The walk to Castiel’s house felt quicker than normal. They talked about school almost the entire time. Sarah complained about math and Castiel listened. He threw in a few teasing remarks, but most of the time he stayed silent, and made Sarah think she talked too much and annoyed him. Before she could do anything about it, they arrived at Castiel’s house.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” Castiel said and walked in.

Sarah rocked the baby carriage while waiting. Tim was wearing a coat and a beanie and was carefully covered by a blanket. It was totally quiet. Sarah almost hold her to avoid making any noise either. It felt wrong to break the atmosphere.

Then a car drove past the house way over the speed limit. It scared a few birds from the nearby trees, and Sarah jumped from the sudden loud noises. The birds screamed at Sarah before flying away.

“It wasn’t my fault,” she muttered. After the car had passed silence returned quickly.

After twenty minutes of waiting, Sarah started to worry. Castiel was taking his time. What if something had happened? Sarah was about to head inside to see if Castiel had passed out on the floor when the door opened and Castiel walked out with Ares. Upon seeing Sarah, Ares jumped down the doorsteps and nearly pulled Castiel down with him while has was closing the door, but he managed to hold his balance. Castiel yanked the leash to stop Ares.

“Calm down,” he said. Ares sat down and looked at Castiel. His tail wagged wildly. Few seconds passed until Castiel nodded. “Good boy.” Ares bounced forward again and hurried to sniff Sarah. She backed off a few steps; Ares approached too fast. Castiel yanked the leash again.

“Didn’t I just tell you? Calm. Down.” Ares huffed and sat down again. Castiel sighed and looked at Sarah. “Go say hi to him instead. Maybe he’s a bit calmer that way.”

“O-okay.” She walked to Ares whose tail thumped against the ground with great force. His tongue hanged out of his mouth. “Hello,” she said and smiled. She reached out her hand so Ares could sniff it and scratched him from the side of his neck. “You’re very enthusiastic today, aren’t you?” she said leaning a bit closer to Ares. The dog saw an opportunity and jumped up sliding his tongue across Sarah’s face, covering it with slobber. Sarah staggered back and almost stumbled on her feet.

“Ares!” Castiel shouted. Sarah wiped her face on her coat sleeve. “Are you alright?” There was concern in Castiel’s voice and his brow was furrowed.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Her heart bounded in her chest and she took a few deep breaths in hopes to calm it down.

“I don’t know what’s gone into him today. He’s constantly hassling,” Castiel sighed.

“It’s alright,” Sarah said. Her heartbeat had calmed down a bit already. “I was surprised, that’s all.”

“He should still behave,” Castiel grumbled and looked sternly at Ares. With his ears pulled back, the dog almost looked remorseful. “Yeah, you hear me? You better behave or we aren’t going anywhere.” Ares huffed and Castiel rolled his eyes. “Can you perhaps walk normally now?” he asked from the dog and took a few steps. Ares stood up but didn’t bounce to any direction. “Good. Let’s go.”

The walk towards the park began once again. Sarah pushed Tim’s carriage while Castiel tried to keep Ares out of the way. He got his energy back quickly and would’ve bounced at every direction if Castiel didn’t stop every time he tried to. He was becoming increasingly irritable and Sarah heard him mutter to himself every time they stopped. Sarah tried to keep track on how many times they stopped but lost count after fifteen.

They finally reached the park and after making sure it was empty, Castiel let Ares off his leash. The dog immediately darted forward. He trashed through bushes and ran in circles, almost losing his balance from making such tight curves. He ran past Castiel and Sarah, and almost hit Castiel who jumped out of the way. He looked at the dog and shook his head.

“What an idiot,” he sighed but with a smile on his face.

Ares splashed through a muddy puddle and lied down on the grass, panting and tongue almost touching the ground.

“Great,” Castiel mumbled and sat down on the bench. Sarah sat down next to him, as she had done many times already. This was forming into a nice routine.

“Are you surely fine?” he asked. “About Ares? He didn’t mean anything bad. Looks like he just has his dumb brain on today.”

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Sarah said. “I know he was just excited.” She had been surprised but not scared. “I know him a bit better already, so it wasn’t bad. If it was a dog I didn’t know, or if he had done that when I first saw him, I probably would’ve been scared,” she continued and looked at Ares who rolled on the grass. His belly was covered in mud and dry leaves.

