"Come on, Cas, it'll be fun." Dean promised his angel with a smile, pulling up outside the ice skating rink. The two of them had been forcefully kicked out of their shared motel room for the evening by Gabriel, who wanted to start Christmas early with Sam, and were told not to come back until after midnight.
There wasn't a lot left for them to do, seeing as it was the day before Christmas and most places were already closing up for the holiday weekend, which was about enough to cause the older Winchester to want to throttle the archangel when they were able to go home. Of all the nights for Gabriel to insist that he and Sam have some alone time, it had to be this one.
Dean had taken Castiel out for a nice dinner before hand, and the two of them ended up driving around looking at Christmas lights around some of the suburban neighborhoods while listening to Christmas music (only because Castiel wanted to. Dean would have much rather have listened to his classic rock, but whatever, it wasn't a big deal). The angel's eyes had lighten up immensely at the sight; the lights shinning in his big blue eyes and Dean couldn't help but smile at him. But eventually, the two of them tired of just driving and they wanted to get out and do something to stretch their legs.
That's how they ended up here. Castiel was unsure about skating and Dean hadn't been in years, but he thought he remembered it well enough that he didn't think they would end up too seriously injured by the time the night was over. "Don't worry too much about it," Dean chuckled, taking his angel by the hand and leading him up to the entrance.
"Dean, are you sure this is safe?" Castiel asked, looking warily out at the ice from behind the hunter and cringing a little as he watched a young girl fall right on her face.
Dean just sighed and dragged Castiel inside to get his skates on, showing him step by step on how to lace them up and make sure they were on good enough that he wouldn't lose one once they got started. "You'll be fine. Just stay close to me." Dean took Castiel's hands and, very slowly, led him out onto the ice without incident.
Castiel just stood there, his hands gripping Dean's tightly, afraid to move. "Dean, I don't see how this would classify as 'fun'." He said, his voice a bit higher than normal. He could see his breath and felt the chill from the frozen water under his feet. Castiel wished he would have worn gloves or a scarf or something other than just his usual coat. In the car, it didn't seem so bad because Dean had heat. Out here, however… he could feel the temperature of his skin dropping degree by degree.
Dean pulled a little away from the angel, testing out his skates, and smiled back at him. "You're fine," he promised, shuffling his feet and sliding across the surface of the rink in baby steps. Dean turned around after a moment, seeing that Cas was still just standing there looking down at the ice with his eyebrows scrunched all up, and dammit if it wasn't one of the most adorable things Dean had ever seen in his life. He sighed and shuffled back over to the other man, taking one of his hands, and pulled him along behind him slowly. "Just watch me," he instructed, his head turned and focusing on Castiel watching his feet. "You're fine, Cas. I've got you."
Castiel just nodded, hardly hearing a word Dean said, and moved his feet to match the hunter's, finding it a little easier than he expected to keep moving. Eventually he lifted his eyes and caught Dean smiling at him, and Castiel returned it warmly. He caught sight of another couple a little ways away from them, obviously more experienced with the whole thing, doing turns and even a few jumps when they built up enough speed. "Dean, can we do that?" He asked, his smile growing so that it caused his eyes to crinkle at the edges.
Dean watched the other couple for a moment and shook his head softly, hating to disappoint his angel. "I don't know about that one, babe." He turned then, deciding to try to skate backwards for a bit so he could focus on watching Castiel, and grinned, taking both of Castiel's hands and meeting his eyes. "But we can try,"
Cas tightened his grip on Dean's hands, squeezing them to the point that Dean was sure some of the circulation was being cut off, and stared down at their feet to watch what his boyfriend was doing, trying to mimic it. "Eyes on me," came Dean's voice, and Castiel lifted his gaze, meeting the hunter's warm, green eyes and smiling a little. "Just relax,"
The two of them scooted their way across the rink, staying close to the side in case one started to fall, and having a hell of a time with it. "Dean, I don't believe we're doing this right…" Castiel said worriedly, his eyes flickering back down to their feet.
Dean just smirked at his boyfriend and led him a little away from the wall and closer to the center of the rink, pulling him a little closer and deciding to try showing off a little for the angel. He sped up a bit, dragging a nervous Castiel along with him, grinning from ear-to-ear.
He caught Castiel staring down at their feet again with a mixture of a frown and a concerned look on his face. "Dean, your skate—"
But it was too late. The hunter released the other man, took another step backwards and tripped over his untied shoelace and went flying, landing flat on his back on his back and knocking the wind out of himself. He lay there, gasping for air and looking painfully up at the ceiling.
"Dean!" Castiel shouted, slowly creeping his way over to the other man, worry filling his eyes. Unknowing what to do, he stood over Dean with his hands covering his mouth and tried bending down to help, only to land right on top of the other man. Dean let out a pain filled grunt and tried lifting an arm to get Castiel off of him so he could breathe, but couldn't quite accomplish it. "I'm so sorry,"
Dean shook his head and turned so he was looking at Castiel, "Don't… Don't worry… about it." He gasped.
Cas pushed himself up onto his hands so his weight was lifted off of Dean's chest, and smiled weakly down at him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll live." The cold was starting to bite into Dean's back and ice that had been shaved off the top of the rink was down into his pants and the back of his shirt and he was freezing. "Just a little cold,"
Castiel got off Dean and sat Indian-style beside him, waiting until the hunter was able to sit upright before trying to stand and help him up. He could see how cold Dean had to be; his nose and cheeks were red and his lips were starting to chap. When the other took his hands, Cas felt how cold they were and he thought that it might be a good idea to start back home. "Shall we go?"
Dean was only able to nod at the moment and shoved his hands into his pockets in an attempt to warm them up, and crept his way back over to the entrance. He was shaking while trying to untie his shoes, and Castiel, thinking that it was a little pathetic watching Dean try doing it on his own when he was that cold, batted his hands away and did it himself. "You're freezing," he commented, sliding Dean's socks back onto his feet.
"Yeah, Cas, that's something that happens when you're out in the cold too long." Dean rolled his eyes, thinking it was ridiculous that Castiel felt the need to baby him so much.
"I'm aware of how it works, Dean." The angel snapped, starting on tying his shoes. "I was just making an observation," Castiel fell silent for a moment while he continued working over his boyfriend and started on getting his own skates off. "What time is it?"
Dean checked his watch and groaned when he saw what time it was. "It's only ten."
"Fine. We're going back to the motel and booking a room for ourselves for the night. You need to worry about getting yourself warmed up." Castiel told him, leaving no room for argument. "We'll get our stuff tomorrow."
Dean grumbled to himself and was led back to the Impala by Castiel, who was holding both of his hands and trying in vain to warm them up. The angel may not have been able to feel the harsh bite of winter, but his hands were just as cold as Dean's. "You worry too much, you know that?"
Castiel just smiled and walked around to his side of the car. "It's my job as your angel, Dean. I'm supposed to look out for you and keep you safe."
Dean rolled his eyes and hurried into the car to try hiding his blush from his boyfriend, not wanting him to see the effect his words had on him.