emma about the dangers of wandering away from her mommy or daddy in public. Once all the official type people had departed, Lydia let Emma sit on her own chair as Cas brought the drinks over, placing a small pot of camomile tea, along with a cup and small packet of honey, in front of Lydia, a large mug of coffee in front of Dean and Emma got her hot chocolate ‘egg-stravaganza’. Then he gave Dean a small smile and a quick squeeze of his shoulder as he left them alone.

Lydia had been watching the interaction closely. She lifted her cup and took a sip.

“I can see why you come here.” She said looking sideways at Dean.

“Yeah, the coffees good and hot.” Dean said with a sigh as he took a large drink of his own.

“The coffees not the only thing that’s hot here.” She said trying to hide a smirk behind her cup.

“Huh?”

“He’s cute.” She said giving Dean a meaningful look.

“What? No…I..just…” Dean was quite adorable stumbling over his words. “He’s a good guy, and I like him…as a friend!”

“It’s okay Dean. I saw the way you two looked at each other. You are allowed to have relationships you know.” Lydia teased him.

Dean glanced over to Cas then back to a grinning Lydia.

“Shut up Lydia.” He mumbled with no heat behind the words and stirred his coffee just to give him something to do.

Lydia laughed but dropped the subject. They finished their drinks and had another talk to Emma about wandering away, then prepared to leave. Lydia leaned over and whispered something to Emma before giving Dean a meaningful look. Emma smiled brightly and practically bounced off her chair and went straight to Dean.

“Daddy?” She asked innocently to get Deans attention, as if his attention had been anywhere else in the last thirty minutes.

“Yes sweetheart?” He leaned down to look at his daughter.

“I was wondering…” She leaned in and whispered in Deans ear.

“Oh. Um…I guess I could ask, but I can promise anything.” He said slightly surprised by her request.

“Thats okay daddy, I’m sure you will do your best.” Emma said sincerely patting Dean on the shoulder.

“Come along Emma, it’s time for us to go.” Lydia said holding her hand out to the child.

“Okay mommy.” Emma cheerily replied, none the worse for her little adventure. “I loves you daddy.”

“Loves you too, Gremlin.” Dean hugged his daughter tightly.

“Don’t forget to ask.” Emma whispered into Deans ear.

Dean nodded then reluctantly let his daughter go, he gave Lydia a quick hug and then watched them walk out the door. He picked up the empty mugs and took them to the counter and stood slightly to the side until Cas was able to come over and talk to him.

“I’m sorry Dean, she just turned up here and we didn’t know how to contact you. Stevie was just about to call security.” Cas began.

“It’s okay Cas. You looked after her and we got her back. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that.” Dean replied honestly.

“You don’t need to. I’m just glad everything worked out for the best.”

Dean gave Cas a hesitant smile and ran his hand though his hair.

“Hey, listen, there’s this…this rabbit movie I’m s’posed to take Emma to next week and, I don’t know if you’d want to, but if you’re available, and Emma would really love it if you could….do you, I mean, it’s a kids movie, but do you, maybe, want to come with us?” Dean asked shyly.

“I…really?” Cas asked, slightly stunned.

“Yeah, man, really.” Dean replied feeling a little bolder.

“I’d love too.” 

“Really?” Dean asked. “I mean it’s a kids movie about rabbits or somethin’.”

“Yeah, I love rabbits.” Cas replied lamely and put the ears back on his head.

“Awesome!” Dean grinned. “It’s a date, or a deal, or whatever!”

After setting a time to meet, Dean left the coffee shop a whole heck of a lot lighter than he entered knowing his daughter was safely back with her mother and he had a date, or a deal, or a whatever with Cas.

Later that night he was lying in bed scrolling through his phone when he remembered he needed to message his brother.  He quickly switched to his messaging app and the unsaved number at the very top caught his eye. He frowned for a second then remembered he’d given his phone to Cas so he could message himself and save his number. Dean opened the message and read it.

‘Hello Castiel, this is Castiel messaging from Deans phone. Save this number, it’s Deans, by the way, just incase Emma decides to pay you another impromptu visit, and hopefully he might save your number too.’

Dean smiled to himself and quickly saved the number under ‘ Bunny Cas 🐰🥕’’. 

He sent his message to Sam and spent a few more minutes messaging back and forth before calling it a night.

§§§§§

Cas pulled into a carpark near the cinema and switched his car off. He looked over to the looming building and wiped his palms against his jeans leg. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, after all it wasn’t like it was a real date or anything, despite the fact Dean kept saying ‘it’s a date’  anytime they had talked about the movie, and Dean had said it was Emma that wanted him to come along and she was really excited when she found out he was joining them. He took a deep breath and climbed out of the car and headed toward the front door. One moment of hesitation to wipe his palms again and then he opened the heavy glass door and entered the lobby.

It took a second to spot Dean, standing near a wall checking his phone. Emma was dancing in and out of the freestanding adverts for upcoming attractions. He paused for a moment to watch the other man, not used to seeing him in another environment other than the coffee shop. Dean seemed to sigh and dropped the hand holding his home then watched Emma for a bit before looking at his screen again. Cas figured he had delayed enough and approached them. Emma saw him first and squealed.

“Bunny-Cas!” She cried happily.

“Hi Emma!” Cas greeted the little girl, wrapping his arms around her as she launched herself at him.

He stood carefully with Emma playing the part of a limpet around his neck and looked at Dean.

“Hi Dean.” He greeted the man.

