HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
That is, happy Thanksgiving to anyone reading this that's American. To any foreigners: wow, today's an awesome Thursday, isn't it?
Anyway, this is in the same universe as Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Of Snowball Fights and Cinnamon Buns. Basically, for anyone who hasn't read those, that means there's established Destiel, Gabriel is alive, and Dean set Charlie up with this girl named Emily that he met at Christmas. It's not strictly necessary to read those two before you read this, but I'd recommend it.
Either way, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
It seems like every holiday Dean celebrates can somehow be related back to Wal-Mart. Christmas shopping there and meeting Emily, Valentine's Day shopping there and meeting Gabriel… And now, Dean's going shopping at Wal-Mart with Sam and Castiel the day before Thanksgiving. Although he is mixing it up a little, as this Wal-Mart has a grocery section, which the other two didn't have. Regardless, it should be fun, especially with Castiel. Dean's never shopped with him before, but he expects it'll be amusing.
Gabriel doesn't come along. He pops in a lot more often nowadays. Sam claims they're "just friends," but Dean knows it's bullshit. He's gone through the "just friends" routine before. He can spot a lie. But Dean does nothing to call Sam and Gabriel out on it, because he's just that awesome a big brother.
"Dean?" Castiel asks in a quizzical voice, leaning forward from the backseat. Dean's not sure if he's scared for the question or not. "Why are we going to a place that sells walls?"
"No, Cas, Wal-Mart is just an all-purpose sort of store," Dean corrects, shaking his head with a fond grin. Castiel nods, but his forehead is still furrowed in a confused frown. "Sam, you explain it," Dean tells his brother, who's dozing in the passenger seat.
"What?" Sam yelps, still half-asleep. Dean sighs.
"Never mind," he tells Sam, who dozes off again instantly. Dean would tease him, but he knows Sam got literally no sleep for two nights in a row. Not that Dean got much either, but he did manage to catch an hour or so. Sam had no such luck. Also, his angel boyfriend apparently isn't as awesome as Dean's angel boyfriend, as Castiel has been giving Dean little pick-me-ups of energy. Gabriel hasn't done the same for Sam, it seems.
"Dean, what is the point of the holiday of Thanksgiving?" Castiel asks, leaning forward again. Dean sighs, pulling into a parking space outside the local Wal-Mart.
"Giving thanks," he replies dryly. Castiel gives him a look that shows he is not amused. "It's supposed to be because of the Pilgrims and shit. How they worked with the Indians and had a big party thanking them."
"But the Europeans systematically executed the Native Americans," Castiel tells Dean, sounding confused. "They purposefully infected them with diseases and killed-"
"Ruining my childhood, Cas," Dean interrupts. Castiel stops mid-sentence, tipping his head to the side in his signature puzzled look.
"How am I doing such a thing, Dean?" he asks. Dean sighs.
"Forget it. Let's go. Sam!"
"I've got the salt!" Sam exclaims, bolting upright. Dean raises an eyebrow at him. Sam shrinks back against the seat, looking embarrassed. "I was dreaming," he mumbles. Dean rolls his eyes.
"Whatever, Sleeping Beauty. Come on. Let's go." Dean steps out of the Impala, as do Sam and Castiel. Dean slips his hand into Castiel's, and the angel smiles slightly and squeezes in return.
"Can you two do that when I'm not around?" Sam complains loudly.
"No can do, Sammy," Dean replies with a smirk. Sam groans. Castiel looks down at his hand, entwined with Dean's, but he doesn't pull away. Dean's smirk transforms into a real smile. Sam rolls his eyes, but he doesn't say anything.
Dean snags a cart as they enter the store. "Okay, first we need to find a turkey."
"Sounds good to me," Sam replies. Castiel opens his mouth to ask a question, but seems to think better of it and closes his mouth. Dean wonders what Castiel was going to say, but decides that he probably doesn't want to know.
"Dean?" a voice calls. "Dean, is that you?" Dean turns around, tense, and scans his surroundings. When he finds the source of the voice, he smiles widely.
"Emily? Wow, long time no see!"
"Oh my god, I can't believe it's you! Charlie!" Another familiar face steps out from the aisle. It's Charlie, so she recognizes Sam as well.
"Dean? Sam? Wow, what are you guys doing here?" Suddenly, Charlie's eyes go wide in horror. "It's nothing to do with…you know what, is it?"
"No, no," Dean reassures her. "We just stopped here for Thanksgiving. What's up with you guys? Emily, we're across the country from where you live, aren't we?"
"Charlie and I moved in together," Emily replies, blushing. Dean looks at them in shock.