Castiel nodded. He had tried to make sure that Ares would behave himself around Sarah. He didn’t want to purposefully make her feel uncomfortable when she had agreed on walking with them. He could’ve done better job at it. Castiel was surprised Sarah even wanted to be around Ares after what happened during the weekend.

“Have you always been afraid of dogs?” he asked. “Well, you don’t have to say if you don’t want to,” he quickly added. Castiel didn’t want to pry with his questions.

“I guess. I’ve never had any traumatic experience with dogs. I just haven’t been around them much, so I guess I’m not used to them. Big dogs have always made me nervous because they’re, well, big. I don’t mind small dogs as much.”

“Makes sense. It’s normal to be wary of things you don’t know well.” He had always liked dogs, so being around them just felt natural for him.

“Have you always had a dog?” Sarah asked in turn.

But before Castiel could reply, Tim started crying. “Oh, he’s hungry,” Sarah said. She had noticed that Tim cried slightly differently depending on what was wrong, and this was his hungry cry. She was already getting up, but Castiel waved at her to sit down again.

“It’s my turn to take care of him.” Castiel’s offers to do something for Tim always surprised Sarah and she felt bad about it. She should’ve believed in him more. She sat down again while Castiel took a bottle from the bag and picked up Tim. He pushed the bottle in the doll’s mouth, and Tim stopped crying. Castiel sat back on the bench, and Ares trotted over to see what his human was doing. A long string of slobber hung from the corner of his mouth.

“Stay away,” Castiel said and moved the doll out of Ares’s reach and pushed the dog away with his leg. He didn’t want slime on himself.

“You’re starting to look like a real father,” Sarah grinned and scratched Ares’s bum before he ran after a bird.

“Don’t even start,” Castiel muttered and hurried Tim back to his carriage. He was more used to this care stuff now, but he didn’t enjoy it. If this project’s purpose was to make him not want kinds ever, it was doing fantastic job at it.

“But this isn’t such a terrible project to do, is it?” Sarah asked.

“It could be worse. I don’t like it but at least it’s different from all the essays and exams. And it’s pretty close to taking care of a puppy.”

“How so?”

“You can’t leave them alone for too long, they need a lot of food, and they piss constantly,” Castiel said. Sarah let out a laugh.

“When you put it that way, I guess it’s true,” she said. “Puppy takes a lot of work then, I assume.”

“Yep. Or at least Ares did. He chewed table and chair legs, couch legs and corners, shoes, doorframes… My parents weren’t thrilled about it. When he became quiet, you knew he was either sleeping or eating something he shouldn’t have. Usually the latter.”

“Wow. Sounds rough.”

“It was annoying. But luckily, he learned out of it quickly after teething stopped. That was the worst time. We gave him chew toys and bones, but he destroyed them immediately. But after he got his new teeth, the bad chewing stopped. We had to tell him ‘no’ many times, but he realised quickly.” It had been a relief. Mum had threatened to use tabasco if Ares didn’t stop the chewing, and Castiel didn’t want to subject his dog to such a thing.

“That’s good. I’d imagine that if he still did that, he’d chew a lot more than just couch corners,” Sarah said. Ares could probably eat the entire couch.

“If he still did that, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have him anymore,” Castiel sighed. “My parents weren’t excited when I told I wanted a Rottweiler. We had only had a spaniel when I was young, and they were worried. And I guess rightfully so. It’s been tough sometimes. I could have him on the condition that I’d train him so that he behaves well and doesn’t cause trouble. All the chewing tested their limits, especially mum’s because she liked all the furniture we had at the time. She probably would’ve got rid of Ares if he continued longer.”

“I think it’s great that they gave him a chance,” Sarah said. “Some people would’ve been more absolute.” Her mother would’ve been one of those people and returned the puppy.

“Yeah.” Castiel was quiet for a while and then spoke again: “I don’t say it often, but I really appreciate they did it. Ares is important to me.”

Sarah smiled softly. She could see that the bond between Castiel and Ares was deep, and they loved each other a lot.

“Oh well, I think I’ve been sappy enough,” Castiel said and coughed a bit. He didn’t usually open up like this to people other than Leon, so he didn’t know what to think about this.

He whistled for Ares who ran to him carrying a stick. He was covered in mud and looked extremely proud of his find. Castiel took the stick and threw it as far as he could. Ares dashed after it. Castiel was determined to squeeze every bit of extra energy out of the dog.

Ares returned with the stick and Castiel took it, offering it to Sarah. “Do you want to throw?”

