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Dance dad Dean Winchester watching YouTube hair tutorials so Emma's bun is smooth and tight and her french braid is perfect.
It took awhile to perfect, most videos aren't exactly shooting for the 'fumbling single dads with calloused hands working with soft little girl hair' demographic, but Dean Winchester is nothing if not determined when he sets his mind to a task.
And his main task in life is to avoid Emma's tears because he's a screw up that doesn't know how to do a French twist or a fishtail braid or the perfectly done bun so she's not singled out in dance class again.
(Take that Janet Can't-even-do-a-simple-pony-tail-without-half-a-can-of-Aquanet Smith [if that's even her real name].)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester with at least two scrunchies around his wrist, hairspray in his back pocket and a line of bobby pins stuck on the hem of his shirt for emergency repairs.
His sparkly blue Caboodles case is stuffed full too, but that's safely tucked away in the corner of the room where he can keep an eye on it and use it to restock.
Emma isn't the only one that will dance over and point to her falling bun or loosened french braid.
He'd stopped freaking out about it, worried over touching a strange little girl, when one of the dance moms sidled over to watch his hands work the hair instead of eyeing him warily or ushering her daughter away from the strange man.
(Because everyone knows it was you, Sandy, that got all pissy about not being able to do a chignon as good as his, so just cool it about the bun sponge rumor, OK?)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester helping Emma with her moves after she stomps with frustration and flops onto the couch with a huff, declaring dancing 'a stupid waste of time'.
He isn't one to push if Emma's made up her mind, kid's got her old man's mile-wide stubborn streak after all, but he knows his daughter loves dancing and all too well recognizes that 'I suck at this so forget it' tone she also got from him.
He's watched Emma practice enough to know the basics of the moves and he pokes his daughter until she gives an involuntary giggle and manages to flop herself upright with an annoyed huff. But she gets moving again, brows creased with concentration as she goes through the routine again.
(We're dancing to Warrant, Em, so just zip it and shake what your daddy gave ya.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester sucking it up and borrowing Sam's mom-van because Emma doesn't want any of her 5 best dance friends missing out on the trip to Build-A-Bear for her birthday.
The 'cool dad' part of him knows he can easily fit 5 little girls in his car, but the 'reasonable and responsible dad' part knows there aren't enough seat belts and Emma's been safety conscious ever since some yahoo came into her class and gave a talk about safety.
It's bad enough he's walking into a bright, stuffed animal world but he arrived there in a teal mini van with pop music blasting the whole way there.
He tried not to sulk and consider this a horrible sacrifice in the name of fatherhood when Sam just smirked as he tossed the keys to him.
(Shut up, Sam, or I swear this thing will come back covered with more glitter than a strippers butt-crack and full of stuffed clowns.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester staying up until 1 AM putting the finishing touches on Emma's dance costume.
And hot glue is friggin' hot, no false advertising there.
He's handy with a needle since he's been fixing holy socks and torn seams since he was old enough to thread a needle and he's gotten damn good at stitching up little girl clothes to last another month, but somehow the sewing doesn't go any better; he's stabbed himself with the damn needle about five times trying to attach the tiny silver sequins.
But at least there's no blood on the bright ultramarine booty shorts, matching halter top or fluffy feathers in Emma's headpiece. He never thought he'd miss tutus and tap shoes... He makes a mental note to talk with Becky in costume design about some damn sleeves next time.
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Dance dad Dean Winchester bringing the apple pie cupcakes and chai lattes when it's his turn.
(Yes, they're homemade and no you can't have the recipe, Gretchen.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester trying to sneak away from the pack of the dance moms, his cheeks ache from the fake-smiling and his fingers hurt from clenching them.
He doesn't mind some flirting now and again but some of them are married for crying out loud.
And this isn't the place.
He doesn't know what he'll do if one more heavily mascaraed eye gets batted up at him or one more manicured hand touches his pecs.
He makes a hasty retreat and stands next to the only other dance dad, surprised he's not being surrounded because the guy is a looker and rumored to be single.
He sidles closer as the new guy waves and smiles brightly at the clutzy but sweet little blonde named Claire before meeting his gaze with a polite smile and nod.
There's the usual awkward moment of introductions that all the new parents go through, pointing out their kids through the glass window like some weird attempt at proof of them being there, before they go back to watching their daughters stumble their way through the newest hip hop steps.
They stay in the corner talking a little now and then, gazes on their kids.
