The First to Believe

Disclaimer:

Supernatural belongs to The CW Network. Rise of the Guardians belongs to DreamWorks Animation. I only own the idea to mix up the two worlds. Thank you.

Full Summary:

[One Shot – 'Rise of the Guardians' Fusion | DeanCasWeek14] The first thing he saw when he awoke was the full moon. The next thing he realized was that he did not know his name – or anything about himself. Then the Man in the Moon named him "Jack Frost". It didn't feel right, but he accepted it and his role as the Spirit of Winter. It could probably be considered a life-changing moment. Fast forward three hundred years, his life would change again.

The first thing he saw when he awoke was the full moon, large and bright-white, and almost imposing from where it was in the night sky. The next thing he realized was that he did not know his name – or anything about himself actually.

Then the Man in the Moon spoke, and gave him a name.

Jack Frost.

It did not feel right, but he had nothing else to offer as an alternative. So he accepted it (because having a name that didn't quite seem to fit was still better than having none at all), and along with it, he acknowledged his new role as the Spirit of Winter.

It could probably be considered a life-changing moment. If he could remember his past life in the first place. But he decided not to dwell on it. It was time to discover what cool (ha, pun!) new powers he had!

Three hundred years was a long time, even for a nigh immortal winter spirit. Jack kind of wished that the Man in the Moon would've told him a bit more about this spirit business and the belief system surrounding it.

What kind of bullshit system required belief to sustain corporeality and visibility to the humans?

Spending three hundred years with limited interaction with his other fellow spirits, and on the rare occasion with the fabled Guardians, was boring. More than that, it was… lonely. More often than not, Jack wished that humans could see him.

It wasn't as if he hadn't tried, because he most certainly had. He created the perfect snow days to let all the kids have their fun, and he always made sure that despite the snow and the ice, none of the playing children would get into any accidents.

(He didn't know why, but despite controlling snow and ice, despite being their embodiment, sometimes, he still got a little flash of fear of his abilities. He was also always particularly careful with frozen lakes, ensuring that the ice was thick enough to sustain the weight of however many children – and sometimes teenagers and adults – that frolicked on their surface.)

But nothing he did seemed to ever be enough. There were people who mentioned his name, parents who mentioned him to their children, warning them to dress warmly. Yet nobody ever, ever saw him. Not once in three hundred long years. It was a lonely existence, even if he would never admit it to the other spirits and Guardians. He had built up an image of an untameable spirit with a devil-may-care attitude and that nothing could ever get him down.

Most of the time, it was true. The rest of them… well, Jack tried not to think about it.

Nevertheless, he really wanted to talk to the Man in the Moon again. Tell the big guy upstairs that it was a shitty deal that Jack had gotten and he wanted a full refund. Or some sort of recompense. Anything.

But though he saw the full moon often, talked to it often, he heard nothing in reply.

Lately, he had taken to hanging around the town of Burgess. He'd visited before, of course. Despite his image, he did take his job seriously, and would always bring in winter properly when the time came. But recently, he was drawn to the town more and more often.

Specifically, he found that he was drawn to a young boy of about nine years old. Little Castiel Novak with his black hair almost perpetually in disarray and the wide blue eyes. Jack wasn't entirely sure why he felt something close to a bond with the kid, although he figured a part of it was surely to do with how his protective instincts were always stirred whenever he was near Castiel.

Castiel was generally quiet and more interested in his books (Jack had found out they were about mythology and legends a while ago – sometimes, invisibility had its perks) than running around outside with the other children in the neighborhood. The times that he did go out to play were marked by much shyness and awkwardness on Castiel's part, which inevitably led to some of the other kids thinking they could push Castiel around. In fact, the first time Jack had really noticed Castiel was during one such incident almost two years back now.

It was a snow day, and a snowball fight was starting to begin in earnest. It was meant to be a free-for-all, but a group of slightly older kids had decided to target Castiel. Jack had taken in the scene, felt a rush of emotion swamp him, and the next thing he knew, Jack was in front of Castiel and there was a sturdy wall of snow in front of them both. And just in time too, as it protected Castiel from the heavy barrage of snowballs that impacted the wall which would have otherwise hit his small frame. Jack supposed that was when he had taken to checking up on Castiel whenever he was in Burgess.

It did not have anything to do with how he could've sworn that, for a moment, Castiel's baby blues had looked right at him. Besides, he'd tested it more than once since then… and Castiel never showed any sign of reacting to his presence.