Hesitantly Sarah accepted the stick. She threw it with all her might. It landed on the bush on the other side of the path and Ares trotted to fetch it.

“Your throws suck,” Castiel laughed.

“Just rub salt in the wound,” Sarah sighed. She was terrible at sport related things, especially if they included throwing or kicking things.

“Few more walks with Ares and you’ll be a master thrower. I’ll delegate playing with him to you.”

“We don’t actually have more than few walks left so I guess I have to pick up the pace,” Sarah said. They would return the dolls at the end of the week and then there was no need for her to accompany Castiel and Ares for their walks. Realizing it made Sarah sad. She had started to enjoy these moments.

“Oh right.” Castiel didn’t say anything else. He threw the stick farther than before.

They continued to throw the stick for a few more minutes until Ares didn’t even want to fetch it anymore. He just sat in front of Castiel, tongue hanging out of his mouth. He was exhausted but happy. It was time to go home.

“Good boy,” Castiel said and clipped Ares’s leash to his harness.

Sarah took Tim and they headed back. Ares was calmer and walked nicely on the leash. He was too tired to try anything, and Castiel took advantage of this and made him walk right next to the baby carriage. The dog didn’t try to walk in front of it once. Great progress from other times.

At Castiel’s house, Sarah parked the carriage next to the doorsteps. Castiel tried to get keys out of his pocket while Ares circled him, slowly wrapping him into a neat package with his leash. He was eager to get in for a drink of water.

“I think I’ll head home. Thanks for…” Sarah stared but Castiel interrupted him.

“Could you bring Tim in? I need to wash Ares since the idiot got himself dirty.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Sarah said. She picked up Tim and the diaper bag and followed Castiel inside. He had already disappeared in the bathroom. She could hear running water and swearing from that direction. Muddy pawprints on the floor led that way too.

Sarah had made her way to the living room but didn’t know what to do next. Should she just leave Tim on the couch and head out? But it’d be rude to just leave without saying anything... She was also a bit curious. Her last visit to Castiel’s house had been restricted to seeing the bathroom and sitting on the couch. She wouldn’t pry too much but photos on the bookshelf caught her attention. Castiel was nowhere to be seen, so she walked closer to look at them.

There were several pictures of a small boy who clearly was Castiel. His hair was brighter red but grey eyes and a slightly mischievous smile made drawing the connection easy. A few pictures included a black and white dog, probably the spaniel Castiel had mentioned. One of the biggest pictures on the shelf was a family portrait with Castiel and his parents. Castiel took a lot after his dad in appearance. They both had sharp features and deep brown hair. Castiel’s mother had blonde hair in the picture but Sarah guessed she dyed it a lot because in the wedding picture, she had more caramel brown hair. There were also few photos of Ares as a puppy and Castiel playing with him. Sarah smiled at the pictures. They were a happy looking family.

Among the pictures there were also plenty of small statues and other foreign looking items: carved wooden animals, tiny porcelain teacups, miniature sized Venetian masks, and ornately decorated boxes with whole cities painted on them. They all looked beautiful. Castiel’s parents clearly travelled a lot.

“Do you know the saying ‘curiosity killed a cat’?” asked a whisper right next to Sarah’s ear. Her heart leaped in her throat and she jumped from surprise, almost dropping Tim. She spun around to see Castiel’s face only few inches away from her own. Her heart drummed wildly, and her cheeks were on fire.

“Yes… They also say that satisfaction brought it back,” Sarah whispered, doing her best to keep her voice steady and not let it quiver. Castiel was still so awfully close she didn’t dare to move, barely even breathe.

“Really? What might that mean?” Castiel’s low and soft voice made Sarah’s neck hair stand up. Her heart picked up even faster pace and Sarah felt like she might pass out.

“Th--that the cat was so happy about what it found that it came b--back to life,” she said and couldn’t avoid little falter in her voice.

“Interesting” was all that Castiel said and leaned closer. Sarah felt his warm breath on her neck and hands on her hip. It sent a shiver down her spine and paralysed her. She couldn’t move and she held her breath.

Sounds were coming from the front door but neither of them noticed. They focused on each other.

“Cassy! We’re home!” a woman shouted.

“Why is there a baby carriage outside?” now the voice was closer and before either of them could react, a red-haired woman appeared in the living room. Sarah thought her heart would stop a second time, and she staggered away from Castiel, almost bumping in the bookshelf. Castiel closed his eyes.

“Mum,” he sighed.