The idle chit chat going from polite small talk to actual conversation. It doesn't take long for Dean to see why no one was pestering the guy: dude's weird and a little intense as a first impression, often squinting with confusion and studying Dean closely a few times he tries to crack a joke.
Luckily no one else bothers them the rest of the class and he's getting used to the quirks of Castiel.
The silence is oddly comfortable as they watch Emma and Claire giggling and having fun, Claire's nerves about being 'the new girl' fading with Emma's help and Dean feels a burst of pride for his daughter.
By the time they leave, Dean has another number in his phone and a promise to the girls for a 'play date'.
(No, Emma, I'm not in love with Castiel, we barely said five words to each other. Don't even start that crap when they come over later or I'm shaving your head.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester happy to show Cas all his hair styling tricks, saving poor Claire's hair when he shares the secrets of detangling spray and leave-in conditioner.
They've made a regular habit of hanging out, as much for the girls as for themselves since they get along and it's nice to be around adults.
And now that they're friends, Dean doesn't bother to stifle his playful tsk as he takes in Claire's poor hair, untangling the rubber band and working knots out with his fingers.
He's about to tease Cas a little but shuts up when he can tell Cas is moments away from having an emotional moment, probably missing the woman that handled such things before. He gives Cas' arm a supportive squeeze and tells Em to get her hair stuff.
Then it's a bit of organized chaos as they turn the kitchen into an impromptu hair salon since they won't all fit in his tiny bathroom.
He talks with Cas over their daughters heads and the girls chat about... whatever. He stopped paying attention when he heard the dreaded word 'Shopkins' and hopes his selective deafness means he doesn't have to fork over more money for plastic canned peas with a damn face on it.
The girls are in their own world, stools pushed close together as they compare check-lists and completely ignoring them.
He's got Cas in his personal space, shoulders brushing since Cas is watching and listening intently as he walks Cas through a few styles and how to scrunch mousse in to help define Claire's wavy curls.
(I'm not blushing. Shut up, Claire.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester getting on the car-pooling bandwagon and getting in the habit of swinging by Cas' place on the way to dance practice.
He wishes he'd known sooner that Cas' car was out of commission. It's not that far out of the way and now Claire doesn't have to walk or take the bus in her dance gear.
Plus, the extra 38 minutes with Cas is awesome.
It's even better when they stop for burgers, sharing a fond look and rolling their eyes as the girls fuss over sharing their huge order of chicken nuggets, dividing it equally down to the last crumb.
It becomes a bit of a routine even after Cas' car is fixed, they just trade off who drives.
They decide to try different diners, Dean ignoring Emma's completely fake gasp of surprise when he doesn't complain since he's usually very vocal on his opinion about which places have the best food—and pie.
Claire and Emma share the same side of the booth so they can giggle together, without having to lean over a table, and try each other's food. Dean doesn't mind squeezing in next to Cas, though, so he doesn't argue.
When he realizes the waitress greets them by name, leading them to their usual booth near the back (away from the cold drafts but close enough they don't feel isolated) Dean knows they failed at trying new places. Emma and Claire are the only ones looking over a menu since they're the only ones bothering to pretend at trying new things.
He leaves them to it and just relaxes in the booth and talks to Cas, Cas close enough their shoulders brush occasionally.
He looks away from Cas long enough to settle a squabble about sharing; he points between them and tells them if Emma cuts, then Claire picks. Claire gives him a look that says he's a genius and he pretends not to notice Emma adjusting the butter knife to a more fair ratio.
It's difficult to ignore the warm look Cas gives him, though he does his damnedest, and he clears his throat and focuses on eating his pie.
(I'm not blushing. Shut up, Emma.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester does, in fact, have a huge crush on Cas.
He has a low-key freak-out moment when it dawns on him, feeling something like panic buzz hot and cold through his body when he considers the risks of doing anything about it and messing up things with his best friend.
It's risky, but trying to hide it won't work since he knows Cas will be able to tell and that'll just make things worse.
He paces and thinks, rubbing a hand over his mouth as he weighs the pros and cons of dating.
The worst that could happen is Cas doesn't feel anything but friendship and they just keep on keepin' on. The best case scenario... He fumbles for his phone, needing to find out, either way.
Thankfully, no one is around to witness his nervous fingers when he writes and deletes a text 5 times before muttering 'man up, Winchester, you can do this,' and finally just ends up sending Cas a lame 'hey'. But Cas is quick to respond and it gets things going. It takes another 10 texts before he gets the nerve to mention hanging out, sans daughters, and he nearly drops his phone and does a victory dance when Cas is quick to respond back.