(On days when he couldn't quite keep his low moods at bay, he would wonder how it was just his luck that even a child named after an angel and with a huge interest in mythology was still unable to see him. He would conclude that perhaps, it was just him, just his problem. There was nobody to contradict him, and the moon was, as always, silent.)

When he received the invitation to be a new Guardian, Jack couldn't help but burst out into disbelieving laughter.

After years of isolation and silence, the Man in the Moon chose now to answer him. Or rather, the old man had thrust upon a new job, a new responsibility onto him. As if he would do it just because he was told.

Jack didn't quite count on the persuasiveness of the rest of the Guardians… or the fact that in addition to having a fun streak a mile wide, his protective streak towards children ran about just as wide.

Helping Tooth collect baby teeth was interesting, Jack supposed. It was probably more amusing seeing the other Guardians go about doing a duty that wasn't usually theirs with the added difficulty of avoiding being seen by easily-awoken slumbering children. They mostly succeeded.

Then came Burgess and Castiel.

Jack tried not to be too hurt when Castiel could see all the Guardians but him. It wasn't as if he hadn't already known, and being promoted to the position of Guardian did not guarantee instant recognition.

Pitch was smart and crafty… and had probably spent centuries plotting this. All in all, things were going badly.

Very badly.

Easter was destroyed, and it was all Jack's fault for getting distracted by mentions of his past. He'd come to terms with not knowing who he really is. Or so he'd thought.

Then Pitch came after him and that encounter ended with him down in a pit, despair threatening to fully engulf him and wash him away. Then Baby Tooth pulled out a miracle.

Jack, no, that wasn't his name. Not his true name anyway.

He is Dean Winchester and he died saving his little brother (Sammy) from falling into the cold icy lake near their home when the deceptive, thin ice cracked. His memories certainly explained his protective streak towards children, and he spared a moment to wonder how Sam had coped with his death and rued the fact that he had gotten his memory back so late and couldn't check up on his brother.

Regardless, Dean knew that he would never feel any regret over having saved his brother's life. Now, there were more children to save.

"You… you can see me?"

"I… I could for a while…" Castiel replied, blue eyes not quite meeting Dean's.

To say that Dean was shocked would be an understatement. It felt like his whole life as he'd known it had been turned on its head.

"When? Since when were you…" he couldn't seem to finish his sentence, but Castiel understood him all the same.

"Since the day you made the snow wall."

That was practically the day Dean had noticed Castiel. How, how did he not realize?

Dean was peripherally aware that he had far more important things that he should be doing, instead of furthering this particular conversation topic with Castiel. But he couldn't stop now. Not when he had someone who believed in him… not when his first believer had actually believed in him for far longer than he could've ever hoped for.

"Why didn't you say something?"

Castiel ducked his head, but seemed to be about to reply all the same. However, at that moment, they're interrupted by the loud and clunking arrival of North's reindeer sled, and it was back to business.

Pitch was eventually defeated through the power of the Guardians. But the real heroes, Dean would say were the children that Castiel gathered. The children that Castiel helped to make them believe again. Dean had never felt prouder that shy little Castiel had done that.

"Will you still come visit me?" Castiel asked, bolder now but his voice still betrayed a hint of vulnerability.

Dean couldn't help but smile. Was there ever a doubt that he would stop visiting Cas? His first believer?

"I'll always come visit you when I can, Cas."

"Cas?" the boy parroted, tilting his head to the side. Dean couldn't help but find that action inexplicably adorable.

"It's a nickname for you. Do you mind?"

Cas shook his head vigorously. "No! No, I don't mind. I… I like it!"

Accompanying Castiel's last declaration was a blindingly bright smile that Dean had never seen before on the boy's face. It felt really, really good to be the one to put it there.

Dean kept his promise, always making sure to pop by Cas' room whenever he was in Burgess. Sometimes, he even went out of his way to visit Cas, although truthfully, visiting Cas was never a hardship. Before he knew it, it had been almost four years, Cas still believed and they'd formed a strong friendship.

However, he also knew from the other Guardians that entering teenage-dom was when a child started to grow up… and eventually, stop believing. It would be inevitable, so Dean pushed it to the back of his mind, locked it up tight in a box and did his best not to think about it. Instead, he spent his energy into hanging out with Cas and entertaining the little (not so little anymore) bookworm with stories of his travels, punctuated with ice and snow models for additional emphasis.

