Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Hope everyone is having a great holiday season! Enjoy this Oneshot! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
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Sam stepped back as he placed the last ornament on the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was a sad tree, but it was the last one in stock at the local Christmas tree stand a few miles from the bunker. It was better than no tree, thought Sam.
"Nice work, Sammy," praised Dean as he passed Sam a coffee mug filled to the brim with eggnog.
Sam's face contorted when he tasted the eggnog. "How much booze did you put in here?"
A warm smile came across Dean's face. "Enough." He chuckled as they admired the bunker. Sam and Cas spent all afternoon putting up decorations. They taped streamers to the archways in the library, put candles on varying tables, hung a "Merry Christmas" sign on one of the bookshelves. Dean brought in a small tree with some dollar store ornaments and string lights that they put in a corner of the room. Cas hung lights around the doorways and on the rail on the stairs by the entrance, and Dean hung a wreath on the entrance door. It wasn't much, but it was nice to see the bunker lit up with warmth and color.
Cas popped his head into the library. "The timer is going off, Sam." Sam spent some time trying to cook a roast for dinner. Many recipes and a near fire later, he managed to get it into the oven. He decided to let Cas make the side dishes. I mean, Cas can't burn the bunker down with mashed potatoes, right? said Sam. Dean didn't look convinced.
"Thanks, Cas." He looked at Dean. "Let's eat."
"Hell, yeah!" They followed Cas back to the kitchen where large plates were filled with all kinds of food. From cranberry sauce to desserts they could never name, they had it all on their table.
Strutting over to the counter, Dean poured two more glasses of eggnog and poured a little less alcohol into them. He handed one to Cas who took it with confusion on his face.
"It's eggnog, Cas. Just try it."
Cas took a sip and his lip curled in disgust at the bitter, foul taste. "There's something wrong with it. I think it's gone bad."
Sam laughed. "It's an acquired taste, Cas. Here, get another glass and get some water or something."
"Oh, it's fine." He held the cup in both hands like a child holding something dear that a parent said never to drop. Dean laughed at the sight of an angel of the Lord holding a glass of eggnog with a ridiculous Christmas sweater on. Dean wore his usual black shirt but dressed it up by wear a dark red shirt over it. Sam wore a green flannel shirt, but Cas… they somehow managed to convince him to take the trench coat off and layer a tacky sweater over his dress shirt. The sweater wouldn't have been bad if it didn't have a smiling reindeer on the front with flashing lights of red and green. Cas looked absolutely stupid, and he refused at first but there was no way he could with Sam and Dean. He wore it but not happily. He didn't know that Sam had secretly taken a picture when Cas wasn't paying attention. It was something Sam was going to be proud to display as a joke next Christmas.
"Come on, let's sit," said Sam. They all gathered at the table and took their seats. Before Dean could grab the fork for the roast, Sam stopped him. "Dean."
"What?" asked Dean.
"It's Christmas. Don't you think we should, you know, say something."
"Like what? A prayer?" joked Dean.
"No, just grace or something. I don't know."
"It is customary to say a blessing over Christmas dinner, Dean," interrupted Cas. Sam nodded in agreement and rolled his eyes at Dean.
Dean rolled his back in defeat. "Fine." They all bowed their heads, but Dean paused for a while.
"Dean, you know you're supposed to say grace out loud, right?" laughed Sam.
"Shut up." He paused again. "Cas, can people in Heaven be prayed too?"
Cas looked up. "I don't know what you mean."
"Can I send a message directly to a person in Heaven? Can they hear me if I try to talk to them."
"Yes, it is possible to send a message to someone. They can't send anything back, but they can hear you."
"Okay." With all heads bowed, Dean started. "Hey, Bobby. Hope you're having a good Christmas if you know it's Christmas down here. We, ah, we miss you, Bobby. It's not the same without you. It's been hell the last couple years as you can guess. It's been hard, but we've made it. God knows how but we're here now. I also what to say hey to you, Kevin. You promised some of your mom's asian cooking, and I never got it so when I get up there, you owe me." Sam snorted. "We miss you guys. You have no idea how much. I want you to know you're still family to us. No matter how far you are. Bless our food... if you will. Anyway, bye guys. Over and out."
They raised their heads. Sam smiled with an unseen tear in his eye. He had never seen Dean really pray before. Cas grinned and nodded, and Dean tried to avoid their glances. He got personal but hell, it Christmas. "Let's dig in."
They feasted like kings, well, not exactly like kings but they thought they were. An hour later, they all leaned back in their chairs, stomachs full of real homemade food for the first time… ever. Their stomachs hurt not only from the food but from laughter, real laughter, something they have had in a long time. Sam smiled throughout the meal like an idiot, happy to be happy finally. He knew deep down it wouldn't last, but he refused to let that ruin his Christmas. Dean was thankful to be here with those he cared about. He looked up at this little broken family now and again when they were busy at their plates. Cas realized in this moment, not only was this his true family, it was the only family he had ever had. It was human, it was real, it was wonderful.
When the plates on the table were put into the sink and the eggnog glasses refilled for the sixth time, Sam raised his glass in a toast. "To Bobby, Kevin, and family."