"Wow! Good for you!"
"Um, Dean?" Sam asks, tapping Dean on the shoulder. "Introductions?"
"Oh, right. Emily, this is my brother Sam." Dean gestures at Sam, who nods slightly. "Sam, this is Emily. I met her back around Christmas last year. She worked at the Wal-Mart I went to when I got your present."
"Nice to meet you, Sam," Emily said, putting her hand out. Sam smiled and shook Emily's hand.
"Nice to meet you too," he replies.
"And, um, this is Cas. Uh, Castiel," Dean tells Charlie and Emily. "My…my boyfriend."
"Oh my god!" Emily squeals. "You mean, you two…" Dean nods bashfully. "That's so awesome! I'm so happy for you guys!"
"I don't understand," Castiel puts in, sounding confused. "How do you know about our relationship?"
"Emily was the one that helped me realize I was in love with you, Cas," Dean says softly. "She helped me find that illustrated Bible for you. And this is Charlie. She helped us out with some stuff a while back."
"Hi!" Charlie says with a jaunty wave. "Charlie Bradbury. Nice to meet you."
"I am Castiel," Castiel replies gravely. Thankfully, he leaves off the "angel of the Lord" bit. Dean hopes he somehow understands that Emily knows nothing about hunting, and Dean would like it to stay that way.
"So you guys stopped here for Thanksgiving?" Emily asks. Dean nods. "What, have you got family here or something?"
"No," Dean replies. He doesn't blame Emily for the slight spasm of pain that question causes; there's no way she could have known what happened to the Winchester family. "We were on the road, but we figured we'd wait here and celebrate Thanksgiving before leaving."
"Why don't you join us for Thanksgiving?" Charlie suggests. Dean's startled at the offer.
"Wow, that would be…awesome. Are you sure?"
"It would be great!" Emily replies. "If all three of you are down with it, that is."
"Sounds good to me," Sam replies.
"I have no objection to this arrangement," Castiel adds. Dean rolls his eyes at the ridiculous wording. Charlie gives him a look that clearly asks is this guy for real? Dean nods minutely in response. She arches an eyebrow in surprise.
"Well, that settles it!" Emily exclaims with a clap. "Charlie and I live two streets away. 52 Sherwood Lane. Come on over around two. We've got the turkey covered, and we're going to try and make some pies too."
"Pie?" Dean asks with wide eyes. Sam laughs.
"I think you might have just made Dean fall in love with you," Sam laughs. "Not really, Cas," he adds when a frown creases Castiel's forehead.
"A pie fan?" Emily asks with a grin. Dean grins back, completely unabashed.
"Hell yeah."
Sam's phone decides to ring at that exact moment, causing everyone to look over at him. Sam turns slightly pink. When he pulls out his phone and sees who's calling, his face turns decidedly red.
"Um, I've gotta take this," he mumbles, stepping over to the side. Dean has a good idea of who's calling. He makes a pointed effort not to eavesdrop on the conversation (he's an awesome brother, right?), but he can't help but notice that Sam refers to the caller as "Gabe." He was right; Gabriel's the one calling. Dean wonders when he got a cell phone.
Sam looks a little flustered when he comes back over to the conversation at the end of the phone call. "That was Gabriel," he tells Dean and Castiel. "Apparently, he decided he would drop in for Thanksgiving."
"Is he family?" Emily asks. Dean nods.
"Cas's big brother," he replies. "And a friend of ours." He keeps off the especially Sam bit because, again, he's a completely awesome brother. But he's definitely thinking it, and Sam gives him a look that shows he wasn't quite as sly as he thought he was. Emily and Charlie don't seem to notice. They're communicating with each other by minute changes in expression. It's crazy. Dean has no idea what in hell they're saying.
"We've got enough space for him to eat with us too," Charlie finally offers.
"Really?" Sam asks. Charlie nods.
"Sure. Any friend of the Winchesters is a friend of ours." Both Emily and Charlie are smiling, so Dean assumes they agreed on it. Still, he doesn't want to impose. Especially not for Gabriel's sake.
"Are you sure you've got enough?" he asks. Emily nods.
"Yeah. We've got more than enough. Bring Gabriel along."
"Is there anything we should bring?" Sam asks. Dean's suddenly thankful that his moose of a brother is more well-mannered than he is. It would have probably been rude to leave without saying that, but it wouldn't have occurred to Dean.
"Well, we've got turkey, gravy, and dessert covered," Charlie replies. "And we have turnips back at our place. Can you guys do the mashed potatoes?"
"Sure," Sam replies with an easy smile. "Anything else?"
