A/N: Prompt: Faith
Castiel stood in the bunker, pondering the Christmas tree.
"Lame, huh?" came a familiar voice from behind him, as Dean entered the room and put a book on the table. "Makes Charlie Brown's look like a friggin' prize."
Not taking his eyes off the - yes, he agreed - rather pathetic tree, Castiel asked quizzically, "Why is it here?"
"Kevin. Kid cut it down himself. Insisted we put it up."
"Oh."
"Yeah, some crap about him and his mom," Dean explained. "They always did this," Dean waved his hand dismissively, "blah blah family thing during the holidays. Dunno, wasn't really paying attention."
Castiel turned and studied his friend. The Winchesters no longer really celebrated, and an angel had no need for material items. Knowing the brothers' history, Castiel had never questioned it before. But there was something in Dean's tone…
"It's been a rough few years for him," the angel mused.
"Yeah, well, it's been a rough forever for everybody else," his friend replied bitterly. "He'll get used to it."
Castiel pondered this, then turned back toward the tree. Holding a hand up, it started to glow. Both angel and man watched as the small tree started to unbend, reaching straight up, lush dark green color now sprouting from its limbs. The once broken string of lights surrounding the tree lit up, now sparkling with brilliance. What few ornaments were on it, shined in the glow of the lights.
"Cas?"
"You paid attention," Castiel rebuked his friend for his lie. "You didn't need to put this up, yet you did. Your actions betray your words. You know, Dean, as well as I, that we should never get used to it. By helping Kevin, you're teaching him that too."
Dean said nothing. Standing by the angel's side, he watched for a moment the now glorious tree, lost in thought and memories. "Thanks, Cas."
"No, Dean. Thank you for your faith, even when you refuse to admit it," the angel said simply, looking over at his friend. "We should add to it. In older times, they made due with homemade items. I'm sure we can find things here for decoration."
"Yeah, I'll get right on that popcorn string," came the sarcastic response. Then, "Yeah, okay. That might actually work. I think we've got some leftover from that Breaking Bad marathon…"
"You're a good man, Dean Winchester," the angel smirked.
His friend just rolled his eyes, as they both headed towards the kitchen. "Shove it, you ass."