Sammy's First Snow

Winter had come early this year, bringing with it biting cold winds and a rapid snowfall. For his part, Cas was glad. Winter was so much better than summertime, when his customary favourite trenchcoat hung uncomfortably from his shoulders and caused him to sweat from places he didn't know he could sweat from. Letting his trenchcoat go, as Balthazar had on more than one occasion suggested wearily, was out of the question. It was his favourite one!

So, yeah, he was definitely a winter person.

Another benefit to the cold was having two small warm furry bodies snuggling up against his side at night - the kittens had taken up residence in Cas' bed, considering that Balthazar was adamant to keep "those pesky furballs" away from him whenever he could help it, though Cas was working on his low tolerance for them. So when dawn came bright and chilling that first snowy morning, Cas startled awake thanks to the bright glare from the window and instantly bemoaned the absence of the kittens. It was cold, dammit. They couldn't have chosen a worse morning to leave him stranded alone in his bed, freezing his ass off while they were off...

Cas frowned and sat up. Where were they?

A look around the room gave him the answer as he spotted a small feline figure squashed up against the wide window. Slinking around him was a slightly bigger kitten, his brother, who turned stunningly green eyes to their new owner as soon as Cas slid out of bed.

Cas glanced out at the white expanse that was the road and shivered - the snow had fallen thick overnight. He crouched, reaching out a hand to run through the tawny fur between the older cat's - Dean's - ears, grinning as it earned him a low purr. "Good morning," he smiled, petting Sam's back too before he stood up. The smaller kitten shifted from his window-gazing and looked up at him, then mewed softly and ducked into his brother's side, hiding his head while Dean playfully swatted a paw at him.

It was freaking adorable, so of course Balthazar had to choose that moment to barge in - all bang and no grace, as usual.

"It's snowing!"

Cas turned at the complaint, having passed the point where he got surprised by his best friend's knack for sudden appearances, and shot Balthazar a wry smile. "Good morning to you too."

The Brit waved an unconcerned hand his way and strode up to the window, leaving the door between their rooms wide open. "Cas, it's bloody-"

"-Snowing, I heard." Cas watched, amused and somewhat exasperated, as his roommate shot a very clearly sulky glare outside. For as much as he was a winter lover, Balthazar adored the summer sun and long days. Mostly for the beach, Cas thought. And the many scantily-clad women that tended to live there.

At least in winter everyone was all covered up.

Cas was pulled out of his musings by the now-familiar cursing that was Balthazar trying to maneuver around a certain mischievous kitten who tended to not-so-accidentally get tangled up in his legs when he was least expecting it. The rapid British cursewords were followed up by a stumble, flailing arms, and - Cas winced - a crash as his best friend took a tumble down to the floor, hitting a small collapsible table with an arm on his way down.

Strutting away from the spot, tail held proudly high and as satisfied a look as a cat could get on his face, was Dean.

Cas couldn't help it - he had to laugh.

"Screw you, mate," Balthazar groaned as he got up. He sniffed, straightened his shirt, and shot a stink-eye at the tabby who met it with his own lazy blink.

Cas just shook his head. The seeming rivalry between the two was something he tried not to understand. Balthazar claimed Dean was "too bloody cocky for a mini furball" and Dean - well, Cas was no cat-whisperer, but it was clear by the hisses and claw-threats that he liked Balthazar as much as the human liked him. Cas didn't get it, but Dean was fine with him, playing with him and letting him scratch behind his ears, so he put it past him. Balthazar could solve his own problems.

Sam, on the other hand, was about as shy as a kitten could get. He hid behind his brother when Dean was around (which was almost always) and took to curling on the mat, tail wound around himself and swaying slightly, whenever Dean wasn't with him. He didn't hiss at the humans at all but let them pet him only a little bit at a time before he returned to his customary hiding spot at his brother's side.

At least his not-so-rough behaviour towards Balthazar seemed to have warmed the man up to him slightly. Cas was glad - he adored the kittens but he couldn't possibly look after both of them alone, and since Dean didn't get along with Balthazar then his friend would have to take care of Sam, at least, when Cas was busy. Dean was protective of his brother but Cas figured that if he saw that Balthazar wasn't hurting Sam in any way, he'd back off a little.

