Fame Crazy (Sequel to Strings Attached)

Chapter 185

A/N I'm chapter cramming so I can drag out the fluff later and because I know what I want chapter 200 to be so I gotta make way for that so enjoy some long chapters

Castiel eventually makes it to Sioux Falls, after being faced with what feels like a hundred cameras. He makes weird faces towards all of them, as always. Hopefully, people will see that he's not the sad person everyone thought he was after the photos leaked. They'd be wrong, of course, but that's not the point.

He takes a taxi to the Novak house, lugging his suitcase behind him. He's pleasantly surprised to find the front door unlocked, and just walks in. He leaves his suitcase by the door and looks around, but the second he finds his family, he freezes.

"Hey?" he says awkwardly, and though he means for it to go towards everyone, he can't take his eyes off Claire.

"Hey," she says, giving him a small wave with one hand, her other on her stomach. "Surprise?"

Castiel just stares at her for a moment, then says, "Are you...?"

She gives him a small, almost hesitant smile. "Yes."

Castiel nods slowly. "Okay... Do — do you know who the father is?"

Claire glances to the side, and Castiel follows her gaze to see Lucifer, Samandriel, and Adam all sitting at the kitchen table. Samandriel and Adam are playing some card game, seemingly Go Fish, and Lucifer has a guinea pig in his lap. The oldest boy raises a hand awkwardly, his other resting on top of his pet to keep him from running away. "That would be me."

Castiel's eyes widen at that. "Wait, you and — but —"

Claire nods. "We were going to tell you at Christmas, which is why it was smaller than usual and why we told you that you had to come, but obviously, that didn't work out."

"Huh." Castiel takes a moment to process that. And he thought it was just for the Disney trip. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Not yet," Claire tells him.

"Do you have names picked out?" Castiel asks, trying to be conversational instead of just staring at the small but still noticeable baby bump.

She nods. "Alex. Works for either a boy or a girl."

"Any particular reason why, or do you just like the name?" He's pretty sure Lucifer never knew anyone named Alex, celebrities he fangirls over included, so it must be Claire's choice.

"I had a friend named Alex," she explains, "but she killed herself almost four years ago. It's kinda in her honor, ya know?"

"That's sweet," Castiel says, mostly because he's not sure what else to say. Maybe under different circumstances, he would have a response to that story, but he's still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Lucifer got Claire pregnant. That might take a while to sink in.

~~

Castiel searches for Lucifer that night, because he's yet to officially meet Mark the guinea pig. He finds his brother in his bedroom with the lights turned off, staring at his computer screen as he edits a video, his head resting in his hand. Castiel has never seen Lucifer look so bored in his entire life.

"Hey," Castiel says quietly.

Lucifer jumps at the sound of his voice. "Oh, hey, Castiel." He stifles a yawn and turns around to face his brother. "What brings my favorite magical rainbow here?" He puts in a cheerful smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Castiel asks.

"What'd'ya mean?" Lucifer asks. "I'm fine. Just editing a vlog. How are you?"