Dean raised his glass and clinked it together with Sam's. "To family." Cas joined in and said the same. They all smiled. "Time for presents?" asked Dean like a child on Christmas morning. Well, he is, thought Sam.
"Let's go."
They all made their way into the library. Underneath the tree were a few presents not so neatly wrapped. The wrapping paper was cheap; one kind had Santas and the other had "Happy Birthday" patterned across its glossy surface. Sam walked over to the tree and began to pass out the presents. There was two for each person. Dean and Cas sat while Sam put the presents on the table in front of them. When Sam had finished, he took his seat in front of his presents.
The sound of tearing paper echoed in the library. Paper went everywhere besides the same trash can next to the table. Dean laughed as he was the first to get his first one open. "Pie Every Day." He snorted through his nose. "Thanks, Cas."
Cas looked proud. "You're welcome. It has pie recipes for everyday of the year. I thought you would like it."
"I like it a lot. Thanks."
Sam laughed loudly. "Oh my god, Dean." He held up a hardback copy of 1984. "I love this book. I read it a long time ago, but I never got another copy. Thanks." He turned it around so he could study the cover. He rubbed his thumb across its smooth surface.
"You're welcome." Dean turned to Cas. "What did you get?" He grinned.
Cas held up Busty Asian Beauties with a look of utter annoyance. "Dean."
Dean held up his hands. "What? I thought you would like it. You're human now. Might as well enjoy it." Cas nodded slowly, unsure how he felt about the magazines but he thought to himself, it was the thought that counts after all. He placed them gently on the table by the corner of the cover like it was something poisonous, and he tried to keep his eyes from wandering to the cover.
Dean opened his next present. He held up a small black case. He looked at Sam, unsure. Sam nodded his head at the case, and Dean unzipped it to find a new gun cleaning kit. "I heard you complaining that the old one sucked, so I got you a new one," explained Sam.
Dean beamed as he examined the contents. "Thanks, Sammy! My god, I hated the old one. It was missing parts, and it overall sucked ass."
"Welcome," said Sam as he tore off the paper of his gift from Cas. "Wow." He pulled out a small bundle of plaid shirts folded neatly and tied with a piece of white ribbon. "How did you know I needed shirts?"
"I heard you using malediction the other night when you found another one of your shirts with a hole in it, so I thought you could use some more to replace them."
Dean laughed. "I like your use of 'malediction'. Very fancy."
Cas shot him a cold eye. Dean just smiled back as he took another sip of his eggnog.
"Thank you, Cas. Really. They are very appreciated. Go on and open yours."
Cas tore away at the paper to reveal an electric razor. Of course, he didn't know what it was so he turned the box over and over again, examining the razor itself under its plastic covering. "What is this?"
"It's a razor, an electric one."
"Oh. I understand."
"You have quite a five o'clock shadow now that you're human. I guess the facial grows now," said Dean.
Cas nodded, understanding. "Thank you, Sam. I was wondering how I was going to shave. I didn't like plastic razors when I was human before. They cut my face a lot."
"Don't worry, it shouldn't happen with the electric one. I'll show you how to use it in a little while," explained Sam.
An awkward silence fell over them. Sam began to flip through his book, Cas slowly sipped his eggnog as he read over the box for the razor, and Dean browsed the table of content in his pie recipe book. After a while, Dean put the book down and stood to walk over to the small stereo they set up in the library. He pulled out his phone and plugged it in, scrolling through Google until he clicked on a song. The intro to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" began to play through the speakers.
"Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light," Dean began to sing. Sam looked up at the sound. He had never heard Dean sing like it. It was good, really good. His voice was smooth and deep with a slight raspiness. He had always heard him sing horribly as he tried to hit the high notes of old rock, but this was a new side of Dean. "From now on our troubles will be out of sight." Cas too looked up at Dean.
"Have yourself a merry little Christmas," joined Sam. He didn't sound near as good as Dean. His voice was a lot deeper and raspier, but their voices blended well together. Dean smiled widely when he noticed his brother joined in. "Make the Yuletide gay, from now on our troubles will be miles away." They sang together in perfect harmony. Sam stood to stand next to Dean with a grin spread across his face. Cas just sat back in his chair, unsure what to do. He knew the song but he had never really tried singing unless he counted the time he sang to a baby.
"Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore," sang Sam and Dean. Cas stood, cleared his throat, and joined in. "Loving friends who are dear to us gather near us once more." Their voice melted together into something that made their hearts rise into their throats like a rollercoaster. They all smiled at each other. "Through the years we all will be together, if the Fates allow, hang a shining star upon the highest bough. And have a merry little Christmas now…"
The song ended quietly, and silence fell again. They stared at each other, seeing who was going to break first. All at once, they began to laugh and clap. When the laughter settled down and their stomachs ached, they sat back down at the table. Sam wiped tears of laughter from his eyes, and Cas pulled at the collar of his sweater.
"I did not know you could sing like that, man," said Sam when he could catch his breath.
"You do now."
"No, I mean you're really, really good, Dean."
Dean snorted. "Thanks."
Another silence fell. The bunker was quiet except the sipping of eggnog and the low hum of the heater. Dean broke the silence. "Merry Christmas, guys."
"Merry Christmas," said Sam and Cas in unison. Cas raised his glass and Sam and Dean followed. "And to many more to come."