The snow drifted down outside, making the world look cold, abandoned with no traffic going past to disturb a thing. No one walked in the parking lot, no one came to claim their cars, all was silent as though the end of the world had come early. Dean was watching the empty world outside the motel room window, watched the snowflakes come down on barely moving currents of air, sighed as he wondered where Castiel had gotten to.
It had been at least ten minutes since Dean had called the angel on his cell phone, ten minutes of waiting for the angel to arrive, yet still he had not come. The hunter wondered what was taking Castiel so long, wondered what could possibly be keeping the angel from coming to his side.
"He'll be here, don't worry," Sam groused behind Dean, giving the older Winchester an affectionate buffet on the shoulder as he passed.
It was only then that Dean realized that he'd been speaking aloud, asking where Castiel had gotten to and he sighed again at his own impatience.
"His wings probably can't fly in all that snow, Dean. The flakes are probably clogging his feathers or something," Sam continued, as he flopped down upon his bed, long limbs inelegant and clumsy as he tried to re-assemble his body into a lazy sitting position.
"Maybe," Dean replied, grudgingly, finally turning away from the white washed world outside, just as the heavy sounds of wings cut through the air, beating slowly as Castiel suddenly arrived in the room.
The angel looked uncharacteristically weary and cold, his wings and hair covered in little speckles of snow. Dean's heart leapt the same way it usually did when he first saw the angel after a long absence, and he closed the gap between their bodies, now unaware that Sam was still there, watching, looking amused by his brother's actions.
Sam shook his head, chuckling quietly to himself over the fact that Dean was acting like a lovelorn teenager over Castiel. His smile broadened when he saw the look on Castiel's face, adoration clear in his translucent blue eyes, proving that the angel was just as bad as his brother.
"Cas, what took you so long, dude?" Dean asked, pretending to take a swipe at the angel's shoulder, fingers catching in his wing instead, stroking across wet feathers.
"It's snowing, Dean. I can't fly properly when it's snowing. I tried getting here as fast as I could. Now what was you wanting me for? You sounded desperate," Castiel remarked, head tilted to the side as he regarded Dean patiently.
"I told you the snow was hampering his feathers," Sam cut in with a snort at the angel's words.
"Shut up, dude," Dean immediately and predictably said, giving his brother the one fingered salute and making Sam laugh.
Castiel watched the exchange with a look of amusement brightening his gaze, making his large, solemn eyes seem brighter, more human for the briefest of instants. Dean cleared his throat in sudden discomfort, shuffled his feet as he retrieved a small package from the confines of his bag on his bed. He flushed slightly, cheeks turning pink beneath his freckles as he handed Castiel a package gently.
"What's this?" Castiel asked, staring down at the brightly colored paper, plucking at the shiny gift bow with long, slender fingers.
"It's a present. It's for Christmas," Dean said, sounding just as disappointed as he would if Castiel had flung the present back in his face.
Castiel looked touched, embarrassed, grateful, as he leant forward to press a gentle kiss to Dean's suddenly hopefully smiling mouth.
"Thank you, Dean. No one's ever given me a gift before," he said, staring down at the gift, fingers still idly playing with the gift bow endlessly.
"Aren't you gonna open it? It's supposed to mark our six month anniversary as well as being for Christmas," Dean said, feeling like he ought to just open the present for Castiel himself, as the angel was taking so long to peel the paper away.
Castiel's eyes darted up to Dean's, as he shot him a private, beautiful smile. He nodded, before he slowly pulled the gift bow from the paper with a slight ripping sound. Sam watched from the sidelines, wondering what Castiel's reaction would be, as Dean stood by with bated breath.
The angel's face was taut with expectation, wondering just what Dean had gotten him for his first ever Christmas gift. His face broke into an uncharacteristic grin when he pulled a scarf from the confines of the brightly colored paper, woollen surfaces decorated with smiling, happy, beautiful little angels, wings outspread upon the fabric. Dean urged him to remove the other gift from the package, smiling when Castiel's face lit up again at the sight of a warm, fuzzy sweater, as soft as feathers and just as warm.
"Thank you, Dean," Castiel said, seemed incapable of saying anything further, as his fingers slowly stroked first the sweater, then one of the angels on his new scarf. "I didn't get you anything in return."
"Oh, you will give me something tonight; don't you worry," Dean said, immediately, tipping Castiel a wink and setting the angel into a rare display of chuckles and Sam into an embarrassed fit of coughing. "Put it on."
The hunter nudged at Castiel's hand, urging him to pull the sweater over his head. Castiel looked up hopefully, eyes large, luminous and trusting as he shrugged out of his tan coat and dark suit jacket. The change in Castiel was quite alarming. Dean and Sam weren't used to seeing the angel without his usual coat covering his body; the lack of which made him seem younger, more fragile somehow in the light shining down upon him.
He pulled the sweater over his head, hair sticking out in endless spikes, more mussed than usual as he settled the soft material around his shoulders and slim chest. He looked up at Dean, as though looking for approval, eyes seeming more intensely blue against the soft navy fabric of the sweater. Dean held his breath for the briefest of moments, eyes transfixed on the angel's face as Sam made typical barfing noises from the safety of his bed. Neither Dean nor Castiel took any notice, too consumed in each other to pay attention to immature barfings.
Sam settled down, chuckling to himself, as he flipped his laptop open, opened up eBay in a browser window, and started idly scrolling through the items on display. Despite looking away, he still could hear the sounds of kissing as Castiel showed his appreciation for Dean's gifts, soft lips meeting Dean's mouth in grateful love.
Despite himself, Sam smiled, thinking to himself that Dean had it made now; he'd finally found someone he cared enough for to settle down with, to exchange Christmas gifts with, to give and receive love with. He shook his head, wondering if he'd ever get to know a love like Dean and Castiel's ....
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