Dean wiped the fog off of the bathroom mirror with a dry towel. Aww, man. His left arm from the middle of his bicep to his wrist was lobster red. So was the left side of his neck and face. He looked like he was wearing a white tee-shirt or like Richard Dreyfuss from the move Close Encounters.
Dean had spent the beautiful spring afternoon driving north to Lawrence, Kansas. It had been perfect driving weather. The temperature was in the low 70s. Dean stuck to back roads and the smell of fresh mown grass occasionally filled the car. The radio had stayed tuned to classic rock stations. The sun had been shining bright, and Dean had spent most of the drive with his left arm hanging out the window. He had loved driving home, but now he was paying for it with half a farmer's tan.
With his fair complexion and freckles, Dean was usually more carefully about preventing sunburn. Even in warm weather, he tried to wear long sleeves. Today had just been too nice to cover up, but Dean was now sun-burned and in pain.
He opened his toiletries bag and began to search for aloe-vera gel. Finding the bottle of clear, unscented gel, Dean began to liberally apply the soothing goo to his left side. When he had finished, He pulled on clean boxers and his jeans but left off a shirt until the gel could soak in and dry; right now he was still sticky.
As Dean walked down the hallway, he could hear a series of sneezes. He quickened his pace in his worry for Sammy. Then, he heard Sam saying, "Bless you. Or actually, um maybe Gesundheit would be more appropriate." Dean walked into the main room in time to see Cas give another small sneeze.
To Dean, it looked like Cas was fighting the sneezes; trying to hold them back. Cas was sitting at one of the desk chairs, wrapped in his trench coat. His eyes were rimmed red and the end of his nose looked irritated. Dean's voice was laced with concern when he asked, "Cas, do you have a cold? 'cause man, you look like shit." He added, "No offence," when Sam glared at him.
Cas looked miserable as he answered, "I might be dying. This vessel is reacting adversely to the pollen in the air. It may be poisoning me."
Dean tried to make eye contact with Sam who appeared to be holding back laughter. "It sounds like allergies, Cas. Have you tried taking a shower to get the pollen out of your hair and clothes?" Dean didn't have any allergies, so he really didn't know how to help.
Just then, Cas scrunched his face up tight, obviously fighting a sneeze. Dean grabbed a tissue and strode to Cas's side, holding it out to the miserable angel. "Just let the sneeze out, Cas. It might make you feel better."
Cas grabbed the tissue from Dean's hand and breathed in two gasps, "Ah! Ah!" the he let rip with an enormous sneeze. "CCCHHHOOOOOOOOO."
Dean jumped away from Cas with a screeched "Son of a Bitch!" Downy white feathers clung to his entire left side. Every square inch of skin that Dean had slathered in Aloe-vera gel was now a mass of angel feathers. The gel acted like glue.
Sam had both hands clamped over his mouth, but a squealing noise still escaped from him. He slid sideways out of his chair and curled on the floor while giant guffaws ripped from his throat.
"This isn't funny, Sammy!" Dean yelled. Tears streamed down Sam's face as he panted, "Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. That is the funniest thing I have ever seen."
Dean tried to shake some of the feather off of his arm while Cas just sat there looking wide eyed, staring at Dean. Cas slowly reach out and began to pick the feathers, on-by-one, from Dean's skin. "Y-you told me to let it out, Dean." Cas stammered.
Dean's shoulders slumped as he glared at his still laughing brother before smiling at Cas. "I know, Cas. It was an accident." His smile grew wider and he grinned at his angel. "How about you help me wash them off in the shower?" Cas stood up and grabbed Dean's hand. He smiled at Dean, following him down the hall to the shower, and asked, "Will you help me wash the pollen off my wings while we're in there?"
Dean nodded tugged his angel faster down the hallway.