Chapter Text
The fresh blood trickled down his cheeks, it splattered over his hands and face creating a pattern of red speckles. The victim clung to him, gasping for air as blood filled his lungs and began to ooze off his bottom lip. The warm liquid dripped from the cavity in his chest, further coating his hands and blade, causing a wicked smirk to form on his lips. He flung his victim to the floor, with enough force to knock a few books from the shelves, before proceeding to wipe his blood covered hands on to his jeans, completely coating the thigh portion of his pants. "Have fun in Hell," he sneered letting a quiet chuckle escape his lips before he strode out of the living room. He entered the hallway, glancing from left to right, "Eth! Mine's down!"
He awaited a response from his older brother who had decided to inspect the first floor of the house. The living fell silent as his victim's struggle for air ceased, his smirk turning wicked before he glided to the bottom of the staircase. He leaned against the banister, picking at his nails whilst waiting for his brother. Glancing up, he caught sight of his brother at the top of the staircase with another person's blood caking the shirt he wore and his pearly white smile gleaming in the moonlight. "We're finished here," he declared descending the staircase. The man nodded, he quickly jogged back to the living room and yanked his blade from his victim's body. He inspected his blade, taking a scrap of fabric from his back pocket and wiping the blood from the silver blade. His brother had left the house, tucking his pistol back into its holster, and entered the driver's side of their truck. The man followed, blade in hand, and sat himself in the passenger seat. His brother pulled away from their latest crime scene and made his way back to the motel they were hiding out in. The man let out a loud sigh, leaning back into his seat and polishing his blade off, "where's the next target?"
His brother's response was a mere shake of his head, "let's just rest up and clean up." He didn't bother arguing with his brother, it had been a long night and both men were irritable. "Okay Eth, sounds good," he agreed letting his head rest against the head rest. His brother looked at him from the corner of his eye, looking his little brother up and down before chuckling. "You actually agreeing with your big bro for a change Sage?"
He couldn't help but joke with Sage as his little brother was usually stubborn and would create an argument. Sage scoffed, "nah. Just tired Ethan," he muttered with his voice full of tiredness. Ethan punched his shoulder playfully and let out a sharp laugh. "Okay bro, I believe ya," Ethan said sarcastically making his focus turn back to the road. Sage scoffed again and nodded...
~1 hour later~
"Sage. Yo bro. We're at the motel."
Sage groaned as his brother's bear sized hands shook him from his peaceful sleep. "Okay man, I'll be two minutes," the younger brother grumbled in his husky, sleep-filled voice trying intensely to swat Ethan's hands away. The older brother smiled at him and walked to the trunk, popping it open and checking the tags on the two duffle bags. "Sage! Which bag is yours?"
He groaned again, this time swivelling in his seat and hoisting his jacket up over his head. "They're labelled for a reason dumbass," Sage snapped. Ethan checked the labels again, smiling when he lifted the strap to reveal his initials stitched into the bag material. "Found it," he announced lifting the bag from the trunk and slamming the trunk shut. "Good for you," Sage muttered under his breath, dragging his legs up on to the seat to curl up into a comfortable ball whilst his brother entered the motel. After ten minutes, he stretched his blood-soaked and exhausted body allowing his muscles to loosen and become less tense. A relaxed sigh escaped his lips, he pushed himself out of the truck and proceeded to grab his own duffle bag. He slung the bag of weapons over his shoulder and tucked his blade behind his jacket, securing it with the waistband of his jeans and entering his motel room. The younger brother threw his duffle bag on to his bed, unzipped it and rummaged through the mass amount of guns and ammo in search of a clean shirt and jeans.
Sage glanced at Ethan, the older brother already in clean clothes and concentrated on checking the ammo supply for his guns. He pulled off his plaid shirt, tossing it to the side carelessly and pulled on the fresh plain black t-shirt. He then proceeded to unfasten his belt and unbutton his jeans, quickly being interrupted by a cough from his brother. "What?"
"Don't strip in front of me."