For now, though...

Cas watched curiously as Sam meowed and pawed at the window, having resumed his previous position there. The kitten walked along it, rubbing against the glass and pushing at it with his head as though he could go outside through sheer force.

"I think we should let them out to play," Cas suggested.

He was met with a flat look from his best friend. "You're joking."

Cas frowned, puzzled. "No... Why would that be a joke?"

It was testament to how accustomed Balthazar was to his knack for taking things too literally that he only rolled his eyes. "I meant, they'll get snow all over the house if we let them out."

He hadn't thought of that. Cas tilted his head in thought, watching the felines as Dean prowled around his brother who stuck resolutely against the window. "So we'll clean them off before bringing them in." When he saw that Balthazar was still not convinced, he pointed to the little brunet kitten with an imploring, "But look at him! I believe this is Sam's first winter - he'll be pining at the window the whole day otherwise!"

Balthazar looked over at Sam, who was indeed pining at the unreachable snow, and sighed.

"Fine," he grumbled.

Cas beamed at him and, in the span of a few seconds, had pulled on his previously-mentioned beloved trenchcoat and held a slightly reluctant Dean in his arms. He nodded over at Sam, who had looked up sadly at the loss of his brother, and said to Balthazar, "You can hold Sam."

And then he unlocked the door and pulled it open, leaving a scowling (sulking) Balthazar behind to chase after the brunet, who had trailed after them hopefully.

Fifteen minutes later, and Balthazar was already caked in snow.

"That is it- bloody little rascal-"

The scowl that was threatening to become a permanent fixture on his face deepened as he shook his jacket sleeves out and brushed the snow off the leather. He turned to see Cas innocently watching the two kittens tumble around in the snow, a faint smile playing around his lips.

"Did you not see that?" he said, outraged.

Cas looked up at him, blue eyes wide. "See what?"

Balthazar narrowed his eyes and then pointed at the tabby accusingly. "That mangy bastard attacked me!"

Cas blinked at him, eyebrows creasing. "You are aware that he barely reaches past your shins."

"That's beside the point."

"Oh."

Balthazar huffed but then blinked in surprise when a different ball of fur barreled into his legs this time, hiding behind his right boot. He looked down, baffled, as Sam mewed at him and then yelped when his brother pounced at his tail from behind, before scurrying over to circle Balthazar's other leg. He snickered when Dean pawed at Sam and backed off repeatedly, clearly trying to get his brother to chase him, but the smaller feline remained attached to his leg for some reason.

"Maybe he is tired," Cas mused, watching them.

Balthazar shrugged and crouched down, pushing the brunet kitten gently forward so he could scoop him up in his arms. Sam went willingly, snuggling up half inside his leather jacket for warmth, much to the man's surprise and amusement.

Amusement because Dean perched in front of him, growling slightly and obviously wanting to unleash his claws on Balthazar, but holding back due to his little brother's clear comfort. Balthazar smirked at the tabby, mentally upping the tally in his favor.

Cas just observed from the side and shook his head at his best friend's antics.

Ah, well. At least one of the kittens adored him. It was a start.

-x-

A/N: :3 I love kittens so freaking much they're sho cute *flails*

Aaaaaahh I finally got this done xD Been meaning to for ages but then other stuff happened and other fluffy fics but I has prioritised this now. :D Was gunna write a sequel to my next-gen-twinchesters fic but I decided on this instead. Cuz kitty!Sammy. And kitty!Deano. And just. D'aw. *cuddles them all*

Trying to stick to all their characters as much as I can - I love Cas and Balthazar too much to change them. xP Obviously some things will be different but hopefully not too much. Tell me if I veer off track, 'kay? ;)

Would love to hear what you think in a review - also, I do take prompts, store them away in a folder in my mind, and I'll try to get around to them but I don't really control what I write when it comes down to it. If you have ideas, though, I don't mind hearing them, I'm open for suggestions. Already got a few from Renae (who asked for this fic) to work with but I'll keep any others around too :)

Hope you enjoyed that :D

Cheers~
izzyyy :)