Author's Note:

Almost forgot about this one, better finish it off before the season's over haha

Secret Santa Part 2

Castiel sat next to Dean on the couch throughout the night; they watched a few movies though The Room was still probably the only one that really stuck with them. "That was the worst acting," Dean rubbed his forehead, his sides kind of hurt from laughing. He had to hand it to Jet, it was a good pick, and it really helped with that little problem of being awkward next to Cas. You just couldn't feel bad about yourself after watching The Room; it was one of the worst movies out there, which almost made it better.

"Come on, they did that on purpose." Cas protested as he gestured toward the ending credits.

"No, seriously Tommy Wiseau thought it was a piece of art." Jet insisted though some of them thought he was playing them, he had a tendency to do that.

The night was filled with laughter, drinks, and a few Christmas games that no one would ever play unless it was a sort of gathering of people happening. Dean loved Apples to Apples though, a word game that let the players pair up the most appropriate word with whatever was drawn from the pile. There were many versions of the game but he liked the classic party pack. It was tough to see who won sometimes but overall he would bet on himself, maybe Jet. They were both pretty good at making people laugh, and wasn't that really the key to playing those games?

They handed out gifts to one another Secret Santa style, a little exchange Cas wasn't part of because he hadn't been in the area to take names. Regardless he still sat back and watched with some amusement as the others made faces about what they got or didn't get when the gift giver wasn't looking. Castiel leaned onto the table with his elbows and rested his head in his hands as he glanced across the room at Dean, his smile warm as he watched.

Dean looked over, just once, but it was enough to see the little wink Cas had for him. He stuttered a bit and turned away, his face bright red as he looked toward Jet, an attempt to hide it from Castiel. Jet raised an eyebrow and took a quick look to see what Dean was fretting over. "Dude," He smirked and looked back at Dean who was practically cowering, "What are you still doing down here? Go take care of that."

"I can't." Dean argued and disappeared out of the room. He took a breather to calm down; Cas was too good at riling him up. Was it some kind of joke to Cas? Dean had really meant it when he said he liked him, and then Cas didn't talk to him again for years. What kind of game was Cas playing at? Regardless Dean went back to the party as planned and tried to continue it, but when he reentered the room Castiel wasn't sitting where he had been before and for a second Dean panicked.

"Looking for someone?" Jet asked and his tone sounded a little stiff at best.

"Where's…"

"He went out, didn't look too happy." Jet motioned toward the door but Dean didn't need his help to know what 'out' meant. He ran over to the entrance and put on his boots before running out the door himself.

"Cas!" He called to his old friend as Castiel threw a slight fit and kicked his car. "Cas where are you going?"

"Oh what do you care?!" Castiel shouted and Dean heard the slight break in his voice. "Just go back inside."

Dean of course didn't listen and walked over to Cas, "Hey," he wasn't sure what would help, or what he'd done exactly that he had to help but he knew he had to try. Whatever it was was probably his fault. "Cas, what's wrong?"

"Just go away." Cas didn't look at him so Dean had to get into the other's line of sight. "Dean, stop it." He finally looked up and Dean instantly felt terrible, Cas had been crying, he didn't know why but there were tears coming out of those pretty blue eyes and he felt awful seeing them. "Please, just leave me alone, okay? I'm embarrassed enough."

"Embarrassed?" Dean caught Castiel's arm as he tried to turn away again, "Why would you be? Did someone say something?" Cas was quiet for a while and to Dean it was an eternity. "Cas, what happened?"

"You." Castiel pulled away and glared at him as if he were cornering him like an animal, "You tell me you like me and we fall out of contact, I figured you wouldn't anymore but you invite me to this thing and I think maybe you do and I… I just…" The tears came harder and he lost words after fumbling through his sentence.

"Shh," Dean pulled Cas into a hug and held him there for a little while, letting him release the frustration a little.

"I feel so stupid." Cas muttered into Dean's t-shirt, his fingers digging a little into his arm.

Dean thought to mention how he figured Cas was the one playing games but he knew better, it wouldn't help any. "I'm sorry, Cas. I guess I thought it'd be rude if I… if I did anything." He rested his head against Castiel's and took a second to take in his cologne; it was subtle and very fitting. "You bother me." He mumbled with a bit of a laugh.

Cas stiffened a little, "I… bother you?"

"Yeah, you're too fucking hot." Dean turned and kissed Cas' cheek, smiling at the way the other lit up.

"You think so?"

"Yeah definitely, I still really like you Cas but… it's not like it was before." Dean pulled him in a bit tighter, his hand found its way into Cas' hair to cradle his head. "I want more than just to sleep with you, I want… my favourite Christmas present this year was you."

Castiel was quiet but Dean could feel how much it meant to him, Cas' arms wrapped around him tighter and they managed to get closer even though Dean hadn't thought it'd be possible. "Can I come back in?" He asked softly and Dean nodded.

"Definitely, I'll fix your car tomorrow okay?"

"It's a rental, I don't really care." Cas laughed and nuzzled his cheek against Dean's, it scratched a bit but wasn't all that bad. They walked hand in hand back to the house, Dean had to admire the glow on Castiel's face from the twinkling lights around the house, he was so pretty. "Hey Dean?"

"Yeah?"

He reached up and pulled Dean closer to him for a kiss, their mouths were a hot contrast to the cold air around them. Dean practically melted into it and smiled against Cas' lips.

"Merry Christmas." Castiel whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Cas."