"Why? You never care when it's your ass is flashing in my face, besides I'm only changing my jeans not my boxers," protested Sage continuing to slip his jeans off, being sure to remove his blade first. Ethan went back to counting pistol rounds whilst his brother changed. Once changed, Sage collapsed on to his bed, stomach first, and stretched out of his exhausted limbs. "Man, that job took it out of me," the younger brother mumbled into his pillow causing his brother to chuckle. "That'll be a first," remarked Ethan. Sage threw his pillow at Ethan but the older caught it with his eyes still concentrated on his ammunition, "nice try."
The younger brother scoffed but quickly groaned, "dammit. I left the keys in the truck."
"Well, go get 'em."
He pushed himself off his bed and pulled on his boots again. Sage pulled on his leather jacket, glanced at Ethan and then strode outside. Thunder clouds had began to roll in but no rain had set in, thankfully. He jogged to his truck, flung open the driver door and snatched the keys out of the ignition. "Gotcha," he declared with a smirk on his lips and slipped the keys into his jacket pocket.
Upon reaching the motel door, a baby like gurgle caught the younger brother's ear and caused him to freeze with his hand on the door handle. His curiosity peaked and Sage moved his hand to the handle of his blade, cautiously wandering into the small alleyway next to their motel room. There wasn't much in the alley, mainly trashcans surround by trash bags. He walked right to the back of the alley, looking from left to right, but couldn't find the source of the noise. Yet he heard the noise again but, even with his acute sense of hearing, couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound. "Come out now or I'll cut a hole in your chest," he threatened and the gurgling stopped. Quiet sobbing started in its place causing Sage's eyes to soften and start looking around for the source.
His ears led him straight to a sealed cardboard box laying by one of the trashcans. He squatted down, clutching his knife tightly and inspecting the box. Loud sobbing made him jerk back from the box but he regained his composure and sliced own the tape with his blade. The two flaps popped up and Sage peeled them back to reveal something he didn't expect to see.
Laying in the box, with raven hair, a pair of wings of the same colour and bright blue eyes, was a little boy staring up at Sage. The child had tears cascading down his flustered cheeks and wore nothing but a white cloth wrapped around his bum. Sage didn't know what to make of his discovery, the boy (no older than two) was clearly in distress and it had been himself who had scared the toddler with his deep, raspy voice. To add to his decision making process, a few droplets of rain trickled down the back of Sage's neck making him shiver. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. "Up."
He glanced down at the boy with a confused look. "Up? What does up mean kid?"
"Up! Up!" The toddler outstretched his arms and made grabby hands at the younger Wolf brother. Sage, very gingerly, picked the boy up holding him at arms length away from him. He looked the boy up and down quickly before the rain came down heavier, Sage ran inside still holding the small angel away from him. Sage kicked the door shut causing it to slam, this catching Ethan's attention as he looked up from polishing his handguns. "Sage? What is that?"
"An alien," he replied sarcastically, "it's a kid Ethan," he snapped. Ethan rose from the stool he was sitting on and proceeded to take the baby angel into his arms, actually cradling the boy. "Well, he's not a bomb. Why didn't you hold him properly?"
Sage growled quietly, muttering cusses under his breath whilst his brother gently bounced the toddler. "Wasn't exactly the first thing running through my mind when I found a kid in a fuckin' box," snapped Sage in a calm tone. Ethan ignored him and run his hand across the top of the raven black wings on the boy's back, "such beautiful wings and nothing like he created before."
"Yeah, well, nice to see he's growing out of the golds and the whites."
Ethan looked at Sage and then back down at the baby angel, smiling like a proud father that was holding his child for the first time. "Did you get the truck keys?"
"No, I left them out there. Of course I got the truck keys."
"Well come on then."
Sage looked puzzled, "come on? Come on where?"
"The store dumbass, this kid's gonna need stuff."
Sage looked even more puzzled, "you can't be serious? We're not keeping a kid."
