It was early in the morning on January 24th. Dean was doing some research for a case he and his brother, Sam, were working on at the moment. He was just about to walk over to their room's mini-fridge and get a beer when a door opened behind him. Sam was standing there with his head covered in tiny specks of snow. holding a moist paper bag in his red, chapped hands. He smiled widely at his brother and tapped his feet, shaking off a lot of snow from his boots. Sam's pants were wet up to his knees and his nose was red.
"I told you not to get me anything, Sammy."- said Dean before walking over to his bed.
"And I said that I would."- Sam smiled and handed his brother the bag.
He sat on the bed opposite Dean's and watched him open the bag and smile widely at what was inside; three mars bars and a copy of his favourite adult magazine.
"Gas station around the corner?"
"The one five blocks away... It has a Stop Shop."- said Sam while looking out the window at the large white snowflakes falling onto the windowsill and melting away slowly,-"Cas still hasn't come, huh?"
The mention of this name made Dean's heart skip a beat, but he just shook his head to seem uninterested.
"Nah...The guy's probably busy, you know."- he said, putting his gifts back into the paper bag.
They took a couple of cold beers and toasted to Dean before continuing their research, anxiously waiting for the snow to stop falling and the roads to be cleared so they could go visit Bobby, who had called Dean the day before, inviting them both to come over for some pie and TV. They agreed, but the ever persistent snow storm was getting in their way, making the roads closed for safety reasons and them confined to their hotel room. A couple of hours passed when Sam looked out the window and saw that the snow had stopped falling. He got up and walked over to the window, trying to see if cars were passing by, but he couldn't see a thing because the glass was misted.
"I'll go check if the roads are still closed."- he said and caught the keys to the Impala once Dean threw them over, walking out into the cold once more.
Another half-hour went by and there was no sign of Sam, which Dean thought to be a sign that his brother took the roads being open again as an opportunity to go get some food.
He laid back on his bed, trying not to think about how cold and numb his toes were beginning to feel and how his lips were turning blue with every little temperature drop. He let out a deep sigh, focusing on the thought that had been haunting him all day; why was Cas not there yet? Couldn't he have taken five minutes out of his day to visit Dean or just pop in to say hello?
"Damn it!"- he said to himself, burying his face into one of the many bed pillows, which made it feel warmer.
A familiar wing flapping noise made Dean lift his head in surprise and excitement. He knew the sound very well, it was a sign that an angel was coming and, at that moment, all he could think about, hope for, was that that angel would be the one he was expecting.
"Dean..."- said Castiel in a deep, soothing voice from behind Dean's back.
He tried to wipe the giant smile off of his face before turning to face Cas, looking utterly indifferent.
"Oh, hey."- he managed to say, sounding a lot less excited than he really felt.
"I learnt that it is human tradition to celebrate ones anniversary of birth by giving the individual a... present, was it?"- Cas said nervously, looking for something in his trench coat pockets.
"You really didn't have to get me anything."- said Dean, focusing on a spot somewhere next to Cas' head, trying not to look him in the eyes.
"Nonsense, it's tradition... And a wonderful way to celebrate you not drying for a whole year!"- he smiled, still going through the deep inside pockets on the coat.
A couple of moments later he pulled out a silver, box-shaped present which he handed to Dean after adjusting a little silver bow on the top of the gift.
The wrapping itself looked like it was done by a five year old child, which was painfully similar to an angel that came to Earth and bought his first ever present. He unwrapped it and revealed a small, black box covered in glitter; this detail made it hard for Dean not to fall onto the floor, and he was certain that a rib or two cracked because of the effort put into not laughing.
"Glitter?"- he asked, trying to maintain a straight enough face so he wouldn't hurt Cas' feelings or ego.
"The Internet said that it's best to decorate the present as nicely as possible, and they recommended usage of shiny objects and glitter, so I took the advice and covered the box in both shine and glitter."- Cas said, both nervous and oddly proud at the same time, but oblivious to how silly it was for an all-knowing angel of the Lord to take easy-to-do wrapping tips from the Internet.
Dean looked down at the box and his heart started racing, not because he was excited about what was in there, but because he knew that Cas' eyes were fixed on him. Slowly, he took the top lid of and looked to see what was inside; a silver, wing-shaped amulet hanging from a leather rope, making a necklace. It seemed appropriate since an angel was giving it to him.
"It's amazing, Cas... I love it."- Dean said and put it around his neck, smiling warmly at his friend.
He smiled and looked out the window absently, focusing on a spot somewhere in the distance.
"The amulet is charmed to summon me when you're in dire need of assistance, so you'll never be in life-threatening danger as long as you're wearing it around your neck."- Castiel nodded, but the smile on his face turned into a straight face as he frowned,- "I need to go now, but happy birthday, is it? Yes... happy birthday, Dean."
"Thanks..."- he didn't even manage to finish the sentence and Cas was already gone with a warm gust of wind that filled the room and made his stomach tingle.
He laid back on the bead with both his arms wrapped around the amulet. It seemed to be creating warm air that was stretching throughout Dean's cold body, making his numb toes feel alive again and his lips get their normal colour back.
Who would have known that a badly wrapped glittery box could contain something so precious, even for someone like Dean Winchester, let alone that it could make him feel safer than any gun or knife could ever manage to?
Dean would eventually fall asleep to the faint sound of people walking through the snow outside and with his head turned to the place where Castiel last stood before he flew back to Heaven so quickly; but, not once would he take his hands off the amulet. Not even for a second.