"Do you know how to make stuffing?" Emily asked. "Charlie and I can't figure it out."
"We'll try," Dean promises. "But I don't know if we'll do any better than you guys."
"Well, we can have dinner without stuffing if we need to," Emily replies. "Or Charlie and I can get some of the store-bought stuff." Charlie makes a face.
"That stuff tastes like ass," she complains. Dean stifles a laugh.
"We'll try and make homemade stuffing," he replies.
"I think that's it," Emily replies. "Unless you guys have anything else you want to add."
"I can't think of anything," Sam replies. "If we find something while we're shopping, we'll grab it."
"Sounds good," Emily replies. "Well, Charlie and I will go get our stuff. See you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow," Dean confirms. "Thanks for inviting us."
"Nice to meet you, Sam," Emily beams. "You too, Cas."
Castiel inclines his head slightly. "It was nice to meet you as well, Emily. The same regards are welcome to you, Charlie." Dean's not quite sure why he lets Castiel talk in public. Charlie's trying desperately to keep from giggling. Emily's better at keeping her composure.
"Yeah, same to you, Cas," Charlie says, fighting a smirk. "Nice to see you guys again," she directs at Sam and Dean. With a little wave, Emily and Charlie turn and walk off, arm in arm. Dean takes off in the opposite direction. Sam and Castiel follow after him.
"Did I say something humorous?" Castiel asks as they approach the vegetables. "Charlie seemed to find my comments quite amusing, but I don't see why."
"Cause you talk like you're meeting the Queen of England," Dean replies as he grabs a bag of potatoes. Damn it's heavy! Still, Dean figures too many is better than too few. They can eat the leftovers later if they need to.
"Is that a bad thing?" Castiel asks, looking a little hurt.
"No," Dean replies firmly. He notices out of the corner of his eye that Sam's wandered off to grab some things Dean doesn't recognize. He's fairly certain it's on purpose.
"But then why was Charlie laughing at me?" Castiel tilts his head to the side, a puzzled look on his face.
"Because most people don't talk like that. But it's okay." Dean smiles wryly. "You're not exactly most people."
"Is that a good thing?"
Dean gives Castiel a quick kiss on the lips. "It's a very good thing," he whispers. Castiel smiles softly.
"I'm glad," he replies. Dean stays close to Castiel for a moment longer than is strictly necessary, but after a moment, he sees Sam returning and pulls away.
"I grabbed some sweet potatoes too," Sam tells them, not mentioning anything. If Dean is an incredibly awesome brother, Sam's a pretty awesome one too.
"Cool," Dean replies. "Put 'em in the cart." Sam does so, and Dean slings the bag of potatoes in there as well. "We need to get the crap for stuffing next," he proclaims. "Sam. How the hell do you make stuffing?"
"I'm googling a recipe right now," Sam replies, tapping at the screen of his phone. Dean gives him a thumbs up.
"Alright. I'm guessing stuffing stuff will be this way, so let's go." Dean starts walking towards the area with the bread products. Castiel is right next to him. Sam trails a few steps behind, still staring at his phone.
"Okay, I found a simple stuffing recipe," Sam replies. "And it's got an average of four stars, so it should be good."
"What do we need?" Dean asks.
"Um, onions, celery, butter, bread cubes-"
"What the hell are bread cubes?" Dean interrupts.
"You take a loaf of bread and cut it into cubes, I think," Sam replies, frowning a bit. "Anyway, you also need pepper, eggs, salt, sage, poultry seasoning, and turkey broth."
"Okay." Dean turns and realizes Castiel isn't behind him anymore. "Cas?"
"He's over there," Sam says, pointing. Castiel has returned to the vegetable section and is getting an onion and some celery. Dean watches with a fond grin as he struggles with getting one of the plastic bags for a moment, but he figures it out fairly soon and bags the vegetables. He returns a moment later.
"I have the onion and celery," he tells Dean. Dean grins.
"Thanks, Cas. Put 'em in the cart, will you?" Castiel does so. "Okay, so what else do we need, Sammy?"
"Well, we're right by the bread," Sam replies. He goes over and looks at all of the bread options. "Why the hell are there so many choices?" he mutters.
"Get some of the whole wheat stuff," Dean calls over. Sam looks at him in surprise. "I can remember Mom making stuffing with whole wheat bread when I was little," Dean adds. Sam smiles slightly as he grabs a loaf of whole wheat bread.
"So eggs and butter are over there," Sam says, gesturing vaguely over to the right. "But I have no clue where salt and pepper are. Or sage. Or poultry seasoning."