“Hey Cas.” Dean said as he shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled shyly with a look on his face that Cas would almost describe as relief. “Thanks…Ah…thanks for coming.” He said as he ran a hand through his hair.

“My pleasure. Thanks for asking.”

“Yeah, well, the Klingon there insisted.” Dean joked weakly pointing to Emma who was still wrapped around Cas.

“And I just couldn’t disappoint Worf here.” Cas replied bouncing Emma once in his hip, 

“Yeah, course. I know you’d never want to do that.” Dean cleared his throat, and did his smile just falter a bit?  

 “Well, I should probably go get the tickets, coz, y’know, I wasn’t totally sure…but Emma right?” Dean gave an uncomfortable laugh. “Hey Gremlin, you gonna come get the tickets and snacks with me?”

“Nah, wanna stay with Cas.”

“Okay…right.” 

Yep, Deans smile was definitely more than a little forced.

“How about we all go together?” Cas suggested. “Besides I really should shoulder my share of this outing, how about I grab the snacks?”

“No, it’s okay, I..I mean, we invited you so it’s only fair we keep you full and satisfied with all the popcorn, candy and soda you can handle.” Dean replied.

Castiel had no doubt whatsoever that Dean would be able to keep him ‘full and satisfied’, but wisely kept his response G rated as they approached the ticket booth.

“I insist Dean. You’ve done me a favor by asking me to join you both today. Instead of sitting around bored, I get to spend the day in your company, and I’m certainly not the kind of person who doesn’t repay a favor.”

In the end Cas won the argument and the two men followed the skipping little girl carrying large soda cups adorned with the cartoon rabbit and popcorn.

§§§§§

Dean didn’t know why he was so nervous while waiting for Cas to show up. He tried to tell himself it would be because Emma would be disappointed if he didn’t show, but as he checked his phone for the hundredth time, Dean knew he would be just as disappointed too. He knew he should go get the tickets but Emma was having fun dancing around all the promotional signs and if he was honest, it just felt too presumptuous to but Cas a ticket when he hadn’t even arrived yet. 

Dean shook his head, Cas had agreed to meet them for the movie and he had Deans number. Surely he would have called it messaged if his plans had changed. Cas really didn’t seem like the type of guy to just stand someone up with no contact. 

“Having fun Gremlin?” He asked Emma after checking his phone…again.

“Yup.” 

He glanced at his screen, just checking the time, I swear! and then winced as Emma let out an ear splitting squeal. He followed her sudden change of trajectory and relief spilled through him as he watched Cas crouch down and catch the flying little girl. It seemed weird holding a conversation without a counter between them and after a stuttering, stammering greeting Dean mentally scolded himself.

‘Dammit Dean! It’s just Cas, you’re way smoother than this!’ 

Of course it was right after his little pep talk that his dependable insecurities decided to join the party after Cas said he would never disappoint Emma. Why the hell did Dean feel so rejected by that innocent statement and why the hell did Emma choosing Cas over him make it so much worse?

Dean managed to shake himself out of his funk but he time they reached the ticket booth and concession counter. Cas insisted on paying for the snacks and after his ‘repay the favor’ comment, Deans brain kind of fizzled, even if Cas didn’t meant the double entendre. Following a half hearted argument Dean conveniently stayed quiet as Emma talk Cas into the commemorative movie cup.

“So, you’re a Trekkie?” Dean asked as they followed Emma toward the cinema, kind of regretting not stepping into the snack argument as he carried his own stupid bunny cup.

“Trekkie?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, you got my Star Trek reference before.” He answered gesturing to Emma in front of them.

Cas just looked at Dean blankly.

“The Klingon thing. You knew who Worf was.”

“Oh! No, not really, but you can’t work with someone like Charlie and not pick up a pop culture reference or two.” Cas explained.

“Right. She does seem a bit full on.”

“You have no idea.” Cas agreed.

They walked into the screening room and found their seats. Fortunately they had three off the aisle so Dean directed Cas to go in first because he knew he would have to take Emma to the bathroom at least once during the movie and didn’t want to disturb him. They settled in their seats and Emma bounced happily between them, explaining about all the things she loved about the pictures on her popcorn box, about the flowers and the bunny and the bunny’s stupid little jacket. Thankfully she had talked herself out by the time the movie began and they settled down to watch.

Dean hated the movie. Essentially the rabbit was a horrible creature who went where he wasn’t supposed to and did exactly what he wasn’t supposed too. If Dean was the farmer, he’d want to shoot the rabbit too. He supposed there was a moral in there somewhere and probably could have figured out the social message if he paid close attention but he was too busy looking at his daughter, giggling and squealing at the rabbits antics, to care. She was loving it and that’s all that mattered to Dean.

His eyes drifted up to their companion sitting on the other side of his little girl. It seemed Cas was enjoying the movie to if the way his big, gummy smile, and the way it caused his eyes to crinkle was anything to go by. He got so caught up staring that he didn’t even have the wherewithal to look away when Cas turned his head in Deans direction. Cas’ smile turned into something a lot softer and the lights from the screen did something to his twinkling eyes that made Deans insides just slowly warm up and flip over like some love struck teens with a first crush. Dean knew he should look away but a mischievous animated bunny held no draw for him at that particular moment. It was only the girlish peal of Emma’s laughter that broke the moment and, reluctantly Dean glanced down at his most beloved little girl bouncing in her seat. When he looked back to Cas, the other man was staring back at the screen, moment broken, but Dean had hope slowly growing inside. 