As always, Cas would watch and listen with rapt attentiveness and it would always soothe the niggling worry of losing Cas for a bit.

Some days, Dean contemplated telling Cas that his real name wasn't actually Jack Frost. He had, after all, already told the teenager how he'd become first a spirit and then a Guardian.

It would be nice to hear someone (Cas) call him by his actual name after so long.

But he did not dare risk it.

(Because once Cas no longer believed, Cas would forget Dean. Jack Frost was recorded in myths, passed on from parent to child, whether or not people believed, but Dean Winchester was not.

Dean Winchester would cease to exist, and that scared him more than he cared to admit.)

"Hey, why didn't you ever talk to me when you could see me?" Dean asked one day, realizing that he had forgotten to ask.

"You'll remember that I was kind of shy, Jack."

That was true. Castiel had opened up a bit more as the years passed and lost some of his social awkwardness, but he was still definitely firmly on the quiet side.

"Is that all?"

"…IthinkIhadacrushonyoutoo."

Dean blinked. He was fairly sure that despite the speed of which Cas had spoken, he had caught everything that was being said.

"Oh. Okay."

"You're not… angry?"

"Why would I be? You worry too much Cas."

He reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. But though outwardly he seemed calm and generally okay, inside, his mind was whirring.

Cas had a crush on him?

"You're becoming more distant, Jack," Cas said to him abruptly one evening when Dean was lounging on Cas' bed as Cas did homework.

By now, Cas was seventeen and in less than a year's time, he would be considered an adult. Dean considered it a true miracle that Cas still believed even after all these years, but adulthood was coming a knocking on Cas' door and Dean… Dean just could not hold out as much hope that it would still be the same even after Castiel's eighteenth birthday came and went.

Apparently, he had started to subconsciously pull away. And Cas had noticed, the perceptive little brat.

(Definitely not so little anymore, a voice in his head supplied in a tone that wasn't near morose but more… Dean shushed it and pushed that train of thought away.)

"No, I'm not. Just getting… a little busier these days," he evaded. "You know how it is, trying to combat global warming and all that."

Cas did that head tilt, eye-squint thing that signified that he was trying to read Dean. It was unnerving, especially since Cas was really quite good at seeing through lies and bullshit. He hoped today would be one of those times where his friend failed.

"…you're not telling me the whole truth."

"What? No, it's nothing really."

"You… you think I'll stop believing, don't you?"

For a long moment, Dean could only gape at his friend. Trust Cas to hit the heart of the matter straight on. He scrambled to find words to say, not really wanting Cas to know that that was his worry, was pretty much his only worries these days. He could accept that the other children would one day forget him, but there would always be new children born and new children to believe in him. But Cas… Castiel was different.

Castiel had always been different. And the thought of Castiel forgetting him, effectively abandoning him made Dean want to hide away from the rest of the world.

"Jack, I won't stop believing. It was all real, I know that," Cas continued to speak and he had completely abandoned any pretence of doing his work, swivelling around on his chair to face Dean.

His face was lightly flushed, and his cerulean eyes were boring into Dean, as if willing Dean to believe his words. Dean realized that he actually was.

"You're here. You always come back sooner or later, you kept your promise and…" Cas trailed off.

"And?" he prompted gently.

"…and I'll always believe in you even if you don't come back again," Cas breathed out.

Unlike the last time Cas had confessed something mind-blowing to him, this time, Cas looked him steadily in the eyes and Dean saw the sincerity and the truth in their depths. Dean didn't think he'd ever moved so fast in his life. Before he could talk himself out of it, he'd sprung off Castiel's bed and grabbed his friend in a tight hug.

"I believe you."

"Mmpf! Jack… can't… breathe…!"

Dean let Cas go immediately, belatedly realizing that as a winter spirit, he was always cold and shit, he could've given Cas hypothermia. But when he looked at Cas, Cas didn't look to be any worse for wear other than trying to catch his breath from the tight hug.

"You didn't have to completely let go, you know," Cas said after he'd gotten his breath back.

"But… well, I'm always freezing cold. I could give you hypothermia."

It was a legitimate concern and he didn't appreciate how Cas rolled his eyes.

"Don't pout. You won't hurt me. You never have," Cas assured him. "I'm fine, other than when you were trying to squeeze all the air out of my lungs."

"Really?"

"Really. I trust you."

"So if I hug you again…?"