"He's got nobody else Sage and you found so, he's staying," Ethan said before leaving the motel room with the boy still safely cradled in his arms. Sage growled but knew there was no use in arguing once Ethan had made his mind up. He reluctantly followed his older brother, who was now sitting in the passenger seat of the truck with child, and sat himself in the driver's seat. "Are you gonna stay mad this entire time?"
"Depends. Is your feathery ass still wanting to keep that kid?"
Ethan nodded, carefully moving the toddler to his other arm whilst keeping full focus on Sage. "He needs someone," argued Ethan as Sage pulled out of the parking lot. "An orphanage could be an option," retorted the younger brother under his breath but that didn't stop the older brother from hearing him. "No. No orphanage especially since he's an angel."
"What difference does that make?"
"How is a mortal gonna handle a baby angel? We've done it before--"
"You've done it before," Sage interjected, cutting off his brother from finishing his argument. "I was never trusted," he continued turning on to a main road. Ethan sighed, leaning back into his seat with the boy held close to his chest, "you were trusted. You just never wanted to help." Sage groaned, turning again, and glanced at his older brother. "Has the kid got a name?"
"I don't know. Did you find anything that gave us a hint?"
Sage shook his head. "The way you see him is the way I found him, no note, no nothing," he replied. Ethan looked down at the baby angel, the boy's tiny hands clutching to Ethan's plaid shirt whilst his little face nuzzled into the older brother's chest. He looked so peaceful. Ethan nudged him gently, the pair of bright blue eyes immediately looking up at him, both sparkling in the moonlight. "Hey kid, do you have a name?"
"Cas. Wy name ws Cas," the boy stated proudly, smiling up at Ethan. "Is that short for something?"
"Castiel." Ethan smiled at how proud the boy looked as he said his name but Sage remained expressionless and quiet, he still wasn't all for this babysitting endeavour that his older brother had signed them up for but arguing was useless.
The store was relatively quiet with only a few late night shoppers scanning the isles for bargains they could not acquire in the morning/afternoon rush. Ethan pushed the cart whilst Sage grabbed things of the shelves he assumed Cas would need. Castiel sat happily in the child compartment of the cart, playing with the sleeves of Sage's jacket which was covering the small wings protruding from the small boy's back. The younger brother looked at the array of children's clothing and then at the baby angel and then at his brother, looking for some guidance. "Would you say he's a two or a three year old?"
Ethan studied Cas carefully, causing the little boy to giggle, until he reached his answer, "two." Sage nodded and sidestepped down to the toddler section, "hey bro. I don't think they offer clothes for kids with wings." He couldn't help but joke about the wings and Ethan smiled at this. "We'll work around the wings," he replied with a soft smile directed to both his brother and their baby angel. Sage tosses a few shirts, pants and socks into their cart along with a small pair of blue and white sneakers. They moved on to scouring the shelves for baby bottles and the formula that went with them when Cas began crying loudly, disrupting the quiet of the store. Sage's eyes shot to his brother and the hysterical angel, his eyes now pulsating magenta as Castiel's shrill cries echoed through the isles. The older brother became panicked, his own eyes now fiercely glowing amber, "Cas? What's wrong?"
The child just cried harder and balled his fists up tight, only to rub his eyes furiously. Sage jogged over to his brother, the thought of attracting attention pushing to the front of his mind causing his eyes to pulsate harder and faster. "What the fuck is the problem?"
"I don't know. He just started screaming," explained Ethan, his hand shaking from panic coursing his body. Sage turned his attention to the distressed angel, his instinctively softening at the sight of the waves of tears flooding Cas' small face, and placed his large hands on the angel's tiny forearms. He rubbed up and down as soothingly as he could manage. "Kid, you gotta tell us what's wrong so we can help you," Sage said in a very forced soothing tone to mask his annoyance with the whole situation.
"Dwirty! Dwirty!"