The relief Dean felt when the movie finally finished, and of course Emma only needed the bathroom once, was quickly diminished by the disappointment that Cas would be leaving them. He briefly considered asking Cas if he wanted to grab a coffee or something to eat, but he had to take Emma straight home and it wouldn’t be fair to expect the man to wait on Dean for the hour or so it would take to drive Emma back to Lydia’s then get back, so he resigned himself on the inevitable separation and just made do with the fact he would see him on Tuesday for his usual visit to the coffee shop.

“Well thanks for coming Cas. We really appreciate it.” Dean said as they lingered just inside the cinemas front entrance. 

“Thank you for asking me. I had a really nice time. I don’t get out and do stuff like this very often, so it was a really nice change of pace.” Cas replied.

“Even if it was just a stupid kids movie?” Dean asked.

“I actually enjoyed it, and the company.” Cas gave Dean that same soft smile he gave him inside the theatre and Deans stomach reacted the same way.

“And, hey,” Dean said clearing his throat. “At least you have this nifty one-of-a-kind, collectible cup out of it.” Dean reached across the space between them and flicked the plastic soda cup and stupid bunny head topper in Cas’ hand.

Cas raised it a little and looked at it.

“That I do.” He smiled back at Dean, shifting from foot to foot. He slid his free hand into his pocket and hunched a little. “Hey, you know if you ever want to do this again, maybe something a bit more ad…”

“Daddy I needs to pee!” Emma interrupted tugging on Deans sleeve.

Dean looked down at his daughter.

“Oh, right, just give me a sec.” He looked back at Cas. “You were saying?”

“No, now! Daaad, I really gotta go!” The little girl whined.

“Nothing, don’t worry.”  Cas smiled at Dean. “You go take care of Emma and I’ll see you Tuesday.”

Dean looked torn for a moment but his daughters desperate pleas soon made up his mind.

“Sure, I’ll see you Tuesday.” Dean said as Emma began to drag him in the direction of the bathrooms. “Seeya Cas and thanks again.” He raised a hand in farewell.

“Yeah, bye bunny Cas!” Emma called over her shoulder.

Dean looked back and gave Cas a regretful smile and little wave which Cas returned with his own. Dean looked back at his daughter and took her hand.

“You know they have a name for someone like you.” He grumbled.

“Yeah? What’s that?” Emma asked looking up at her father.

“Never mind.” Dean replied with a sigh and pushed open the bathroom door and ushered his child inside.

§§§§§

Dean only saw Cas twice that following week and whatever Dean was sure Cas was going to ask him never came up again on either of those visits, but Dean didn’t dwell on that as he pulled Baby into a safe space away from most of the other cars. He took Emma out of her seat and straightened her pretty dress and made sure the bow in her hair was sitting right before taking her hand and making their way to the entrance to the fair. A good portion of the park had been sectioned off with temporary fencing. Bright streamers, flowers and balloons decorated the entryway and the young girl at the table took Deans ticket and gave them both matching wrist bands after writing Deans cell number on Emma’s. She handed Emma a small basket for the egg hunt and directed them inside. 

Holding Emma’s hand tightly they walked further into the fair and looked around. There were a few carnival rides and games set up on their right, and Dean could see tents and vans lined up along the the left hand side denoting the market stalls and food vendors. A large section of trees and gardens had been fenced off with a low white picket fence directly in front of them. Dean guessed this would be where the egg hunt was. He checked his watch and saw there was still 40 minutes until the hunt began so he started walking them in the direction of the rides and games. Emma suddenly squealed and tugged on Deans hand.

“Look daddy! It’s the Eaker bunny!” She said as she pointed.

Dean looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a large grey rabbit in a waistcoat and bow tie surrounded by little kids. 

“Can we go? Please daddy? I want to say hello to the Eaker bunny!” Emma pleaded as she tugged at his hand.

“Easter bunny, sweetheart, eas, eas…, oh you know what, just go!” Dean relented as he shooed her in that direction following close behind as she took off in a sprint. 

He was closing the gap, keeping an eagle eye on his daughter when he heard his name called from beside him. He turned to see a beaming Charlie rushing to his side. 

“Hi Charlie.” He greeted the short redhead before being engulfed in a tight hug. “Whoa, good to see you too Red.” He said as he returned the embrace.

“I don’t know what kind of hoo do you pulled but you are a miracle worker!” Charlie said as she released Dean just a moment short of fracturing one of his ribs.

“What are you talking about?” He frowned, glancing back to check on Emma who was now dancing around the giant rabbit as it gently patted her shoulder.

“Cas!”

“Huh?” Dean looked back confused.

“Cas! We’ve been volunteering at this thing for years and he’s never done anything more than man a market stall or take the tickets at the gate, but this year he actually volunteered to be the Easter bunny!” Charlie beamed at Dean.

Dean looked around at the bunny again who was crouched down and placing an egg in Emma’s basket while she talked a mile a minute at him.

“That’s Cas?” He asked stabbing a thumb over his shoulder.

“Yep!” Charlie’s eyes were shining and she looked about ready to explode with happiness.

“How do you know it was me?”

“Oh, I don’t know, he’s always hated Easter, but ever since a certain single mechanic and his daughter walked into the Daily Grind, something about him changed.” Charlie said looking smugly at Dean. “He likes you Dean, and it’s the first time I’ve seen him react to anyone the way he does to you and Emma.”

“Huh.” Dean was lost for words. 

He turned to watch Cas interact with Emma and the other children. He saw the was Cas kept looking at Emma, and the way he kept his paw carefully on her shoulder to keep her from wandering off. Usually that kind of behavior would make Deans protective side rise and probably punch the rabbit out for touching his kid, but this just made him warm inside knowing that Cas was watching out for her. He was suddenly aware of all the teenagers lurking about. Horrible creatures only out to cause mayhem and a mascot with very limited movement was usually a good target.

