Sled Ride.
A Christmas fic.
"Sammy!" Dean ran up the stairs noisily.
"What?" his little brother's annoyed voice came from behind the door of his bedroom.
Dean busted in. His brother was sitting at his desk with his laptop and his study books open in front of him, looking up disturbed.
"Man, I can't believe you're still sitting on your ass here". He walked up to the window and drew open the curtains. A view so white it made him squint his eyes revealed itself.
"Snow, Sammy!" He stared at his brother as if this was a huge revelation.
"Yeah, Dean, that's snow", Sam said slowly, slightly sarcastic. Dean hated when his brother acted like this. Snotty little jerk.
"So how about a little sled ride?" Dean asked with a grin.
"Dean, you know I have finals after the holidays. I have to study".
"Aw c'mon, man. You gotta get out some time. It can't be healthy to sit inside all day".
"Aren't you a bit old to sled, Dean? You're eighteen".
"Yeah, so?" He shrugged. "Aren't you a bit too young to spent all of your holiday days sniffing around in dusty books?"
Sam shook his head. "Sorry Dean".
"Fine, I'll go by myself. Too bad though, now you won't get to ride my epic sled". And he slammed the door.
It was the Christmas holidays, and it had been snowing all night, so everything was covered in a thick layer. It was simply a waste to not use this opportunity to try out his new sleigh.
He put on his thick winter coat, sneakers and went outside. Dragged his sled out of the shed. When he was about to be on his way, he saw someone standing in front of the window. It was the neighbour kid.
The new neighbours were a bit weird. Or so Dean thought. He didn't actually know them. They had been living next door to them for two weeks now, and they hadn't introduced themselves yet. It was a family that kept to themselves. Also they looked a bit strange. The mother wore long skirts up to her ankles and long stockings. Who dressed like that? Probably one of those religious freaks. They had a son that was about Dean's age: this funny-looking kid with dark hair that looked like it had never seen a comb. Always wearing ugly, old-fashioned jumpers.
Right now, he was wearing a particularly ugly jumper with reindeers on it. He suppressed the need to puke. The boy on the other side of the window caught his gaze though. For a moment they stared at each other. Spontaneously he held up his hand, in a hesitating wave. The boy did the same. Dean smiled. An idea bubbled to his head. He walked up to the door and rang. The boy frowned and disappeared out of sight. A moment later he opened the door. Dean took a good look at him. Actually when you saw him from up close, he wasn't at all unattractive. Far from it. He could see that beneath the reindeer sweater, he was quite well-built. Slender, but muscular. After a second of taking all this in he noticed he'd unconsciously been wetting his mouth.
"Yes?" He looked at Dean almost suspiciously. His voice was not at all what you might expect. It sounded like it came from somewhere deep dowm in his throat. Like he's been deep throating or something. Okay seriously, he had to cut it with the dirty thoughts.
"Hey, I'm Dean". Dean pulled out his most charming smile and reached out his hand. The boy looked at his hand as if studying it, before he hesitantly let his hand slide in his.
"Castiel", he mumbled.
"I uh, I was gonna go sledding". He tapped on his sleigh that was standing next to him. "This here's my sled. Wanna come?"
The boy, Castiel, looked thoughtful.
"I actually need to study".
"Aw man, not you too. I'm surprised you and my brother aren't BFF's yet".
"Well, I suppose my parents are away for a while…"
"Dude, it's just sleighing. You need permission to go sleighing?"
"My parents don't like me taking off with strangers".
Dean laughed out loud. "Are you serious? We live next door to each other. You know my name's Dean, I know your name is Cas… Castiel. So we're not strangers, right? We're just going to have a bit of fun with my awesome sleigh. I'll bring you home safe".
His new neighbour smiled. "All right. I guess I can come for a while".
Dean beamed. "Awesome!"
He disappeared into the hallway, and returned in a coat. At least his coat was cool.
"What are you wearing anyway?" Dean pointed at his reindeer jumper.
"Oh, this…" Castiel plucked at the sweater. "My mom made it for me last Christmas".
Dean huffed out a laugh. "All right Heidi Klum, let's go". The other boy frowned at that comment, which caused Dean to laugh even more.
They walked through the snow together, around the block, and a couple of other blocks, to the park that had a good hill for sleighing. Dean used the opportunity to subject his new neighbour to a load of questions.
"So, where do you come from?"
"Salt Lake City".
"That's pretty religious then, isn't it?"
"Yes".
"Are you religious?"
