And the second chapter. I had a lot of fun with this chapter :3
You should listen to the "Home Alone Soundtrack - 32. Christmas Carol Medley" while reading this.
This had been a HUGE inspiration for me when I wrote this story :)
Chapter 1
Charlie had not lied when she had said that the Christmas market would be small.
But the village, where the whole market took place, was also not much bigger, therefore they might not expect too much.
Whether small or big, it looked still like a lot of fun and even Dean's lips graced a soft smile when he looked at the sight of lights, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations and all sorts of goodies.
Overnight snow had fallen, had covered everything in a gorgeous white and let the Christmas spirit in the hearts of men (and angels also) rise even further.
And then there were also people in Christmas costumes.
Even Santa Claus was present and...
"Hey look at that: there are also angels. But...why they don't hide their wings?"
Loud laughter was the only answer Castiel got for his question and the young angel frowned thoughtfully. Apparently, he didn't quite understand the meaning of this spontaneous hilarity and couldn't understand what should be so funny about angels who had apparently no fear to reveal their wings to humanity.
"Cas. These are not real angels. These are people who dressed up as angels," Charlie told him and she had to wipe a little tear from her eye as she grinned at the young man, who was apparently really never been to a Christmas market.
Gabriel put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to his side; with his free hand he playfully ruffled through his short, black hair.
"Little Cas still has to learn a lot. Don't worry little brother, today we bring light into the darkness."
Castiel looked like that he still didn't understand the whole thing, but he chose rather not to ask. Instead, he let his eyes wander over the Christmas Market.
It was a quick trip, because instead of driving all the way with the Impala, Gabriel had shortened the journey with a snap of his fingers to just a few seconds. Dean had not liked the whole thing, because he utterly disliked this kind of "travel", but with Gabriel it felt differently than when Cas zapped him somewhere.
It felt...better?
Well, Gabriel was an Archangel after all.
He knew how to do such a thing...
He didn't waste so many thoughts on any trips with angels and therefore focused rather on the wonderfully colorful market, which was before him and he enjoyed the delicious scents of hot chocolate, mulled wine, hearty food and tempting sweets. Considering that this Christmas market was so small, it offered quite a lot of food and Dean already felt how his stomach started growling at the thought.
"You aren't thinking about food again, right?"
The older hunter turned his head and gave his little brother a knowing grin and Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes playfully at that.
"You're impossible, you know that?" the younger hunter teased and he poked him in the side, which made Dean laugh.
"Are you two turtle doves done over there, or do we have to wait a bit longer for you two?"
Gabriel's amused-sounding voice pulled the two brothers back from their thoughts and only then they realized that they stood a few meters away from their friends without even realizing that at first. They quickly walked over to the small group, on their faces a light shade of red, which was commented with big grins by Gabriel and Charlie and it was obvious that both of them could swallow the next remark with great difficulty, as Dean glared at both of them.
However, even the dour look on the face of the older Winchester went by quickly as they kept walking and looked at the rest of the market.
There were many different colorful stalls.
In some you could buy something to eat or drink, others offered handmade decorations and others offered a lot of different games for the younger visitors.
Of course there were also some stalls which provided for Christmas costumes and especially Gabriel had his fun with teasing his little brother and the humans with it. Especially Dean's reaction had been hilarious when he made him look like Santa Claus himself with an "inconspicuous" Snap of his Fingers. The little child who passed them and shouted an excited, "Mom, Mom! Look at this, there's Santa Claus!" made all of them roar with laughter and not even a minute later tears ran down their cheeks and before any of the other visitors around could notice the group, the Trickster chose to make Dean's costume disappear again.
But what the small group impressed the most was the large Christmas tree, which stood on a large, open space in the middle of the market. The tree towered above each stall by far and on its sides there were two huge angels who had raised their trumpets and sent their quiet song to the Lord. The angels were made of hundreds of lights and the six friends almost had to look away; so bright they were.
The six friends couldn't help but grin at that, since they apparently all thought the same thing: How ironic!
The tree also shone in a bright light, as well as it was covered all over with fairy lights.
Huge red and golden Christmas baubles hung on the branches of the tree and the snow that had fallen overnight, made the image perfect.
In this one moment there wasn't a more beautiful sight and even Gabriel couldn't find the words to describe this beautiful sight in front of him. Castiel stood to his side, put an arm around his brother's shoulders and leaned against him with a broad smile on his lips and together they watched the angels and the mighty Christmas tree and it seemed as time stood still. Everything else was forgotten and only the feeling of love and peace remained.
And the feeling of being a family again…
A faint clicking sound pulled the two brothers quickly out of their thoughts and when they turned around, their human friends were laughing at them and Charlie raised her phone with a grin, when Gabriel gave her a quizzical look. On the big screen the outline of him and his brother Castiel could be seen as both of them stood with their backs to them and absently looked up to the Christmas tree. Next to them were the mighty angels who still played their quiet song and a sea of lights, which seemed to almost engulf both of them.
"Look at these two, aren't they just cute? I bet the photo will look so great when I print it out."
Cursed should be these smartphones, was everything what Gabriel thought and he underlined this thought with a deep growl. But Charlie and the others knew that he wasn't serious at all, but she also knew how proud the Trickster was and it took time to tickle some feelings and emotions out of him.
