Hello fellow readers and writers, it has been so long since I have had a chance to add to this challenge! I like to believe my writing has come a long way, but as always I use fanfiction for fun. I hope you enjoy this micro-story. Please feel free to review.

The mug was as empty as my heart. Uncle Gabe had left a void too big to be refilled. His hot chocolate had been legendary. The right amount of sweetness, fluffy whipped cream and a collection of white and pink marshmallows that would bob gleefully up and down. Tears streamed down my face. I didn't notice Uncle Cas until he touched my shoulder.

He pulled me close and I buried my head against his stomach.

'I wish I could remove this pain from you, Celeste.' He murmured as my tears continued to fall.

'There's nothing you can do, Uncle Cas…' my voice was tinged with regret - my eyes remained fixed on the mug.

Uncle Cas followed my gaze. 'I could make you a cup of hot…hot…'

'Chocolate.'

'Chocolate… right, I knew that.'

I held back my trademark eye roll and nodded. He filled up the kettle and surprisingly remembered to boil it by flicking down the switch. So far, so good. Then, he headed to the fridge... What occurred next left me speechless. He unwrapped a whole chocolate bar and placed it in the mug. We listened to the whistling of the kettle and I managed to share a smile with him.

Once the kettle pinged, he lifted it up and poured the boiling liquid over the chocolate. Steam rose and I watched as parts of the block disintegrated, slowly... The brown mess slid down the side of the cup. He presented it to me like he had achieved a work of art. I had to hand it to him, it was truly something spectacular. But it was definitely not going to taste nice.

'Thank you, Uncle Cas.' I took a tentative sip and couldn't help but recoil as gooey chocolate filled my mouth. His crushed expression made me want to burst into tears all over again.

'I'm sorry, Celeste. I'll never be like Gabriel. I wish I could do the things he could, I wish it had been me.'

'How could you dare say that? I love you! You don't need to be like Uncle Gabe – no one will ever replace him and I'm not expecting you to. I appreciate all you do for me and for trying to comfort me. I would hurt as much as I'm hurting now if it had been you. Do you think I don't care about y-' my trembling voice was cut off by Uncle Cas' crushing hug.

'You're right. I love you more than I can express. Gabriel would be so proud of you.' He whispered into my hair.

'He'd be proud of you too. Just so long as you never attempt to replicate his hot chocolate ever again!'

We both laughed.

'We have a deal as Sam would say.'

'Yeah, Dean never makes deals.'

Speaking of the squirrel, he appeared in the entranceway of the kitchen and acknowledged us with a nod. 'What's this about me not making deals?'

'Nothing, Dean. Celeste and I were just having a cup of hot chocolate to pay tribute to Gabriel.'

Dean's eyes suddenly went wide. 'Not my chocolate bar.'

Uncle Cas stuttered, 'Uh… Well… I didn't realise the chocolate bar belonged to you.'

Before Dean had a chance to explode I said, 'Come on, Uncle Cas. We'll make a store run. Besides, we're out of hot chocolate powder anyway.'