"Probably with the spices," Dean replies. He begins to push the cart, looking for an aisle that seems promising. Before too long, he comes across one that's full of spices. "I bet it's here," he calls. Sam goes over to him, holding a carton of eggs.
"Cas is getting the butter," he says in response to Dean's unasked question. "Okay, so salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning."
"Don't we have enough salt for this recipe?" Dean asks as Sam searches the shelves.
"Dean, you don't cook with rock salt," Sam replies in a superior tone. Dean makes a face behind his back.
"I have the butter," Castiel says from right behind Dean. Dean doesn't jump; he's used to Castiel popping up by now. He gestures at the cart and Castiel places the butter in it. Sam's found the seasonings by this point, so he puts them in the cart.
"That's everything but the turkey broth," Sam declares. "And we need to get cooking stuff. Like measuring cups and a casserole dish to cook this in."
"Ugh," Dean groans. "Why don't we just see if we can borrow that shit from Charlie and Emily?"
"Fine," Sam replies, already walking off to find the turkey broth. Dean follows him, Castiel walking behind him.
Sam finds the turkey broth and puts it in the cart. "Alright, is that everything?" Dean asks. Sam nods.
"I think so," he replies.
"Okay." Dean turns to Castiel. "Anything else you can think of?"
"There are many things I can think of," Castiel replies, looking a little confused.
"Anything else you can think of that we need to get here," Dean elaborates.
"Oh. No," Castiel replies.
"Alright. Let's go check out, then I wanna get some sleep, cause I'm really freaking tired." Sam rolls his eyes, but follow Dean over to the check out. As Dean scans for the shortest line, he notices distinctive red hair and grins, walking over towards it. Charlie and Emily are checking out too, with a cart full of various foods.
"Hey, guys," Dean calls over as he pulls his cart into the next lane. Emily and Charlie turn towards him at the same time.
"Oh. Hi again!" Emily says with a smile. "Did you get everything?"
"Yup," Dean replies. He notices Charlie pulling a credit card out of her wallet. "Here," he says, pulling out his own wallet and holding three twenties out to Charlie. "This should cover it, right?"
"Oh, Dean, you really don't have to," Emily replies.
"I insist," Dean replies, still holding out the bills. "After all, we're going to probably eat more of your food than you will." Charlie still looks undecided. "Charlie, see this as payment for what you did for us back a couple years ago," he tells her. "We were in a tight spot, and you saved our asses." Charlie still doesn't reach for the bills. "Just take the damn money!" Dean finally exclaims, grabbing Charlie's hand gently and folding her fingers over the bills.
"Someone's pushy," Charlie mutters, but she's grinning as she says it. "Thanks, Dean."
"No problem." Dean smiles. "By the way, any way we could borrow some cooking stuff? We don't really have, like, anything."
"Why don't you come over early and cook at our house?" Emily offers. "We probably have a better kitchen than the motel or whatever you're staying in."
"Yeah, probably," Dean replies with a wry smile. "Thanks."
"No problem. Come on over around noon-ish," Charlie replies. Behind Dean, Sam's putting the food on the conveyer belt while Castiel watches him with slightly narrowed eyes. Dean figures he'd better do something about that before Castiel said something really weird. He grins at Emily and Charlie, then turns back to his own cart.
"Cas, quit staring," he mutters as he brushes past the angel. Castiel looks at him in confusion.
"But I-"
"I can explain this whole thing to you later," Dean promises in an undertone. "But for now, try to act normal, okay?"
"Alright," Castiel replies dubiously. He's still watching Sam and Dean, but he also starts taking foods out of the cart and passing them over. Dean shoots him a smile as he accepts the bag of potatoes.
Checking out doesn't take very long, and they're done at the same time as Emily and Charlie. They walk out of the store side by side.
"Well, see you tomorrow at noon then," Emily calls over as she and Charlie get into an old Subaru Outback.
"We'll be there," Dean promises in return as he slides behind the wheel of the Impala. This has the promise to be the best Winchester Thanksgiving ever.
"Hey, Sammy."
"Damn it, Gabriel!" Sam swears loudly. He turns around to see the archangel behind him with a giant smirk on his face. "Don't do that," Sam snaps as his heartbeat returns to normal.
"But you have the funniest reactions," Gabriel protests. Sam glares at him. "Come on, Sammykins. You know I love you."
"Not so loud!" Sam hisses, looking over at the sleeping figure of his brother on the bed. "What if Dean wakes up?"
"Dean-o could sleep through a nuclear bombing with the mojo I just used on him," Gabriel replies dismissively. Sam stares in shock.
"You put a spell on my brother?"