Sage glanced over his shoulder at Ethan with a confused expression but could tell the cogs were ticking over in his older brother's head. "Ethan?" Sage snapped his fingers in Ethan's face, bringing the elder brother out of his deep though and back to reality and the situation they faced. "Go get diapers. Now," Ethan demanded whilst carefully lifting Cas out of the child compartment. It then clicked with Sage and he darted down the isle, snatching a packet of diapers off the shelf and returning to his brother's side. He handed Ethan the packet, watching his brother, with one hand, rip open the packet and pull out one clean diaper. "I'll be back," stated Ethan, turning on his heel and wandering off with Castiel crying on his shoulder.
Ethan had never been so thankful for baby changing areas in his life. He locked the door and laid Cas down on the plastic changing table, which folded down from the wall, before grabbing a handful of paper towels and wetting them under the fossit. He wrung them out until they were damp and placed them by Cas' head. He removed Sage's jacket from around the boy's shoulders and looked down at the white cloth that covered Castiel's bum. It was now stained yellow and completely soaked with the young boy's pee, some of the liquid dribbling down Cas' inner thighs. Ethan groaned in disgust, his face screwing up at what he was about to do but he shrugged it off, knowing it had to be done. The older brother untied the knot in the material and, very delicately, removed the cloth leaving the toddler naked on the changing table. Ethan disposed of the cloth and turned back to the baby angel, the poor boy was shivering from being completely exposed to the elements causing him to whimper. "Hang on Cas. I'll be done in a minute," cooed Ethan, his voice naturally soft and light. He picked up one of the dampened paper towels, then he gently took Cas' ankle in his free hand and wiped down his inner right thigh. Ethan switched to the left and wiped down that thigh before taking both of Cas' ankles and gently hoisting him up to wipe down his bum and private parts. With angelic care, Ethan slid the diaper under Cas' bum and lay the boy down flat again and fastened the diaper.
Cas' crying quietened until all that could be heard was tiny hiccups as his bright blue eyes glistened from the tears. The baby angel looked up at Ethan, stray tears still trickling down his flustered cheeks. Using his thumb, Ethan tenderly wiped away the tears, with a genuine soft smile, and carefully sat Cas up. "All better," announced Ethan picking his brother's jacket up and wrapping it around Cas' shoulder, being careful of the raven black wings that flapped gently at the touch of the jacket. "Fank wou," Cas said quietly, smiling at Ethan. "Ethan," he stated realising the child didn't know his name. Cas tilted his head, the confusion causing the older Wolf brother to chuckle. "My name is Ethan."
Cas squealed and nodded excitedly, "I wike wou!"
A small smile tugged at Ethan's lips, not many people had ever said they liked him especially a child. "Thanks kid, now let's go get Sage," he replied causing Cas to squeal happily again and make grabby hands for his new friend. Ethan scooped the boy into his arms and exited the changing room. However on their way back to Sage and the cart, a shelf of stuffed animals caught the toddler's eyes and he excitedly tugged at Ethan's jacket collar. He pointed to it and Ethan casually walked over to it, examining all the toys on the shelf. Cas grabbed a wolf toy off the shelf and hugged it tightly to his chest, "Puppy! Puppy!" Cas squealed excitedly waving the toy in Ethan's face.
"Would you like the toy Cas?"
Cas nodded eagerly, making the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage and made his bottom lip stick out in a pout. Ethan laughed to himself, finding Cas' display extremely cute and very much irresistible, "okay. We'll get the toy." Cas, suddenly, hugged Ethan tightly, Sage's jacket slipping off the boy's naked boy but Ethan quickly caught it and readjusted it over Cas' shoulders. Something about caring for this baby in his arms brought Ethan a weird, fuzzy feeling in his stomach but he wasn't fighting the sensation, in fact he liked it. Eventually they caught up with Sage, who had collected the rest of the supplies the boys would require for their new partner, and Ethan set Cas back in the child compartment of the cart. They strolled up to the cash register and the brothers looked at each other.
"Sage. We don't have--"
"No Ethan. I was a little quick to react earlier. If you wanna keep the little guy, then we keep him and we'll work as a team."
"Like always?"
"Like always."