There was a storm raging outside and the sight of dark rain clouds moving across the sky paired with the sound of lightning and thunder meeting with the ground somewhere in the distance was enough to make Dean pull on the curtains and block the unwanted sight from their hotel room. Sam had been stuck at the library for an hour due to a power outage and he managed to make his way to a nearby coffee shop where he was waiting out the storm that had just begun to fully come to power. Dean and Castiel, who was curled up on the couch and looking at the human with worry, had been in the room since that morning and were just about to go meet up with the other Winchester when the rain began to fall down hard and the storm was already taking place in the next town over. They could see it approaching and thought it best to stay in and wait, and the good thing was that the power had been back on for about an hour, a sure sign that it wouldn't disappear again, or so they hoped. Dean turned away from the window and met Castiel's gaze, noticing that the angel had turned his head in the familiar way he always did when something puzzled him.
"What's up?"- asked Dean, walking over to Castiel and sitting down next to him on the large and comfy couch.
"I seem to be experiencing something strange…"- the angel answered in a distressed tone, looking down at his chest.
"Cas, you feeling okay?"- the hunter asked, setting aside the joke he was getting ready to make about an angel who's afraid of lightning, because Castiel looked like something was seriously bothering him. Dean nudged himself closer to the angel and looked him in the eyes, searching for an answer to his question.
"I don't know, Dean."- he answered annoyed,-"Something seems to be-"
His sentence was interrupted by a sneeze emerging from his body, making them both jump up in surprise because this was something uncommon. Sure, Cas had been less of an angel after a year spent in a damned place, but he had never experienced illness. He looked up at Dean, seeming more worried than he had been before and all of the agitation from a moment ago was now gone.
"What is happening to me, Dean? I don't like this fee-"- he sneezed again, this time louder, although they both seemed less surprised now. "What is this?"- he panicked.
"Cas, I…"- Dean looked for a good explanation and it hit him a moment later,-"You have the flu, man. The rain must have given you a cold."
It was clear that it was, in fact, the flu. Castiel's trench coat had been wet all day and he hadn't bothered to let it dry, nor did he even notice the state it was in until now. The strange thing, though, was that he couldn't make it dry with his powers, something he would have been fully capable of doing the day before. This illness must have had something to do with it. The angel cleared his throat and started coughing moments later. His throat was itching and burning, but he couldn't make the uncomfortable action stop even if he managed to catch his breath. He looked at Dean in a panic and the hunter looked baffled.
"De…an, make… this stop."-he said between coughs and sneezes, putting his hands to rest on his nose because it seemed to provide some form of comfort.
The hunter looked around and then back, trying to figure out the best way to deal with a fallen angel of the Lord who has the flu. Needless to say that he didn't come up with many ways to do so.
Finally, he got an idea. He had used this method on Sam and himself when they were younger and faced with the cold or flu while John wasn't there, and it had proved successful every time.
He sat up and removed Castiel's trenchcoat, throwing it onto the floor and looking back at the angel. He proceeded to remove the angel's shirt and pants, which were also damp from the rain they had encountered earlier, and then he walked over to the sleeping area of the small room, searching for some sweatpants and a t-shirt that he found in his own dresser, and decided to take one of his hoodies too, just in case Castiel got cold.
He helped Castiel get dressed and switched the angel's soaked socks with some dry woolen ones, knowing they would do a good job at making his friend feel less cold.
"There we go."- he said, adjusting the collar of the hoodie Castiel had on now and pulling his fingers through the angel's messy hair.
Dean noticed that it was also a bit wet, so he took out a towel and rubbed it dry. All the while Castiel was sitting there silently, trying not to say anything that would make the uncomfortable coughing and sneezing back. It worked for a moment, but just another one after, he was leaning forward with his hands on his mouth and trying to press back the coughs that were making their way out of his body. The hunter nudged himself more and more, until he was completely close to Castiel. He lifted the angel's chin, noticing the small cough moving over his throat and out of his mouth, and let Cas' head rest on his shoulder, wrapping a hand around the angel's shoulder and putting the other on his chest. Castiel let his hand rest in the crook of Dean's neck as he coughed repeatedly, getting tired of it after a couple of minutes of non-stop strain on his chest and throat.
"It's okay, Cas."- Dean whispered, kissing the top of the angel's head and allowing his hand to pet Castiel's, which was resting on Dean's chest.
The angel shivered and Dean took it as a sign of him being cold, so he reluctantly parted from Castiel to go get a blanket. He came back soon and sat back down in the same position he was in moments before, putting the soft blanked over their curled up and intertwined bodies and providing a little bit more comfort.
"There we go."- he whispered again, looking down at the angel, who was now resting his head on Dean's chest and allowing the hunter's breathing to even out his own as he breathed in and out calmly, keeping the coughing to a minimum. He was glad that he sneezing had stopped, but Dean was probably the one to thank for that. He would have kissed him right then, softly and on the lips, but he had a feeling that it would make Dean ill as well, and he couldn't bear the thought of hurting the hunter like that when he himself feels so tired.
"Th…ank you."- he managed to say between a loud cough, burying his head in Dean's warm chest covered in just a t-shirt. He wrapped his hands around the hunter's neck and closed his eyes. Dean responded by putting his arms on Cas' waist and leaning forward to rest his head on the angel's shoulders.
They remained like that long after the storm passed by and the rain was no longer making it impossible to go outside.