"Not a big spell," Gabriel replies, as if that makes it okay. "Besides, he needs sleep. The boosts he gets from Cas will only work for so long before he crashes."
"What if Cas comes back and hears you?" Sam challenges. Gabriel rolls his eyes.
"Cas is off checking out the town. He'll be sure to do a thorough job, so we've got at least five more minutes. More if he finds anything." Gabriel leans against the wall, giving Sam a piercing stare. "Why does it matter anyway? Why can't you just tell Dean and Cas about us? Not like they've got any room to judge."
"Gabe…" Sam sighs. Even though Gabriel is being completely understanding about this whole thing, Sam can still tell he wants to come out about their relationship. Sometimes he even looks hurt that Sam won't acknowledge it, not that Sam blames him. "Look, I just don't… I can't… I'm not ready."
"I'm not gonna push," Gabriel replies. Sam's filled with affection for his absolutely wonderful boyfriend. "But I'm sure it'll all turn out okay when you do say something. And it should probably be soon."
"I thought you said you won't push," Sam replies, hating that his voice sounds petulant.
"I won't. I promise. But Dean and Cas will figure it out on their own before too long. They might even suspect something already. But either way, this won't be able to stay a secret for too long."
"Really?" Sam can't help the anxiety that's clenching in his stomach. Gabriel, it seems, can sense it.
"Why are you so worried about this anyway?" he asks. "It's not like Dean and Cas aren't doing the exact same thing we are."
"Yeah, but you and Dean don't like each other." Suddenly, Sam's unsure. "You don't, do you?"
"Oh, Sammy. Sammy, Sammy, Sammy," Gabriel sighs. "Dean and I don't actually hate each other that much. See, the thing is that we're manly men."
"You're manly men," Sam repeats with a dubious air.
"Yes, we are," Gabriel replies petulantly. "Anyway, as manly men, we can't acknowledge that we no longer hate each other's guts. Instead, we act like we do, when in reality, we don't. It's part of the Man Code."
"The Man Code," Sam replies skeptically. Gabriel rolls his eyes.
"Apparently someone's not a real man."
"I think we both know I am," Sam replies seductively, rolling his hips slightly. Gabriel's eyes darken and he licks his lips, taking a step forward.
Then there's a flutter of feathers and Castiel appears in the middle of the room. "Hello, Gabriel," he says calmly. "Sam." His eyes flicker over to Dean and narrow slightly. Sam's convinced he knows the spell is there and he's going to confront them on it and everything's going to go to hell in a handbasket, but Castiel says nothing. Sam almost heaves a sigh of relief, but he realizes at the last second that that would probably be pretty suspicious, so he doesn't.
"Sammy here was just telling me to behave tomorrow," Gabriel lies smoothly. The thought occurs to Sam that he probably should tell the angels to behave and be careful what they say.
"Oh, yeah, by the way, Cas, Emily know nothing about the supernatural, and it's best if we keep it that way."
"I will refrain from telling her anything she should not know," Castiel replies. Gabriel gives Sam a winning smile.
"I'll be on best behavior, I promise. I won't conjure things up or anything."
"Good," Sam replies. He looks over at the clock. "I'm gonna go to sleep. Night."
"Good night," Castiel replies pleasantly.
"Sweet dreams." Gabriel winks seductively. Sam's throat suddenly goes dry and his pants become more than a little uncomfortable. He climbs into bed before anyone can notice.
He knows Gabriel's right; he knows they should tell Dean and Castiel. And he will. Sam swears it to himself. He will.
"Sam, we need to go!" Dean calls. Sam groans.
"Dean, lay off it," he calls back around a mouthful of toothpaste. "I'll be ready in like two minutes."
"So I assume I'm sitting in the back with Cassie," Gabriel puts in.
"My name is not Cassie," Castiel all but growls. Dean can't blame him; Gabriel's been pushing everyone's buttons all morning, and Castiel had to deal with him overnight as well.
"Yeah, you're going in the back," Dean replies. "But Sam's riding back there with you."
"Dean!" Sam protests as he steps out of the bathroom.
"Cas was in the backseat yesterday. Your turn."
"You're the worst," Sam groans. Castiel opens his mouth, probably to offer to sit in the back, but Dean shuts him up with a quick kiss.
"That is my baby brother you're kissing," Gabriel muses, as if the thought has just only occurred to him. Dean sticks up his middle finger in response. "How rude."
"Come on. Out to the car." Dean shepherds everyone out of the house and into the Impala. The groceries are in the back. Dean slides behind the wheel, tapping it impatiently. Castiel sits next to him, closing the passenger door. Sam and Gabriel maneuver into the back, with a lot more grumbling on Sam's part than is strictly necessary.
