"Hm?" Castiel pauses and turns back from the doorway. Bobby's on the verge of sleep, his eyes drooping, chubby hands gripping the coverlet, but he's fighting to stay awake long enough to satisfy one last burst of childish curiosity.
"How'd you and Daddy meet?"
Castiel smiles. "That was a long time ago," he says after a pause. "A very, very long time ago."
"Like once upon a time?" Bobby yawns, but now he's interested, turning onto his side and squinting, the hall's yellow light reflected in his blue-green eyes.
"Yes. Just like once upon a time." Castiel returns to Bobby's bedside, sits down on the miniature chair where Bobby spends his days drawing pictures and thumbing through books he can't yet read. "Once upon a time, Daddy Dean was in a lot of trouble, and it was Daddy Cas' job to save him."
"So Daddy Dean was the princess and you were the prince," Bobby urges, with all the certainty of a child who's now well acquainted with the structure of a fairy tale.
Far be it from Castiel to disturb his worldview at this tender age and time of night. "Yes," he agrees. "Daddy Dean was the princess." But he has to fight back a snicker to go on. "And the king sent Prince Cas to go rescue him. So the prince went into a very dark kingdom, and fought all kinds of monsters and bad things until he came right to the heart of the castle."
"And the princess was locked in a tower," Bobby chimed in.
"Yes. He was locked in a tower." Castiel's mouth was twitching now. "And when the prince came to rescue the princess, it turned out the princess was under a spell."
Bobby's eyes had opened wide. "Daddy Dean was under a spell?"
Castiel took a breath. That part of the fairy tale had edged closer to the truth than he'd intended. "Yes," he said in a low voice. "He thought he was one of the monsters. And when the prince said to him that he was a princess, Daddy Dean didn't believe him."
"Oh, no!" Bobby squeaked. He pulled the covers up over his mouth and nose, just ringlets of dark hair and big eyes visible on the pillow.
"The only cure for the spell was to bring the princess back to his kingdom," Castiel said. "So the prince gripped him tight and raised him up, and together they flew back to the kingdom and away from the monsters. But even then, it took a long time to break the princess's spell." He closed his eyes, remembering it all. "There were monsters to fight and dragons to slay, and once the prince himself fell under a powerful, evil spell. But the whole time, the princess and prince loved each other very much and wanted to be together." He blinked a tear away, hiding his face. "So even though they had to fight very hard, they also had some very good friends. Like your Uncle Sam, and like your great-uncle Bobby, whom you were named for. So they kept fighting, and at last, after too many hard years, they were able to find their happily ever after."
He glanced toward the bed. Bobby was sleeping. His little fists still gripped the blanket tight, but the rest of his body had gone quiet, and his chest rose and fell evenly. Castiel bent forward to kiss his forehead, then rose and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
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Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After 1/2
Date: 2012-03-12 03:45 pm (UTC)"Hm?" Castiel pauses and turns back from the doorway. Bobby's on the verge of sleep, his eyes drooping, chubby hands gripping the coverlet, but he's fighting to stay awake long enough to satisfy one last burst of childish curiosity.
"How'd you and Daddy meet?"
Castiel smiles. "That was a long time ago," he says after a pause. "A very, very long time ago."
"Like once upon a time?" Bobby yawns, but now he's interested, turning onto his side and squinting, the hall's yellow light reflected in his blue-green eyes.
"Yes. Just like once upon a time." Castiel returns to Bobby's bedside, sits down on the miniature chair where Bobby spends his days drawing pictures and thumbing through books he can't yet read. "Once upon a time, Daddy Dean was in a lot of trouble, and it was Daddy Cas' job to save him."
"So Daddy Dean was the princess and you were the prince," Bobby urges, with all the certainty of a child who's now well acquainted with the structure of a fairy tale.
Far be it from Castiel to disturb his worldview at this tender age and time of night. "Yes," he agrees. "Daddy Dean was the princess." But he has to fight back a snicker to go on. "And the king sent Prince Cas to go rescue him. So the prince went into a very dark kingdom, and fought all kinds of monsters and bad things until he came right to the heart of the castle."
"And the princess was locked in a tower," Bobby chimed in.
"Yes. He was locked in a tower." Castiel's mouth was twitching now. "And when the prince came to rescue the princess, it turned out the princess was under a spell."
Bobby's eyes had opened wide. "Daddy Dean was under a spell?"
Castiel took a breath. That part of the fairy tale had edged closer to the truth than he'd intended. "Yes," he said in a low voice. "He thought he was one of the monsters. And when the prince said to him that he was a princess, Daddy Dean didn't believe him."
"Oh, no!" Bobby squeaked. He pulled the covers up over his mouth and nose, just ringlets of dark hair and big eyes visible on the pillow.
"The only cure for the spell was to bring the princess back to his kingdom," Castiel said. "So the prince gripped him tight and raised him up, and together they flew back to the kingdom and away from the monsters. But even then, it took a long time to break the princess's spell." He closed his eyes, remembering it all. "There were monsters to fight and dragons to slay, and once the prince himself fell under a powerful, evil spell. But the whole time, the princess and prince loved each other very much and wanted to be together." He blinked a tear away, hiding his face. "So even though they had to fight very hard, they also had some very good friends. Like your Uncle Sam, and like your great-uncle Bobby, whom you were named for. So they kept fighting, and at last, after too many hard years, they were able to find their happily ever after."
He glanced toward the bed. Bobby was sleeping. His little fists still gripped the blanket tight, but the rest of his body had gone quiet, and his chest rose and fell evenly. Castiel bent forward to kiss his forehead, then rose and left the room, shutting the door behind him.