“Is…is he safe over there.” Dean asked eyeing a suspicious group to his right.

“Yeah, he has Kaia and Jack with him. Jacks a sweetheart but Kaia’s pretty scrappy and could hold her own against Van Damme.”

“Okay, cool.” Dean nodded. “Are they…um…residents of this Safe Haven place?”

“Nah, well, Kaia is, but Jacks parents are allies. His dads some kind of politician, and his mom was his assistant or something. All very hush-hush and very scandalous, but they’re good benefactors so we don’t judge.”

“Right.” Dean gave Charlie a confused little frown, not sure why she was sharing all that, but as long as Cas was safe, it was all good with him.

“Anyway, I gotta go. I have a D&D tournament happening over in the marquee and I had better go and make sure the teens aren’t killing each other for real. Great to see you Dean, thanks for coming.” 

Charlie gave Dean a quick hug then disappeared into the crowd. Dean sauntered over to Cas and Emma and waded through the growing crowds of children to collect his daughter.

“Hey Easter bunny.” He said when Cas looked in his direction.

Cas waved enthusiastically then drew Dean in for a hug.

“I’ve been a real good boy this year, I’ll be sure to leave by door unlocked for you.” Dean murmured only half hoping Cas wouldn’t hear it. 

Judging by the way his arms tightened slightly, Dean was pretty sure he did and drew back with a smirk. Cas put on paw to his ‘mouth’ and flipped the other out in an ‘oh, you’ kind of motion. Deans smile widened and he reached down to grab Emma’s hand. 

“Come on Gremlin. Let’s go check out the rides and stuff. We’ll catch you later E.B.” He pointed a finger at Cas as he walked away, and Cas nodded back.

“Bye Eaker bunny! Thank you for my cookie!” Emma called waving frantically.

Cas waved back then put both paws to his mouth and punched them forwards throwing kisses in their direction. He did this several times before turning back to the kids around him.

“Eaker bunny’s the best daddy!” Emma declared as they walked away. “He’s gonna give me lots of eggs, he promised!”

“I bet he is.” Dean said looking back over his shoulder as a fresh wave of something warm flowed through him.

§§§§§

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Cas disappeared for a while, and trust me, Dean was watching for him, but reappeared when it was time for the egg hunt. He was helping all the smaller kids to find eggs, dropping brightly colored, foil wrapped treats into the baskets of kids who were having trouble, but he was also subtly directing Emma where to find the biggest stashes. Dean watched from the sidelines, pride building as Emma shared her haul with another little girl and boy whose baskets was almost empty.

Not surprisingly, Castiel arrived just as Dean and Emma were sharing lunch with Charlie, listening to her regale them with stories of Moondor, and all the adventures LARPing had to offer, hinting that she needed a new handmaiden after her last one was eaten by a dragon, (okay, she relocated to Boston for a new job but that wasn’t as exciting). He sat down at their little table and snagged one of Charlie’s fries from her basket. Emma greeted him enthusiastically and asked him where his ears where. 

“I left them in the Charlie’s car.” Cas said.

“Oh. You should have brung thems with you cause your hair is messy and mommy always puts headbands on me to stop my hairs from getting messy.” The little girl explained.

“Is it?” Cas asked as he reached up to try and tame the unruly hair on the top of his head. “That…thing was so hot. I’m surprised I don’t stink to high heaven, I don’t know the last time it was even cleaned!” He grumbled, giving up on his hair which secretly pleased Dean as he was digging the super tousled look Cas was sporting.

“Well you did a great job.” Charlie said bumping her friend with her shoulder. “All the kids loved you.”

“You think so?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, ‘course.” Dean said. “Hey Emma, did you tell Cas that you saw the Easter Bunny?”

Cas turned to Emma with wide eyes, feigning surprise.

“Did you?” 

“Yup! I did!” Emma climbed up to kneel on her seat so she could lean across the table and tell Cas all about her visit with the Easter bunny and the rest of the day.

Dean watch them fondly, his heart swelling as Cas gave his undivided attention to his little girl as she regaled him on everything she had done so far. Cas would occasionally ask a question or make a comment on her story. Dean realized he was lucky to have a friend like Cas, and even if that’s all this ended up being, despite Dean being sure Cas reacted to his not so subtle flirtation earlier, he was grateful to have a guy like Castiel in his life. It seemed like he was genuinely enjoying his chat with a Emma and Dean hadn’t realized he was smiling at them until Cas briefly flicked his eyes up toward Dean and smiled softly back at him before returning his attention back to Emma.

Dean sat up and cleared his throat quietly because that smile had done things to his insides, and hadn’t he just convinced himself that friends was better than nothing? He looked over to where Charlie was sitting watching the whole thing quietly from the other side of the table only to find her giving him a knowing look of her own. He quickly gathered up his empty food containers and took them to the nearby trash just to give himself time for the blush he could feel heating his cheeks to fade away.