"Alright, let's go." Dean turns the keys in the ignition and the car rumbles to life. They pull out of the motel parking lot and, with some help from Castiel, Dean manages to get them to Charlie and Emily's house without too many detours.
"Hey, guys!" Emily calls from the front door. She's wearing an apron and she has her hair up in a messy bun. "Charlie and I are just putting the pies in the oven. Everything in the kitchen is ready for you two."
"We're gonna go take a shower," Charlie adds as she appears behind Emily. She too is wearing an apron, although her hair is only in a ponytail.
"Nice house," Dean compliments as he goes up the walkway. It is a nice house; not too big, but not tiny either.
"Thanks," Charlie replies. "Oh, and you must be Gabriel," she directs over Dean's shoulder.
"The one and only," Gabriel replies with a smile, shaking Charlie's hand as she holds it out. "Thank you girls for letting me join in your Thanksgiving meal."
"No problem," Emily replies, shaking Gabriel's hand as well. "The more the merrier, right?"
"Oh, definitely," Gabriel replies, his golden eyes sparkling with mischief. Dean hopes he can behave for the next few hours. He doubts it, but a man can dream.
Charlie leads them into the kitchen and shows them around before going upstairs to join Emily in the shower. "So," Dean says as he looks around. "Cooking. Can't be that hard, right?"
The mashed potatoes and the sweet potatoes are simple. Sam gets Gabriel to help out with peeling (and it makes the peeling go much faster when the peelers do the work themselves). Dean and Castiel take over making the stuffing.
"So, um, I guess we need to cut the bread into cubes," Dean says, peering at the recipe they printed out. "Can you do that while I cut up the onion and celery?"
"Of course," Castiel replies, picking up a knife. He handles it with practiced ease, considering he's been trained extensively in using a sword. Dean's pretty good with a knife himself and his cuts are quick and precise.
"How exactly do you sauté something?" he asks Castiel when he finishes.
"It's simple," Castiel replies, pulling a pan out of the cabinet. "We need to sauté them in butter, yes?"
"Here you go," Dean says, handing Castiel the butter. Castiel began to sauté the onion and celery with an ease that told Dean he had to have done this before. "Where'd you learn to sauté shit?"
"Jimmy was a cook," Castiel replies. "And I cooked with Daphne sometimes, back when we were married."
"Huh." Dean grabs a large mixing bowl for the next part of the recipe. He cracks and beats the two eggs before pouring them in, then adds the salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. He takes Castiel's cutting board of bread cubes and adds them to the bowl as well.
"Done," Castiel tells him as he takes the pan off the burner.
"Sounds good," Dean replies. "Put that in here." Castiel tips the pan over the bowl. With a slight flick of his wrist, he cleans the pan and puts it away. "You do realize you're stuck with doing the dishes from now on, right?" Dean tells him as he begins to stir the mixture, adding a bit of the turkey broth. The recipe says to stir in broth until the mixture is well moistened. After adding a decent amount of broth, Dean's pretty sure that the contents of the bowl have reached "well moistened" and grabs the casserole dish Castiel already greased for him. He pours the stuffing into it and puts the cover on.
"The recipe says to bake at 325," Dean says. He looks over at the stove. The pies are in it, baking at a different temperature. "I guess we'll have to wait until those are done."
"Ooh, this is fun," Gabriel says to Dean's left as he begins to mash the now-boiled potatoes. He's doing the regular potatoes (and having entirely too much fun) while Sam takes care of the sweet potatoes. Between the two of them, Dean doesn't think it'll take too long.
"Hey, guys!" Charlie's standing in the doorway of the kitchen with dripping hair and a big smile. "You find everything okay?"
"Yeah, thanks," Dean replies, smiling back at her. The timer on the oven beeps and Charlie crosses the room to peer in at the pies.
"I think these are done," she says. "Wanna put the stuffing in?"
Dean puts the casserole dish into the oven and Charlie fiddles with the controls. "This should bake at 325 for thirty-five to forty-five minutes," Dean tells her. "But the recipe says you should take the cover off for the last five minutes to let it brown."
"I'll set the timer for half an hour, then," Charlie replies.
"Charlie!" Emily calls from the other room. "Come on in! You're missing the parade!"
"They're replaying the parade," Charlie tells Dean. "Emily and I missed it the first time around because we were cooking, but we were gonna watch it this time. Do you want to watch with us?"
"Sure," Dean replies, following Charlie into the living room. Castiel follows right behind him, with Sam and Gabriel a few steps behind.