Cas huffed and then this time, it was him who initiated their second hug. "You're an idiot, Jack."

"Dean."

"What?"

Well, shit. It hadn't been a conscious decision to tell Cas his real name. It had just felt so nice that Cas had been the one to hug him and it had felt so right. Dean hadn't been thinking at all, and his mouth had moved before his brain could catch up. But since he'd already done it…

"My… my name. "Jack Frost" was what the man upstairs called me. I didn't remember who I was at first, not even my name."

"So… your real name is…"

"Dean Winchester, yeah."

Cas pulled away from him enough that he could look at Dean. He had a serious expression on his face, and for a moment, Dean thought he'd ruined everything by waiting for so long to tell Castiel his real name. Then Castiel's lips curved upwards.

"Hello, Dean."

(What do you mean that his heart was doing a flip at hearing Castiel's voice say his real name? Shut up.)

There were times Dean wished that he could be more easily seen. Even though Cas had reassured him countless times that he was happy with Dean and could easily ignore the increasingly frequent inquiries from his family about his social life (read: dating life), Dean still felt bad about it.

It wasn't like Cas could tell his family that he had a boyfriend but oh you can't see him because he's Jack Frost and you kind of have to believe he exists in the first place to see him?

There was also how, despite figuring out that he could make himself grow and age alongside Cas, he was still effectively immortal no matter how old he looked. Cas could believe in him until old age, but he couldn't be with Dean forever and it was this thought that drove him to visit Cas even though his boyfriend was in the middle of revision.

Normally, Cas didn't mind Dean visiting as long as Dean didn't disturb him. Normally, Dean was content with being on the side-lines and taking care of Cas by bringing him food and drink when he was too engrossed in his books. That was normally. But today, it was kind of different and Dean couldn't help but want Castiel's attention on him. Just for a little bit.

He started his attention seeking endeavors by making ice figurines and animating them to flow across Castiel's study desk.

"Stop it, Dean. I'm trying to study!"

"Relax a little, Cas. Your exam is next week, and you always ace them anyway."

"That's because I study."

"Not telling you not to, Cas. But you've been studying so hard for weeks on end and you need to relax before you collapse. C'mon, let's play a little."

"Dean…"

"What? I am the Guardian of Fun, in case you've forgotten," he said as he sidled up behind Castiel's chair to wrap his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders, dissipating the ice figures in the process. "C'mon, Cas," he coaxed, deliberately pitching his voice lower and made sure he spoke right into Cas' ear.

Admirably, Cas managed to not react physically to his proximity. His voice, however, betrayed him with a telling deepening and a slight hitch. "Dean… don't."

"Please?"

Castiel's tense shoulders loosened and he leaned fully back into Dean's embrace. Dean knew he'd won this round even before Cas spoke.

"Okay."

…

"You're worrying again, aren't you, Dean?" Cas murmured after they were both sated and curled up next to each other under the covers of his single bed.

Dean sighed. "Am I that transparent?"

"Well, I have known you for more than ten years. What's bothering you this time?"

"It's alright, Cas. I was just thinking too much."

"You can tell me what's bothering you, Dean. You know that."

He did. But. "Not right now. You do have exams…"

Cas conceded that point to him but, like Dean expected, wasn't about to let it go completely. "Fine. But we'll talk afterwards, okay?"

Knowing that that was the extent of which he could get away with not telling Cas about his worries, Dean agreed. "Okay, we will. Now, can we sleep? Together?"

"We just did," Cas replied, completely straight-faced.

Dean barked out a short breath of laughter. "Sassy brat. You know what I mean."

Cas pressed a quick kiss to his lips before snuggling closer, nuzzling his face into the crook of Dean's neck. "Goodnight, Dean."

"Night, Cas."

Up in the sky, the full moon glowed just a little brighter than usual. Perhaps it was time to consider adding another Guardian in about half a century's time…

A Guardian of Faith, perhaps?

Written for deancasweek14 over on tumblr! The theme's animated feature film! It took me a long time to decide which animated film to use before I settled on Rise of the Guardians because it was one of the last animated films that I watched and I couldn't really find a way to fit the boys into Frozen (which is actually the last animated film I watched).

It's been awhile since I wrote something so fluffy and sappy. Well, fluffy for my standards anyway. I tried to substitute the SPN characters into the roles of the other Guardians but kinda failed. The only one I've got is that Charlie's the Tooth Fairy? ^^"

Hope you've enjoyed reading!

carzla