§§§§§

Cas was beginning to wonder what he had gotten himself into. He usually stuck to manning the entry gate or covering at one of the stalls if someone needed a break, behind the scenes stuff, and it suited him, but Emma had seemed so excited when she learned the Easter bunny was going to be at the fair and Cas really wanted to help give her that little moment of joy, even if this was a whole new level of hell. The costume was hot and smelly and hampered his movements, vision and hearing. Thankfully he had Kaia and Jack to help him and the kids seemed to enjoy his antics. But then, suddenly, there was Emma, hugging him and thanking him for her cookie. Cas’s problems all melted away. If Emma was there, that meant Dean must be somewhere nearby.
Cas scanned the nearby crowd of parents and saw Dean talking to Charlie. He could see the way Dean always seemed to keep one eye on his daughter. He guessed it would only be natural that Dean would be protective of Emma, he, after all, had no way of knowing it was Cas in the suit and not some weirdo who might want to harm the little girl, but when Dean walked over and greeted him, Cas couldn’t resist holding his arms out for a hug and when Dean stepped willingly into his arms, it confirmed to him that Dean knew exactly was in the suit. He wasn’t sure if Dean meant for him to hear what he said, but when Castiel flapped his hand at him Deans grin grew twice as wide.

And now Castiel was uncomfortable in the suit for a whole other reason.

During the egg hunt Cas had to move carefully to avoid the dozens of little kids running around searching for the chocolatey treats. He quickly spotted Emma and tried to make sure he stayed close to her and make sure the bigger kids didn’t steal the eggs from her as they often did. He made sure to top up baskets of the less successful kids but managed to direct Emma in the direction of some of the bigger stashes of eggs. 

He saw the little girl talking to a pair of children around the same age as her and it seemed they were comparing the contents of their baskets. He wandered closer and caught some of their conversation.

“You’s can have some of mine, just only not the green ones cause greens my daddy’s eyes.” She said, and Castiels heart just melted as she began to pluck out some eggs from her basket. “Do’s you like purple? Cause you’s can have the purple ones, and the red ones if you want.”

The kids all sat down and Emma began to distribute the eggs. When she was finished the other children had several more eggs than before, even if Emma still had the lions share. Cas watched as she stood and brushed some of the grass from her dress, said goodbye to her new friends and then skipped away in search of more treats. 

Cas smiled behind his mask. This was actually more fun than he thought it would be. He dug his hands…paws…into the bag that his helper was holding and drew out some eggs, flinging them into the air and then stood back as the vultures descended. He did one more circuit, dropping eggs into baskets and then it was time to end the hunt. There were lots of kids wanting last minute hugs but he noticed Emma wasn’t among them. He looked around to see her standing with Dean, showing him her eggs. Dean looked up at that moment and gave him a wave. Emma turned and waved enthusiastically as Dean took her hand and led her away.

By the time he changed out of the bunny suit and located Charlie, his friend was already seated at a picnic table eating with Dean and Emma. Cas was extremely glad to see them but was sure he had a lingering funk from the suit so he tried to keep his distance until he had aired out. He became engrossed in a conversation with Emma as she gave her opinion on every aspect of her day so far, from meeting Easter bunny, which seemed to be the highlight that so far, to all the eggs she collected, but her daddy has taken away for now, to how said daddy is gonna win her the big froggy at one of the sideshows, because he’s the biggest, strongest, bestest daddy ever - which Cas couldn’t disagree with her there - to going on the Ferris wheel with Dean.

“But daddy must have been really hot a’cause his hands were really sweaty.” Emma confided in him. 

Cas guessed the real reason might have been a small fear of heights and snuck a peek at Dean only to find him watching them with a content expression on his face. Their eyes meet for a moment and Cas smiled back before turning his attention back to Emma. When he chanced a look back at Dean, the man himself was busying himself at the trash can and Charlie was looking at Cas with a smirk.

§§§§§

The fair was due to finish up at 2pm and Cas and Charlie  hung out with Dean and Emma for until they needed to go help pull down some of the marquees and take care of some other things. They bid Dean and Emma goodbye with promises to see each other the next Tuesday as usual. Cas watched Dean lead his daughter away, the giant frog give tucked under his arm, and wasn’t that a feat to watch Dean win that prize? The way his muscles bunched and rippled as he lined up each shot and threw the ball into the hoops, the little bounce he gave with each throw, the way he grinned and offered to win Cas one of his own…. Cas sighed and shoved his hands into his pocket.

“You’re doomed.” Charlie said beside him.

“What?” Cas asked tearing his gazed away from the retreating back of the object of his obsession.

“You! You are so hung up on him.” Charlie teased.

Cas groaned.

“Charlie stop.”

“Oh, come on Cas! The guys obviously into you too! He flirts unashamedly with you, he came here just to hang out with you, he asked you out on a movie date, his daughter loves you and that’s got to be a bonus.” She said.

“Firstly, he flirts with everyone!” Charlie rolled her eyes and blew him a raspberry. “Secondly, it wasn’t a date. He was just saying ‘thank you’ for keeping Emma safe when she wandered off and thirdly he came here today because this fair is for a great cause and he’s a great dad and a really supportive guy!” Cas argued back.

Charlie folded her arms across her chest and glared at Cas.

“You’re right, I’m doomed.” Cas hung his head in defeat.

“It’s okay big fella.” Charlie stretched up and slung an arm around Castiels shoulders. “Why don’t you just pull on your big boy panties and ask the guy out?”

“I almost did.” Cas admitted.

“What? When?” Charlie stood back shocked.

“After the movie. I was about to ask if he wanted to go see something another time, just the two of us, but Emma needed to go to the bathroom.” Cas shrugged.

“You know there’s a name for people like her.” Charlie grumbled.

“Yep, adorable.” Cas sighed again.

Charlie shoved him a little.

“Well then why didn’t you ask him out later, like when he came to the coffee shop next, or, you have his number you could have sent him a message: ‘hey Dean, had a great time with you and Emma today. I was wondering if you would like to do it again some time?’” Charlie said in a terrible imitation of Castiels deep gravelly voice.