"Hey guys!" Emily says cheerily with a small wave. "The parade's about to start!" Charlie curls up next to Emily on their little loveseat. Gabriel goes over and sits on the floor and Sam sits next to him. Dean and Castiel remain standing, behind the couch.
"Cas, there's gonna be some weird shit in the parade," Dean whispers to the angel. "But just…don't ask, okay? I'll explain it to you later if you ask me."
"Alright," Castiel replies in an undertone.
"Shush!" Emily hushes. "The parade's starting!"
Just as Dean expected, Castiel watches the parade with a puzzled frown on his face. Dean slings an easy arm around his shoulder and Castiel relaxes into it, his frown softening slightly.
In the other room, the timer for the oven beeps. Dean slips away to see if the stuffing is ready. It looks pretty much done, so he shoves it back in without the cover so it can brown for five minutes, whatever the hell that means. Five minutes later, he pulls it out again, turns off the oven, and goes back to the living room.
Castiel has joined Sam and Gabriel on the floor, staring curiously at the screen. One of those AT&T commercials with the little kids is playing. Dean will never admit he finds those commercials cute.
"The stuffing's done," he announces.
"Great!" Emily replies. "The actual parade part is going to start after the commercial break."
"Good to know I didn't miss it," Dean replies with a grin.
"You did miss the Rockettes," Charlie tells him with a smirk.
"Damn," Dean replies jokingly, sitting down next to Castiel. He can't help but notice that Sam and Gabriel are as close together as he and Castiel. They're not even doing a good job of hiding their relationship anymore. Dean wonders when they'll officially come out as dating.
A little black furball suddenly darts down the stairs and jumps into Emily's lap. "Jimmy!" she protests with a laugh. Charlie laughs too.
"Looks like Fuzzball here wanted to join in the fun."
"His name is Jimmy!" Emily insists, but she's laughing too hard to sound serious. Jimmy jumps out of her lap and trots over to Dean.
"Hey, buddy," Dean says, petting the cat's sleek black fur. "You remember me?" Castiel is watching the cat with wide, eager eyes. Dean picks Jimmy up - much to his dismay - and repositions him in the middle of Dean and Castiel. Carefully, as if he's worried to be too fast, Castiel begins to pet Jimmy's back. The look of pure joy on his face almost makes Dean want to get a cat for him. Almost.
Jimmy seems to decide he likes Castiel the best, as he curls up in his lap and stays there for the remainder of the parade. Castiel keeps shooting the cat wide-eyed looks, as if he's surprised he's still there. Through the whole parade, he keeps steadily petting Jimmy's back, eliciting a soft purring noise. Dean notices out of the corner of his eye that Sam's resting his head against Gabriel's. Gabriel looks more peaceful than Dean thinks he's ever seen him, and the soft smile on Sam's face makes him look years younger. Dean says nothing.
When the parade ends, Charlie and Emily go into the kitchen, followed by all the others. "Gabriel and I can set the table," Sam offers. Charlie smiles.
"Thanks," she says, showing Sam and Gabriel where the cutlery and plates are. Gabriel grabs six plates and Sam grabs forks, knives, and spoons.
"You giving up on keeping us a secret?" Gabriel asks Sam in an undertone as they begin to set up the dining room. "Resting your head against mine wasn't very subtle."
"I'm done with subtlety," Sam replies as he places forks at every plate Gabriel sets down. When they've both circled the table, Gabriel grabs the spoons and Sam grabs the knives.
"Really?" Gabriel asks, sounding hopeful. Sam nods.
"Yeah, really." To prove it, he even gives Gabriel a quick kiss, although he automatically checks the doorway to make sure no one's watching.
"Good," Gabriel replies, a huge smile on his face. The moment is interrupted as Dean comes in with the stuffing, Castiel carrying both the mashed potatoes and the sweet potatoes behind him.
"Wow," Charlie says as she comes out behind them with the gravy, watching as Castiel effortlessly carries a heavy bowl in each hand. "You're pretty strong."
"Thank you," Castiel replies. Sam's surprised at how normal that response is (well, normal for Castiel, at least).
"Is this everything?" Emily asks as she walks in with the turkey. Charlie nods.
"Except drinks." She reaches into the fridge and grabs a pitcher of water.
"We brought some wine," Gabriel puts in. Sam looks at him in surprise. He doesn't remember them bringing wine. Dean's face shows the same emotion. "Sammy and I will go get it."
Gabriel grabs Sam's hand and drags him outside to the car. "We didn't bring wine," Sam hisses. Gabriel snaps. The Impala's trunk pops open, revealing a bottle of wine.
"We didn't?"
Sam rolls his eyes. "Where'd this come from?"
