Day 27: On One of Their Birthdays

Title: A Little Slice from Heaven

Summary: Cas gives Dean the best present ever.

Notes: You get some fluff, you get some fluff, everybody gets some fluff! …I'm sorry, I'm just trying to make an Oprah pun. Anyway, this is a little abrupt and not as well-quality as the others, but that's because I wrote this in, like, fifteen minutes and barely looked over it twice (so sorry for any mistakes!). I just started school again, so I've been forced to go to bed earlier than I've become accustomed to.

Dean's track record with birthdays was never really one to be envied. Hell, the only birthday that didn't end in a total disaster was the one where he turned sixteen.

His dad had been out hunting the latest monster of the week that day, so Dean had taken Sammy out to the diner to celebrate. They devoured a whole apple pie in half an hour, teasing and laughing at each other like they were never able to do when Dad was around (after all, John wanted them to act like soldiers; not children. And back then, Dean followed everything that damned man said with a blind sense of loyalty and devotion). Once it became dark, they left the diner and drove the Impala out into an empty, dried up cornfield. They laid on top of the hood and gazed up at the stars until daybreak, Sam rattling off all the constellations and Dean pretending he could see the wild images his brother described. It was a fond memory but also a very private one. Hell, Dean hadn't even told Cas, and he was in love with the angel (though he would never admit that last part aloud ever because he had a "No Chick Flick Moment" reputation to uphold).

So when Dean heard the familiar ruffle of wings and turned only to see Castiel holding out a freshly baked apple pie that stirred up the memory both in his mind and heart, Dean had been confused.

"Why?" Dean asked simply, causing the angel to tilt his head.

"It is customary for someone to be presented a cake or similar form of pastry on their celebratory day of birth, is it not?" Castiel said, holding the steaming pie out to him with a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Shit, that's today, isn't it?" Dean said, astonished as he cut a glance to the calendar to confirm that it was in fact his birthday.

"You make this?" Dean asked as he stepped towards the pie yet reached for the angel, lightly brushing his calloused knuckles up and down Castiel's chest.

Cas shivered slightly, but his stoic expression never cracked, "If by made, you mean 'angel mojo'd,' then yes."

Dean huffed and smiled at him, "Awesome. You wanna wait for Sammy before digging into this puppy?"

"It's food, Dean. Not a canine," Cas corrected him, "And yes, we should wait until Sam comes back from his trip to the library. Although…" A glint of something unreadable—something mischievous flickered across his eyes, "I would like for you to just try a slice."

Dean nodded and shrugged, "No protests here." In a blink of an eye, Dean and Cas were sitting at the table, a piece of sliced pie presented on a clean, fancy-looking plate resting in front of Dean.

"Slow down, Tiger." Dean joked wryly, picking up the silver fork and slicing him off a sliver. He usually consumed a slice in one bite, but he'd already decided he was going to savor this. After all, Cas had made it. This was a pretty big deal.

As soon as the piece landed on his tongue, Dean felt himself be dragged back into a memory—

"You're a pig, you know that?" Sammy scoffed with a shit-eating grin as Dean stuffed his cheeks with the succulent treat.

"Shut up, Bitch." He tried to say, but it came out muddled and incoherent.

Sammy laughed, and Dean felt a grin stretched over his puffed out cheeks…

"What the fuck?" Dean demanded, gasping as he felt himself be dropped back into reality.

"Do you not like it?" Cas said, his voice soft and hurt.

"What just happened to me?" Dean asked, removing his horrified gaze from the pie to the angel.

"I implanted a mental trigger into the pie that only you can see," Cas explained, "Every time you take a bite, the enhanced taste triggers a specific happy recollection you associate the pie with and lets you relive your past happiness as if it were happening all over again."

"Cas, that's…" Dean found himself at a loss for words, too overcome with swirling emotions of utter love and endearment for the man sitting in front of him to even convey his thoughts.

When Dean didn't continue, Cas cocked his head, leaning in to ask in a low, worried voice, "Dean, did I do something wrong?"

Dean responded by dragging the angel into a bruising kiss.

"Dude, this is incredible," Sam exclaimed, shoveling his slice of pie into his mouth, "What is this?"

Cas smiled and looked over at Dean, replying quietly,"Dean-flavored pie." At his words, Sam spewed his half-chewed pie from his mouth, coughing and wheezing violently with a mixture of pain and utter horror painted on his red face.

It took Dean a second to realize what Sam was thinking…

"Dammit Sam, get your head outta the gutter!"

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