A/N: Another one of my Destiel ideas that wouldn't leave me alone and finally made it into the written form. This is totally AU, although I am trying to keep the characters as close to canon as possible with regards to their personality traits. I am taking some liberties, obviously, especially with little Sammy, who might or might not be based on my totally crazy and adorable 9 year old.

I'm kind of excited and a bit nervous about this story, as it will deal with the quite delicate matter of changing feelings towards someone once they transition from childhood to adulthood. I promise Castiel will not be a creeper and I will try to portray his struggles and the eventual resolution believably.

The rating might change in later chapters.

The first 5 chapters are all almost done, although I do not know the total chapter count yet.

Other warnings: AU, age difference, coming out, initially unrequited, one sided Dean/Castiel, very slow build (because of the subject matter), I guess underage depending on what your local AOC is, neglect, homophobia, alcoholism, Cas/OCs, Dean/OCs, angst, the occasional schmooop, happy ending

Prologue

As far as moving up in the world was concerned, this definitely was not it. Especially bearing in mind the nice, leafy, suburban neighbourhood back in Oklahoma City he grew up in. But it was all two post grad students on part-time assistant salaries could afford (even with the help of willing parents) but at least it was theirs. There was some kind of satisfaction to be had from the fact that they would not be lining some fat cat's pockets with their hard earned cash even if that meant having to compromise on the location.

Castiel stood outside the white clad two storey building he and his wife now called their home, studying the exterior extensively. He internally added to his already rather long list of all the things that needed to be fixed, categorising them as 'had to be done yesterday' or 'when we will get round to it'. He liked doing lists. They helped him feel organised and in control, despite the fact that this 'predisposition' of his had led to a great many ribbings from his older siblings over the years. People who said the youngest in a family had it easy, clearly had never laid eyes on his three brothers and one sister. It was not without good reason Castiel had decided to break with the family tradition and study in Chicago instead of Oklahoma University like all his siblings had.

He sighed at the thought of his family; he missed and didn't miss them at the same time. It was a complicated relationship but he shouldn't let that dampen his mood. It was a sunny and warm June morning and the sun was warming his face nicely. They couldn't have asked for better weather for the move. Not like the storm front that had decided to pass by and drench them and all their guests on their wedding day. Just the short walk from the church to the cars had everybody soaked to the skin - umbrellas had little effect in the gale force like winds. It made for some interesting wedding pictures though.

The 'sold' sign was still up on the front lawn, swinging in the light morning breeze. He could even hear the odd chirp of some birds, as the roads were mainly quiet at this time of morning. Castiel rested himself against the frame of his car and just let the scenery in front of him unfold. This was definitely one of the less desired neighbourhoods in Chicago, as could be seen by the varying degrees of neglect manifesting on some of the surrounding houses, but it was by far not the worst. The orangey glow of the sun even managed to temporarily make it look quaint. From his extensive research (another one of his pet peeves), Castiel had gathered that the area was mainly safe, even at night, apart from the odd gangs of unruly teenagers causing trouble on occasion. Nothing much out of the ordinary for any city neighbourhood these days. But he was only too aware that they were only a few streets away from one of the roughest parts of Chicago, and only hoped that the realtor hadn't been lying when he swore to them that trouble really never spilled over into this area.

Still, something about this house had spoken to both Amelia and him, and the price was very favourable, so they decided to take the risk, even though upon hearing about the house and its location, his parents had scrunched up their noses in discomfort and asked them to reconsider And that, quite frankly, had been the final straw for Castiel. He hadn't had many occasions for rebellion during his rather strict upbringing, so whenever a 'no matter how small' opportunity for some satisfying passive aggressive protest presented itself, he tended to jump on it. Not very mature, he knew, but it was not as though he had ever done much in terms of juvenile delinquency, so he allowed himself this little character flaw.

And as for the house, it came with an installed security system, and anyway, it was not like there was much to take. Their furniture consisted mainly of cast offs from friends and relatives. Other than their laptops and an extensive book collection, any thief would be welcome to help themselves to whatever. Even their car looked kind of shabby compared to that shiny, black old-timer across the road.

Castiel consoled himself with the knowledge that this would just be a stepping stone, and once he and Amelia will have finished their doctorates, they would be able to find tenure and move out of here to a slightly more upmarket area. He huffed, amused, under his breath. Weird, how he already thought about moving on, not even having started to unpack the boxes the movers were currently carrying into the house. His wife of one month was waving her hands frantically, giving out orders where she wanted what and Castiel knew better than to get involved; too many cooks and all that.

He already knew that later, when she was distracted, he would rearrange things slightly more to his liking. He appreciated his things being placed in a certain order, as Amelia had found out the hard way, when she had innocently "rearranged" the furniture in his apartment, only to have him freak and demand it all to be put back. But despite his quirks, they made it work (though he had a big learning curve of making concessions along the way), and it had turned into a well practiced back and forth dance between them once she had moved into his apartment a few months after they started going out. (Incidentally, another occasion where his parents had rolled their eyes at him, well they would have if his parents did do the eye roll thing. But they definitely did let him know their discontent: co-habitation prior to marriage was another thing frowned upon in the Novak family).

He never had expected to marry quite this young, just having turned 26. He had had this whole 10 year plan to finish his studies, maybe travel a bit in between, and then bank himself a good job; generally a wife and a house had not featured in those plans. But then he met Amelia during his last year as an undergrad, and they connected on so many levels, that Castiel, in the time of a few months could say with confidence that he was in love with her.

His parents, old fashioned and firm on upholding the family values (all his siblings had been married by the time they were 26), had been doing their part at urging him on to make an 'honest woman' of Amelia. Her family was more middle-of-the-road, but had taken to him, so they hadn't really raised any questions when Castiel proposed not eight months after they first started going out. And maybe, just maybe, he did rush into this marriage a bit, although he generally chose not to think about it too much.

But deep down Castiel knew (had known even back then) that this might be his only shot at leading, what was so plainly termed, a 'normal life' and so he had grabbed hold of it with both hands. Amelia had in fact been the first woman he harboured any kind of feelings, which could remotely be described as romantic, for. Not that he had been particularly attracted to anyone, or if he was being totally honest with himself, allowed himself to be attracted to anyone. Life had just been easier without the added complication of relationships.

And now he had made his choice, and despite any doubts that occasionally might rear their ugly heads, he was committed to his wife, hoping that it was this commitment that would keep his other, unwelcome desires under control (and that those were very unwelcome, not to say 'not natural', his parents had instilled in their kids from a very young age). He was praying they would just disappear completely over time. Because if anything, Castiel was loyal, a man of his word and he would find a way of making this work. Amelia deserved nothing less, and on a whole, he could say that he was happy, and that had to count for something.

#

It took exactly three hours after moving in for the force of nature, also known as Dean and Sam Winchester to come barreling into Castiel's life and knock it off its axis.