His neighbour shot him a curious look and seemed to become red, as if the questions made him shy. "I was raised catholic".
"What about you?"
He didn't know why he asked him such a personal question already, but the boy provoked a raging curiousity from him. He wanted to know everything there was to know about him.
"I consider myself agnostic", he answered slowly, as if he had to think about it.
Dean nodded, as if he knew what that meant.
The climb up the hill was exhausting, especially for Dean, who had to drag the sled all the way up. Both of them were panting when they finally reached the top.
"Okay". Dean positioned the sled and sat down on it. "You go sit behind me, it's safer. If we fall, I'll shield you from the worst of the smack".
He felt him taking place behind him, grabbing his sleeve.
"This is really high", Castiel mumbled. "I'm not sure we should do this".
"Relax, it's totally safe". Dean grinned at him. "Just hold onto me". The boy wrapped his arms around him, a little tighter.
"Okay here we go! Woooo!" He pushed off against the ground with his feet, and they slid off the hill, facing the long way down. The sled slipped and shook, increasing in speed with the second. His stomach felt like he was in a roller coaster. Dean looked behind at Castiel, and shot him a grin, as if to say 'this is quite fun, eh?'.
Faster and faster they went, until they reached a dangerous speed. Trees shot by so fast they all blurred out. Dean felt himself almost tipping forward, desperately trying to keep his balance. A tree loomed up in his vision. O, fuck.
"Dean? "Castiel squeaked from behind him. His grip tightened. They closed in on the tree. Dean gave a pull in an attempt to avoid the tree, and the sled tipped slightly to the side. "Dean!"
"Okay this is not good, this is not goooo000oooo…"
Avoiding the tree had almost succeeded, but not quite. They grated against it, which caused them to swing to the side. They twirled around, flipped over and fell forwards. Together they rolled and rolled, not slowing down. It only stopped when they lay at the foot of the hill. He ended up landing on top of Cas, staring down at him. The sled bumped into a tree a few meters apart from them.
"You okay?"
"I think so". His voice was a bit shaken, but at least he was fine. "So you find these kind of activities fun".
Dean laughed in relief. "Oh man, I am soaked". His pants was completely wet, sticking to his skin.
Castiel giggled. "Me too".
It didn't take long before they both got a laugh kick. Eventually he crawled up and helped him up.
Miraculously, the sled was still intact. Dean checked it thoroughly, but it still seemed in perfect shape. Neither of them felt like another ride, though. And so they walked home: soaked, muscles hurting, leaning on each other. When they arrived back in their street, Dean insisted on taking Castiel inside to offer him a shower, warm clothes and some chocolate milk, even though he lived next door.
So while Cas was in the shower, he laid out some clothes for him, a jogging pants and an old sweater. Then he went and take a quick shower himself. He'd just put two damping cups of chocolate milk on the table when Cas came downstairs: hair all wet, face fresh. Before he knew it he was wetting his mouth again. Castiel was looking at him too, he felt it.
"I'll walk you home", Dean said after they emptied their cups.
Castiel smiled. "Dean, you don't have to, I live next door".
"No, no, I insist. I wanna meet your mom". His smile was beaming.
Castiel warned him their house was very religious. Dean said he didn't care. His mother looked surprised when the two boys came inside, both with wet hair dressed in jogging pants.
"Hello Mrs. Novak, I'm Dean Winchester", Dean said with his hand stuck out. "I live next door. I took your son sledding today, but uh, that didn't end up so well, so I took care of him".
She smiled friendly. "It's very nice to meet you, Dean. Maybe you can ask your parents over for dinner tonight?"
He did, and that same evening they were all having dinner at the neighbours. The bibles and crosses above the door still made him feel a little uncomfortable, but they were nice people. And Cas was sitting next to him. Now and then their gazes would cross, and Dean would feel an electric reaction going through his body. He was sure Cas felt it too. The electric attraction was mutual.
By the end of the night, before Dean's family left and they said goodbye, Cas came up to him and mumbled: "Same time tomorrow?"
Dean's smile was wide. "You bet".
The next day he stood on the doorstep. With the sled. He was wearing that same God-awful sweater again. And as they tumbled into the snow together this time, they didn't hesitate a second. Fingers slid through hair, lips locked and they kissed like they never kissed before. They didn't stop until some fat guy in the distance yelled: 'get a room!' They laughed too hard to be able to kiss.
Back home, in Dean's room, he slipped his fingers under his sweater and murmured to his lips: "You know, I've been dying to get this sweater off".
Castiel willingly let him take it off.
They didn't part since that day.