“Because he gave me his number for emergencies, Charlie. Not to hit on the guy.”

Charlie reached up again, but this time smacked Cas in the forehead with the heel of her hand.

“You are infuriating! He flirts with you Cas! He loves the way you dote on Emma, a blind person can see that from a mile away! He wants you to hit on him!” Charlie explained frustrated.

“Well…” Cas stammered. “He could hit on me.”

Charlie stared at him with an open mouth the promptly closed it and turned to walk away.

“Those two stupid doofuses in love….. can’t get their shit together… ‘he could hit on me’ like the sex god on legs hasn’t already been doing that for weeks…should make the moron walk home…” she mumbled as she walked away.

Cas sighed again as he watched his friend stalk away. She was right, Dean had been making more and more suggestive comments to him the last few weeks. Cas wasn’t blind to it, and he really didn’t think Dean was like that to everyone, so what the hell was holding him back? He pulled out his phone and opened the messaging app, pulling up Deans number.

‘Hey Dean, I had a really great time hanging out with you and Emma today. Maybe we could do it again some time?’

He looked at the message then backspaced…a lot, deleting the whole ‘let’s hang out’ suggestion then pressed send. God he was hopeless! Why was he finding this so hard? He was a thirty year old man with an accounting degree that he doesn’t use and he can’t even ask another guy out for dinner. He shoved his phone back in his pocket with a frustrated grunt and ran to catch up to Charlie.

§§§§§

Cas hadn’t really expected Dean to reply so quickly. He actually thought he’d be driving and it worried Cas a little that he had text from behind the wheel when his reply came through.

‘Thanks man, we had a great time too. Can’t wait to do it again. 😁”

Cas had stared at his phone for a good thirty seconds then shoved it under Charlie’s face asking her what she thought it meant. 

Did he mean seeing them at the coffee shop like usual? 

Did he mean at next years family Easter fair? 

Did he mean he would be up for more outings together?

“I don’t know Cas, you’ll have to ask Dean. I’m done with you two chuckleheads!” Charlie answered as she pushed the phone out of her face and loaded the last table into the back of the van. Cas sent a quick message back telling Dean he will see him Tuesday and to drive safe then shoved his phone away and helped finish loading the van.

His mind was still on the message as he followed Charlie to her little yellow car, their arms filled with bunting, and chocolates and the few purchases they had made from the market stalls. They dumped their stuff into the small trunk and then collapsed into their seats.

“Oh, I’m so glad that’s over, I’m exhausted!” Charlie said, leaning back in her seat.

“What? You didn’t have a good time?” Cas asked.

“No, of course I did, but keeping adolescent nerds from ripping each other to shreds over a game of Dungeons and Dragons is exhausting!” 

She leaned forward, put the key in the ignition and turned it and…nothing. She frowned and tried again, checking to make sure the gear stick was fully in the park position but still…nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Cas asked.

“Don’t know, she just doesn’t want to start.” Charlie frowned and popped the hood.

“Do you ever find it sexist that cars and machinery are generally female gendered?” Cas asked as he followed Charlie out of the car.

“A bit, but personally, I’m not riding around in a man all day.” She grinned and winked.

They lifted the hood and stared at the motor.

“So what’s wrong with it?” Cas asked.

“Don’t know.” Charlie shrugged. “Gee, I wish we knew a competent mechanic who could swoop in and fix it for us.” She mumbled sarcastically.

Beside her Cas was silent for a moment as they both stared at the engine.

“I’m gonna ask him out.” Cas finally said, breaking the silence between them.

“Really?” Charlie asked more than a little excited.

“Yep. I’m gonna do it. Tuesday…when I see him at the shop.” Cas said with determination and nerves.

“Oooooh! That’s great!“ Charlie bounced clapping her hands then engulfed Cas in a tight hug that felt bigger than the petite woman should be able to give.

The deep rumble of an engine caught their attention and they looked up when they heard it stop close by. A familiar head poked out of the window of the big, black, sleek classic car.

“Hey, fancy seeing you guys here! Everything okay?” Dean asked.

“She just won’t start.” Charlie said pointing to her car. “Can you recommend a good repair mechanic?”

Dean chuckled.

“Let me just park up Baby and I’ll take a look.” Dean offered.

“Thanks.” Charlie replied.

Dean gave her a wink before disappearing back into the car. Fortunately most of the people had already left the park so there was plenty of space for Dean to park. He pulled past Charlie’s car and into a spot two away from them. He climbed out of the car and spoke to Emma for a second before walking over the where Charlie and Cas were waiting.

“So.” He said rubbing his hands together. “What seems to be the problem.”

“I don’t know. She ran fine on the way here, but when I put the key in her just now…nothin’.” Charlie explained.

“Was there like a ‘tictictic’ sound?” Dean asked.

“Nope! Silent as a lamb.” Charlie said.

“Okay.” Dean said as he leaned over the engine and fiddled with a few leads. “You want to try and start it for me?”

Charlie got into the drivers seat and turned the key and just as she expected, nothing happened.“Hmmm, Let me grab some tools and I’ll see what I can do.”

He stood up and walked back to the Impala, grabbed the keys from her ignition and then walked around to the trunk and opened it. He removed his jacket and shirt, leaving him in just a black T-shirt and dropped them in the trunk.

“Hey Cas? Can you get Emma out of her seat for me?” He asked as he hefted a sizable toolbox from the trunk. “I don’t know how long this is gonna take and don’t want her stuck in there too long.”

