Chapter Text
New neighbors. Four year old Dean had no idea what that meant. All he knew was that his mother was pulling him by the hand down the sidewalk toward the yellow house a couple away from his. His Dad and Sammy stayed behind to watch the football game (his Dad watched, Sam scooted around in his crib).
Mary and Dean walked hand in hand up the brick walkway to the front door, a couple of stray boxes waiting on the porch to go inside.
“I wanna ring the doorbell!” Dean exclaimed, jumping on his toes to reach. After a couple of tries, he finally pressed the button.
There was some shuffling on the other side and a twitch in the curtains as someone peered through the side window.
The sound of an unlocking latch and the door was pulled open, revealing a tall, thin woman in a blue sun dress. She wore a tight smile that even Dean could tell didn’t look quite right, but Mary ignored it and extended a hand to shake.
“Mary Winchester, we live a couple of houses down!” She said brightly with a warm smile.
The woman slowly took her hand and gave it a couple of shakes. “Addeline, Addeline Novak.” She replied stiffly, uneasiness heavy in her voice.
Dean had lost all interest and was peering into one of the open boxes on the porch. His eyes brightened when he saw the action figures, some army men, and stuffed animals.
“Do you have a kid?” He asked, coming up beside his mother. They both looked down at him in surprise. “There are no kids on my block so I don’t have anyone to play with.” Dean rambled on with an excited smile.
“I...yes, we have a son. Castiel.” Addeline replied, glancing over her shoulder.
“Could I meet him??” Dean asked eagerly, about to step forward but Mary caught his hand.
Addeline blinked down at him.
“Sorry, he’s a bit excited. This is Dean.” Mary explained and Addeline offered him a weak smile.
“Could I meet him??” Dean pressed and Addeline looked over her shoulder again. Dean peered around her, seeing someone toddling along in the background.
“I...I suppose.” She finally agreed, stepping to the side to allow Mary and Dean to pass. Mary thanked her and apologized again.
“There really are no other children on the block.” Mary explained. “A lot of Dean’s friends live across town so he doesn’t see them very often.”
Addeline nodded, tension rolling off her, making Mary uneasy, but Dean didn’t notice, taking in his surroundings with curious eyes.
“I’ll fetch him for you. I’m sorry you can’t meet my husband, he already started work.” Addeline called over her shoulder as she fluttered around, picking up a few stray toys before leaving the room to find her son.
Dean frowned after her. In his house, whenever someone was looking for him, they just yelled.
A few minutes later, Addeline reappeared with a little boy trailing behind her, partially hidden behind her skirt.
Dean leaned around her eagerly, trying to get a better look. The pair came to a stop in front of him and the little boy peaked around his mother, Dean catching a glimpse of bright blue eyes and a round face.
Castiel’s mother turned to the boy, motioning something to him. He blinked and nodded once, peering at Dean apprehensively. She motioned again without speaking and Mary let out a sharp breath of understanding, but Dean didn’t turn around. Addeline slowly stepped away, giving her son a gentle push. He stumbled toward Dean, glancing back at her before carefully looking Dean over, hands clasped shyly in front of him.
Slowly, he stuck out his little hand and Dean smiled, shaking it enthusiastically.
“Hi! I’m Dean!” He said brightly. The little boy’s eyes bugged out and he took a step back, looking frantically between Dean and his mother.
Alarmed, Dean took a step back, looking at Mary in confusion.
“What did I do??” He whispered, worried and confused.
Addeline was trying to calm the boy down, who was making small noises in the back of his throat, both of them motioning to each other.
“Dean.” Mary whispered, kneeling down beside him. “His deaf, sweetheart.”
“What?”
“He can’t hear you.” She explained and Dean’s eyes widened.
“He can’t?” He asked in confusion, looking at the little boy with the big blue eyes again.
Addeline straightened up, Castiel hiding behind her. He looked...ashamed. Dean looked down at his shoes, toeing at the carpet. He didn’t mean to upset the boy.
Suddenly, he got an idea. Turning around, he ran back out the front door and to the box of toys. Grabbing two action figures, he came back inside before Mary could even try to follow him.
Castiel saw him holding his toys and frowned, cocking his head to the side. Dean took a slow step forward and help one out to him. When Castiel didn’t take it, he started making motions with them, making them fight and bang into each other. Castiel blinked a few times and then a small smile broke across his face. Snatching one from Dean, motioned for him to follow and sat down in front of the couch. Dean plopped down beside him and the two proceeded to play with the little figures.
Addeline visibly relaxed at the sight, a true smile finally appearing on her face.
“He never does that.” She whispered, turning to Mary with a wide smile. “He’s never interacted with another child before.” She explained. “Most don’t understand what he’s going through.”
“I’m not sure Dean does, but he’s going to try.” Mary said with a warm smile at the pair of them, both throwing the figures around. Dean normally would make obnoxious sound effects to go with the motions, but as he played with Castiel, he didn’t make a sound.