They spent some time at this place and looked at the beauty of the Christmas tree and the Christmas Angels with shining eyes and everyone took pictures of this awesome sight.
Then they decided to go and eat something.
The selection was huge and the small group split up for a short time and disappeared into the small crowd of people.
Sam and Dean had bought some gorgeous fragrant sausages and were already seated at a long table, where they waited for the others, who joined them a little later.
Kevin was the first who took place next to them; on his plate a thick, juicy burger.
"Where did you get this?" Dean asked who couldn't take his eyes of this wonderful looking meal.
Kevin grinned and pointed to a stall not far away from the table at which they sat.
"You can buy them over there. They should have a unique taste, since the meat was seasoned with Christmas spices."
That sounded indeed like a unique combination and Dean wondered already whether he should buy a burger or not, as Charlie also dropped down beside him.
She had chosen a classic: A slice of pizza.
"Very creative Charlie," Dean teased her and he poked his finger into her side.
"What? I am hungry and I am not in the mood for some experiments alla Kevin."
She gave Kevin a wink which was answered with a shrug.
"The burger isn't even that bad. Although it tastes a bit odd, but not bad."
Gabriel and Castiel were the last who joined them and as was to be expected, the archangel had come back with a plate full of candy. From gingerbread to candied apples everything was there.
The only one who came back with nothing, was Castiel.
"Angels don't need to eat," had been his monotone answer, which was commented by a roll of the eyes from the others and it was not long until he had a candy cane stuck in his mouth, which his brother had pushed into his mouth when he was about to say something.
The others then erupted into loud laughter, laughed so much that even some of the other visitors turned around to them and even Castiel's mouth twitched upwards a little bit.
"That's right Cassie, laugh~. You need to lighten up," Gabriel grinned at him and he underlined his words with a poke to his side which made the young angel giggle.
"Gabriel...stop," Cas laughed and he leaned against his brother's side, pressed his right arm against his body, trapping his brother's tickling fingers underneath when Gabriel had shoved his hand underneath his arm, tickling him.
The Archangel grinned, pressing a soft kiss into the black hair of his brother and kept tickling him.
"Just a little longer," he cooed, and he wiggled his fingers slightly faster to prevent his little brother from protesting.
It had been way too long since the last time he had seen and heard Castiel laugh...it shouldn't stop just yet.
"Who are the turtle doves now?"
Gabriel looked up, looked into four grinning faces and Sam gave him a mischievous wink.
Gabriel felt the blush on his face even before the others could see it and he quickly withdraw his hand and pushed his little, still laughing, brother away from him and cleared his throat before he quickly concentrated all his attention on his candy, earning amused laughter from the others and he had to restrain himself to not smile at them.
After the food was eaten, the friends had taken off again, only to stop at another stall to get some mulled wine.
Sam and Kevin were the first ones to sway dangerously after the second cup and they just laughed at everything. Shortly after followed Charlie and then Dean. Gabriel and Castiel seemed to resist the alcohol. No wonder, since they were both angels and therefore could withstand a considerable quantity of alcohol.
The hours passed and eventually the small market emptied and the now tipsy group also went back on the road.
Not to drive back home, no.
The evening was far too beautiful to go back home now and the landscape looked stunningly beautiful. The snow, the sparkling snowflakes that had reinstated, the rays of the moon when it peeked out behind a small cloud...there was nothing more beautiful this night than the grandeur of winter and God's most beautiful creation.
The alcohol had made the group looser and apparently it also seemed to obscure their minds, for they all had agreed to organize a small race...with sleds down the hill.
Gabriel had already taken care of the sleds and now they sat in groups of two each on a sled. Sam and Dean shared one sled, Charlie and Kevin had taken the next and up the rear were Gabriel and Castiel. The latter didn't seem to be very enthusiastic about the idea, but before he got the chance to complain further or even to back down, Gabriel pushed himself off from the ground and made sure that the sled fell in motion. He sat behind Castiel, wrapped his arms around his stomach and squeezed him tightly, as the young Angel screamed and the Archangel didn't need to look at his face to know that it was filled with panic by now.
But he would not let go of his little brother and Castiel knew this also.
Charlie and Kevin followed the two angels and Sam and Dean had also begun to move and together the six rushed down the hill and it was not long before their laughter filled the onrushing night.
The first who arrived below were Castiel and Gabriel.
They were also the only ones who had managed to remain more or less gracefully on their sleds and the next, who arrived below were Sam and Dean...and without their sled, because they had lost it while rushing over a small stone. The two brothers laughed so loudly that the two angels felt a long forgotten warmth inside their hearts as they watched how both humans arrived below on their bellies and who were covered over and over with snow. Charlie and Kevin brought up the rear. Although their sled was still intact, but when one of them wanted to stand up, the alcohol was right back and the two fell almost simultaneously backwards into the snow and laughed wholeheartedly.
Then their eyes turned to Castiel and Gabriel and the two heavenly warriors felt how a shiver ran down their backs, as they could see the mischievous sparkle in their human friend's eyes.
And shortly thereafter the snowballs were flying...