"Oh hush, I didn't steal it. Not technically, at least. This is good wine. I acquired it a few weeks ago and I've been waiting for a good time to have it. I think Thanksgiving counts, don't you?"
"You're ridiculous," Sam groans. "And what do you mean, you didn't technically steal it?"
"I'll explain later. Now…" Gabriel pushes Sam up against the Impala and gives him a long, hard kiss, tangling his fingers in Sam's long hair. When he finally pulls back, Sam's slightly dazed. "That's for being a great boyfriend," Gabriel whispers before grabbing the bottle of wine and going back to the house. Sam follows him, running his hands through his hair to try and get it back to looking reasonable.
"Wow, this is like…really good wine," Charlie says, looking at the label. "Where'd you get it?"
"It was a gift," Gabriel replies. "I've been waiting for the right occasion to drink it."
"Well, thanks!" Charlie takes the bottle and puts it in the kitchen for after dinner. Everyone else is sitting down and she joins them with a smile.
"Well, um, happy Thanksgiving!" Emily says brightly. "Let's eat!"
Everyone laughs and starts serving themselves and each other. Castiel doesn't take much, but Dean forces him to have a bit of everything. Gabriel, on the other hand, takes so much food Sam's not sure how he plans to eat all of it. Dean's plate is a close second in terms of the ridiculous amount of food. Sam, Charlie, and Emily are more reasonable.
The meal is a happy affair, with everyone laughing and joking together. When they're finally completely stuffed, Charlie grabs the wine and pours everyone a glass.
"So I was thinking we could all say what we're thankful for," she suggested. "I know it's kinda cliché, but…"
"Sounds good," Sam says with a smile as he accepts his glass of wine.
"I'll start," Emily says. "I'm thankful for, above all, my wonderful Charlie." Charlie's cheeks go bright red. "I'm thankful for our house and the food we have. I'm thankful we're all healthy and together, and for Jimmy, and…" She grins shyly. "I guess I'm just thankful that we have the privilege of having such a comfortable life." She turns to Dean, who's next to her. "Your turn."
"Well, what's left to say after that?" Dean asks. "I'm thankful for my angel of a boyfriend, Castiel." Sam coughs to hide a laugh. "I'm thankful that Sammy and I are both okay. I'm thankful that we're all okay, actually. Um…all the stuff Emily said too. Cas?"
"I'm thankful for you, Dean," Castiel starts. Dean goes faintly pink. "And you two, Sam and Gabriel. And both of you, Emily and Charlie. I'm thankful that God cares for us and is watching out for us. And I am thankful that we are all well."
"Nice job, Cas," Dean says softly, squeezing Castiel's free hand.
"Okay," Charlie starts. "So I'm thankful for my perfect girlfriend Emily. And I'm thankful for all the other stuff she said, like the house and the food. I'm thankful for computers." Emily giggles. "And I'm thankful that there aren't any monsters that want to eat me." Sam's lip quirks in a small smile.
"Okay, my turn?" Gabriel asks. "I'm thankful that I'm back with my little bro again. I'm thankful the Winchesters let me tag around. I'm thankful for candy. And I'm thankful Sammy here is such a great friend." Gabriel nudges Sam. "Your turn, Samsquatch."
"Oh, okay. I'm thankful that Dean and I are both safe. I'm thankful Dean's found someone as great as Cas to be with. I'm thankful we've got food and enough money to live by. And…" Sam swallows, gathering all his courage. "And I'm thankful for my b-boyfriend, Gabriel."
"About freaking time!" Dean says loudly. Gabriel looks slightly shocked, but the expression only lasts for a second before he grabs Sam and kisses him again. "Oh, ew," Dean groans softly. Sam thinks he hears Castiel laugh quietly, but then Gabriel does something with his tongue that makes Sam lose all coherent thought.
When they finally pull apart, Dean's rolling his eyes fondly. "You guys are ridiculous, you know. You could have told us about that before instead of doing the crappiest job hiding it ever."
"Shut up, Dean," Sam snaps playfully.
"So basically what I got out of this is we're all thankful we're alive and well, and we're thankful for our respective significant others," Emily summarizes.
"I can drink to that," Dean says, holding out his wineglass.
"You can drink to anything," Sam mutters, but he taps his glass against his brother's with a wide smile.
Without a doubt, this is the best Thanksgiving Sam can remember. And from the looks on the others' faces, they seem to agree.
"Happy Thanksgiving, everybody," Sam says, slipping his hand into Gabriel's. They all clink glasses and drink happily.
This Thanksgiving, they all definitely have something to be thankful for.