“Sure, I can do that.” Cas beamed at Dean as he approached the other man’s car to collect Emma.

“Wow, that’s a big toolkit. Do you always carry that around?” Charlie asked.

“Yep.” Dean said flipping the lid open. “You never know when you have to rescue the Queen of Moondor from the side of the road.”

“Oh, my hero!” Charlie clasped her hands together over her heart and fluttered her eyes.

“Dork.” Dean laughed.

“That’s Queen Dork to you.” Charlie said placing her hands on her hips and lifting her chin regally.

“I’m sorry, your majesty!” Dean bowed deeply with a flourish then turned back to the engine and began working on it.

§§§§§

Charlie and Cas did their best to keep Emma occupied while Dean worked. Well, at least Charlie did, Cas was too busy ogling Deans butt. Charlie had pulled out a blanket from the back of her car and was sitting on it playing with Emma’s long hair. First she gave the little girl to side buns and made her look like Princess Leia, then she began braiding her hair and adding small wild flowers they had found growing nearby, but eventually, of course, despite Charlie and Castiels best efforts the little girl got bored.

“Daddy, I’s bored? Can we’s go home now?” She asked.

“Not yet sweetie. Daddy has to try and fix Charlie’s car for her so she can get home too.”

“Okay.” Emma sighed. “Daddy? Can I has a chocolate?” She asked.

“Sure, okay.” Dean replied as he worked on unscrewing a gunked up spark plug.

Emma skipped over to the Impala and with a bit of effort managed to get the door open. She scrambled inside then re-emerged holding a large chocolate bar. She walked over to Cas and handed it to him.

“Can you please opens it for me?” She asked.

Cas looked dubiously at the huge candy in his hand then looked at Deans back.

“Is it okay for her to have this one?” He asked.

“Yeah sure.” Dean replied , his head still deep in amongst the engine.

“Okay.” Cas said with a shrug and tore open the wrapper and handed it back to Emma. 

The little girl thanked Cas then took a large bite and began climbing up on the curb and jumping off again.

Cas and Charlie gravitated to Deans side.

“So do you know what it is?” Cas asked.

“Apart from Charlie being a lousy car owner?” Dean said giving Charlie a side eyed look. “Yeah I think so. I should be able to get it going again, but you really need to get this engine cleaned and serviced.” He pointed sternly at the red head.

“Yes sir, sorry sir!” Charlie said seriously giving Dean a salute.

Dean just shook his head and went back to work.

“Bring it into my shop next time you have a day off and I’ll give it a once over.” He offered.

“Thanks Dean. I’ll do that.” Charlie replied.

Dean glanced back over his shoulder.

“Hey Gremlin, whatcha doing there?” He asked his daughter.

“Spinnin’.” She replied.

“Fun. Be careful.” He warned her.

“I will daddy.” Emma replied as she carefully walked around again in a tight circle, the remains of the chocolate bar clutched in her hand. “Daddy? I needs to pee.” She said.

“Okay can you just give me one minute?” He asked.

“Sure, if you wants me to piss myself.” Emma replied looking down at her feet as she continued to walk around and around.

Three stunned adult faces all whipped around and stared at the little girl.

“Aaand that’s enough chocolate for you.” Dean said as he reached out and took the candy from his daughters hand.

“Noooo! I wants my candy!” She screamed, her face going red and tears immediately falling from her eyes.

“No Emma. You’ve had enough. Now stop that.” Dean admonished his little girl.

“Noooooo!”  Cas and Charlie winced as Emma’s voice raised to an ear splitting level.

The small child continued to scream and demand her chocolate back in a award winning, sugar fueled tantrum.

“Emma. Stop that or you’re going to make yourself sick.” Dean warned her.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth the little girl began to cough. Dean carefully backed Cas and Charlie away from her.

“Watch it, she’s about to blow.” 

He left his friends well clear of Thee splash zone and approached Emma just as she doubled over and vomited on the ground. He crouched beside her and braced her small body and rubbed her back as she was sick once more.

“Feel better Sweetie?” He asked. Emma just turned to him and began crying again. “It’s okay Sweetheart.”

Dean hugged her, not caring that she was smearing puke on his shirt. He pulled back and brushed the hair from her face and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“You okay now?” He asked tenderly.

The little girl sniffed and nodded, rubbing her eyes with her chocolatey hand.

“Want to go home.” She hiccuped.

“Okay, let’s go get you cleaned up, but then daddy’s got to finish fixing Charlie’s car. You don’t won’t her stuck here all night do you?” He asked.

Emma looked at Charlie the back at her dad and shook her head.

“It’s okay Dean, we can grab a cab home.” Charlie said.

“No, I think I know what’s wrong with it. It should only take me a few more minutes to get her going again.” Dean assured his friend as he stood and grasped Emma’s hand.

“How about…how about we go clean her up and you can finish the car?” Cas suggested. “The bathrooms right there.” He added when he saw Deans hesitation about Emma going without him.

Dean considered it and nodded. He crouched back down in front of Emma.

“Hey Em, do you want to go with Cas and Charlie to clean up or do you want daddy to take you?” He asked. It was important to give her the choice.

“I’ll go with Bunny and Charlie.” Dean smirked at Emma’s nickname for Cas and the fact she had used it when she was feeling vulnerable warmed him inside.

“Okay.” He kissed her on the forehead and handed her off to Charlie. “Love you sweetie.”

“Loves you daddy.”