He stares at the 'I'd love to, Dean :)' far longer than is probably normal, cheeks hurting from smiling so damn long, but whatever—Cas said yes. Cas said yes, knowing it was a date.
He's still staring when Emma wanders in to see him mooning over his phone like a loser.
He doesn't hide his phone quick enough and Emma peeks over his shoulder, only to make a high-pitched sound and pump a fist in the air with a hissed 'yes!'. He blinks a few times, still feeling stunned stupid, as she runs off with an excited shriek of "I gotta tell Claire!".
(Shut it, Emma, you didn't call anything. Keep it up, kid, and I'm banning pudding for a week.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester standing on the side of the stage, thankfully hidden by the curtain, and going through the routine steps with the girls.
Normally, he's in the audience with all the other parents. This is usually Gretchen and Candi's gig, but Candi sprained something Zoomba-ing her ass into a bridesmaid's dress two sizes too small and Gretchen managed to get food poisoning at the only vegan place in town.
He hadn't been able to say no when Jody asked him to fill in, mostly because Jody has a way about her that makes questions sound like statements and saying 'no' nearly impossible.
He keeps up with the steps and music, remembering to give an encouraging smile whenever any of the girls glance over to follow his lead.
Cas is on the other side—because there was no way Dean was doing this alone—looking like a complete dork as he shimmies, hops and toe touches, but he's keeping up with the tempo and the steps are right. Still. He nearly loses it every time their eyes meet and Cas gives him that panicked 'how did I get talked into this?!' deer in headlights look even as he goes through the motions. Jazz hands never looked more ridiculous. Or a teensy bit adorable.
(One more crack about my booty-pop and you can do this yourself, Jody. It's flawless and awesome and you know it.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester being terrible at subtle or quiet, about anything.
He's known to shout and clap encouragement as the girls dance, he doesn't keep quiet about the petty power plays that sometimes go on among the parents'.
And now he's basically holding Cas' hand as they watch through the big window as Claire and Emma stumble through new dance steps.
He's not big on PDA and usually Cas is the one leaning in closer than socially normal or finding all sorts of tiny reasons to touch Dean. But he's feeling good today and that's invariably linked with touching Cas these days now that their dates sometimes mean the girls have a sleepover at Uncle Sam's. An accidental bump of his hand against Cas' leads to holding hands and Cas is too preoccupied, hand moving to clasp Dean's like second-nature, for Dean to complain about it.
Not that he really wants to. So he just relaxes against the wall, hand in Cas', and watches Emma dance with the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth as she focuses on her feet.
Donna is the first to notice and Dean can't be anything but nice about it because Donna is awesome and always brings the best doughnuts (once they were still warm and he nearly embarrassed himself as he made sex sounds as he ate it). Besides, Donna has always been nice to Cas so Dean just gives her a grin when she looks over, her mouth dropping open when her gaze drops to their clasped hands.
Donna sidles over, eyes shifty as she makes sure she's not drawing undue attention to them. He's waiting for shock, the 'awww' they sometimes get, or even some sort of smug 'I knew it!' like Sam had crowed, but Donna just gives him a bright smile and smacks his shoulder in a playful sort of congratulations with a look at Cas—who's completely absorbed in watching Claire and misses the entire exchange.
He eyes the bakery box in Donna's hands and happily takes a powdered cream doughnut with a sound of satisfaction when she opens the box.
He bites into it and gives Donna a moaning eyeroll of pleasure in thanks.
A few people turn to look but Dean just munches through his doughnut and chats with Donna until the girls finish up and come stumbling over, dragging their bags and looking exhausted. They perk up a little when Donna stuffs them full of fried sugar and they giggle over their dads' holding hands as they head to the car.
(Shut up about destination weddings and flowers, Em. No way, we're not doing anything fussy like that—not that we're... doing. That. You shut up, too, Cas. Keep laughing, pal, and there's a lumpy sofa in your immediate future.)
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Dance dad Dean Winchester and dance dad Castiel Novak groaning softly when both girls happy-dance and screech excitedly as they point out the flyer hanging up for the upcoming soccer season.
(I can't do coolers full of organic, non-GMO, gluten-free orange slices and tiny water bottles, Cas. I just can't. I'm a warrior! I need my high fructose corn syrup and preservatives.)