Dean watched as they crossed the small road and entered the public toilet block. A small amount of anxiety swirled inside him at not being able to see his daughter, but he trusted Cas and Charlie and the facilities were directly across from him and in his direct eyeline. He went back to work in Charlie’s car.

§§§§§

“That should do it.” Dean said to himself as he stood and wiped down the tool in his hand and replaced it in the box.

He looked over when he saw Cas approaching and sent the guy a questioning look.

“Emma needed to use the toilet so Charlie’s helping her.” He explained.

“Okay.” Dean leaned around his friend and looked at the toilet block again.

“She’s okay. We cleaned most of the puke off her.” Cas said.

“Thanks man, I appreciate it.”

“How’s it going here?” Cas asked.

“I think I got it.

Dean leaned into the car, turned the key and the engine roared to life. 

“Oh yay you fixed it!” Cas cheered. 

He turned it off again and walked around to close the hood.

“It was a relatively simple fix.” Dean said wiping his hands on a cloth.

“Still, you didn’t have to spend an hour of your Saturday fixing the car of some barista’s you occasionally get your coffee from. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Firstly I wouldn’t call you or Charlie ‘some baristas’ and secondly .” Dean said looking up from at Cas, and there he was, the charming Dean Winchester. “It wasn’t anything any good person would have done, but, if you are insisting on repaying me, I have been know to take payment in the form of kisses.” He smiled.

“Oh.” Cas looked down at the ground deep in thought, “I don’t know if Charlie would want to pay you that way. It is, after all her car, but she did do me a favor driving me here and, as you know, I’m not really the type of person to leave favors unrepaid.” He looked back at Dean with a small smirk on his lips. “And a debt is a debt.” He whispered stepping one step closer to the mechanic.

Dean grinned and reached out to gently pinch the fabric of Cas’ shirt between two fingertips, gently drawing him closer.

Their lips touched gently. Just a soft meeting. Dean stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Castiels waist and pulled them both flush together as he opened his mouth slightly sucking in Castiels bottom lip. Cas’ hands found their way to Deans hips and Deans other hand landed on Cas’ cheek and there was a brief brush of tongues before Dean pulled back slightly, planting a soft kiss on Castiels lips, once, twice, three times before he backed away completely.

“You know it is a weekend, so I’m thinking there would be some kind of penalty payment for a callout of this kind.” Cas said as he reached out to fiddle with the hem Deans T-shirt.

“Really?” Dean asked as he took Castiels hand and threaded their fingers together and took a step to close the gap between them. “And what were you thinking?”

“I don’t know? Maybe…dinner, a movie? Something a bit more adult?” Cas suggested.

“You’re asking me out even though I’m standing here covered in grease and puke?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” Cas nodded, nerves flowing through him.

A slow sexy smile spread across Deans face.

“Well, then I think that might just about cover it.” He said, his voice deep and husky.

“Really?” Cas asked.

“Yeah.” 

Cas grinned relieved.

“Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a while, but I wasn’t sure because…you know, Emma. Some people don’t want that hassle, cause…well…puke.” Dean admitted pointing to himself.

“I love Emma, potty mouth, puke and all. There’s no hassle there.” Cas replied, wanting to reassure Dean.

“And what about me?” Dean asked.

“Well, you’re definitely my favorite thing about Emma.” He smirked and leaned in to steal another kiss from Dean.

Emma’s voice pulled them apart before things could heat up any further. They both stepped apart and turned to watch Charlie and Emma cross the road. Charlie looked at the car.

“The hoods down, does that mean she’s running again or have you called for a hearse?” She asked.

“Nope she’s all good to go.” Dean said. He looked down at Emma, who looked a little rumpled and worse for wear. “And how are you feeling Gremlin?”

“Good. Can we go home now?” She asked.

“Of course we can.” He said and picked his daughter up and sat her on his hip, running a hand over her hair to smooth some flyaway strands. “I just have to pack up my tools and then we can go.”

Emma nodded and lay her head against her daddy’s shoulder. Dean put Emma in her car seat while Charlie and Cas packed up his tools and hefted the heavy kit over to the Impala.

“Thank you again for this Dean, what do I owe you?” Charlie asked as Dean took the toolkit and put it in the trunk.

“It was my pleasure and you don’t have to worry, Cas already took care of it.” Dean said looking at Cas with a twinkle in his eye. “Just make sure you book her in for a full tuneup and service. She’s running today, but I can’t guarantee how long that’ll last.”

“Okay, will do.” She promised.

Dean looked at her doubtfully, watching as she turned and climbed into her car, then walked towards the drivers side door. He reached out and took Cas’ hand. 

“Call me, yeah?” He said.

“I will.” Cas nodded.

Dean leaned in a placed a quick kiss to Castiels cheek. 

“Seeya Cas.”

“Bye Dean.”

They shared a smile before Dean looked over at Charlie again.

“Seeya Red!” He called, finally letting go of Castiels hand and waving goodbye.

“Bye Dean.” She waved back.

Dean climbed into his car and gave Cas a final smile before pulling the door shut. He waited until Charlie had started the car and pulled out of her spot before he pulled out and drove in the opposite direction.

“Oh my god. I can’t wait to get home and just veg on the sofa with some Star Trek and a beer.” Charlie said as she checked the street for traffic before making the turn. “I think I’m going to just sleep through tomorrow.”

“Really? I had a fun day.” Castiel said. “I can’t wait for next years.”

“Seriously, Mr. ‘I Hate Easter’?” Charlie said giving him a sideways glance.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Charlie.” Cas said as he picked up the bunny ears headband and put it on his head, grinning at her. “Easter’s my favorite time of the year.”