Christmas went by calmly, considering the only real plan was to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Charlie had a small tree made out of coat hangers and garland in her room, and that was about the extent of the decorations. They did exchange gifts, though.

Sam tossed Dean a bottle of sparkling grape juice.

"Merry Christmas," Sam said. The bottle would not last long.

Dean grinned, "Thanks, Sammy. Here's yours."

He honestly hadn't known what to get Sam. He figured Sam wouldn't have appreciated Luci's head on a plate as much as Dean would, and Dean's attempts to figure out why Gabriel was lying to Sam hadn't gone very well. So, he settled on something he knew Sam could use. Dean handed Sam an envelope and put the bottle of sparkling goodness in the fridge.

"What's this?" Sam asked.

Dean said, "Open it." He sat back down next to Cas on the couch. Cas slipped his fingers between Dean's and smiled at him.

So, it had sort of been Cas' idea, but it was a good idea.

Sam opened the envelope and laughed, "Seriously?"

Charlie asked, "So, what is it?"

Sam held up a piece of paper and read, "This is a coupon for one non-biased, opinion free, and snark free conversation with Dean Winchester." Sam looked in the envelope again and found more.

"How many of these are there?" Sam asked.

"Ten," Dean said, "But you can have more when you use those up."

Sam realized what Dean's gift really was.

When Cas suggested giving Sam Dean's love and attention, Dean had initially laughed. Then, he gave the idea some thought. Dean's real gift was giving Sam the chance to talk to him without fear of judgment or ridicule or anger. It was something he should've given Sam before any of the shit with Luci happened.

Sam put down the envelope and hugged Dean.

"Thank you," Sam said quietly.

Dean hugged Sam back and replied, "Merry Christmas." Sam pulled away.

Cas smiled at Dean. He said, "I wish I could've gotten you all something."

Charlie said, "Oh, it's okay. You've already given us so much."

Cas cocked his head to the side.

Dorothy said, "You make Dean happy. That's better than any Christmas present."

Dean could already feel heat in his face.

Luckily, Sam said, "Yeah, he's not nearly as annoying as he usually is."

"Bitch," Dean said, grinning. He was really just happy that his brother made the conversation get a little lighter and less about him and Cas.

Sam laughed, "Jerk." Charlie gave each of them Christmas cards while Dorothy started making hot chocolate.

"Where's Gabriel?" Cas asked.

Sam's smile dropped slightly. "He's spending Christmas with his family," he said. Cas' hand stiffened in Dean's, and again, Dean felt like he wasn't getting the full story. But he couldn't worry about that now.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said, "I have to show you something."

Cas looked at Dean confused, but Dean just pulled Cas off the couch and led him to their room.

Dorothy called, "You guys better be back for hot chocolate!" Dean closed their door and pulled a small box out of his sock drawer.

He turned back towards Cas and said, "Before I give you this, I have to explain something. Don't read into this. Please. I wanted to get you something, but everything seemed like something I'd get for a friend."

He took a step closer to Cas and handed him the box.

"I've never had a boyfriend to shop for," Dean said quietly, "But I felt like you wouldn't really like a necklace or something I'd get anyone else I've dated."

Cas opened the box and looked at Dean with wide eyes.

"So, I got you a ring. It doesn't mean what it would normally mean, but I didn't know what else to get you," Dean said.

Cas kissed Dean softly. His lips pressed against Dean's deeply.

When they broke apart, Dean gasped, "So you like it?"

Cas smiled, "Yes. Yes, I love it. Thank you." Cas slipped the ring on his finger and grinned widely. It was just a simple gold band, no engravings or anything, but Cas really seemed to like it.

"I'm sorry I didn't get you anything," Cas said.

Dean held Cas' hands in his, "Charlie and Dorothy are right, Cas. You're already the best gift I could ever ask for."

Cas' smile lit up the room. He kissed Dean hard and ran his fingers through Dean's hair. It was all Dean could do not to moan loud enough for everyone else to hear. Cas pressed against Dean, making everything Dean was ignite. If they kept this up, they'd probably end up having sex. And that was…that was still too much to think about.

"Hot chocolate?" Dean asked when they broke apart. Cas nodded, still smiling, and reached for Dean's hand. It was different feeling a ring on Cas' finger, but it was nice.

When he opened the door, Sam was in the hall.

"Need something?" Dean asked. Sam wordlessly handed Dean one of the free talk coupons and sat down on Dean's bed. Dean had a very bad feeling about this.

He let go of Cas' hand and said, "Go have hot chocolate. I'll be out in a bit."

Cas nodded, giving Dean a concerned look, and walked out to Charlie and Dorothy.

Dean sat next to Sam on his bed.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Dean asked. He reminded himself to keep in check any and all reactions, but he knew this was going to be tricky.

"Gabe's lying to me about something, and I don't know what it is," Sam said.

Shit.

"Really?" Dean asked.

Sam shot him a look, "Yeah. I've got a couple of guesses, but I'm not sure."

Shit. Shit.

"What guesses?" Dean asked.

Shit. Shit. Shit. He felt like he was walking in a damn minefield.

Sam sighed, "He might be lying about still wanting to be friends, or he might be lying about Luci."

How did Gabriel's feelings not even cross Sam's mind? The guy was so head over heels for Sam, it was ridiculous. How could Sam not see it?

"How could he be lying about Luci?" Dean asked hesitantly. Anything concerned with Luci may get a reaction out of him that might shut down Sam's conversation. But he wasn't touching Sam's insecurities over Gabriel's friendship with a ten foot pole. He steeled his resolve not to respond with anything too visceral.

"His friend, Kali, is keeping an eye on Luci in case he tries anything stupid like killing himself," Sam explained, "Gabe may have heard something and not told me."

Dean nodded slowly. Honestly, he didn't see what was so bad about a world without Luci, but he didn't say that out loud.

"So, is that what he's lying about?" Sam asked.

Dean looked at Sam, confused, "Sam, I don't-"

Sam sighed, "I know he told you whatever it is. I heard the two of you talking a while ago. You wanted to know why he was lying to me, and he said he had to. But I know I heard it out of context, so instead of freaking out, I'm asking. What is he not telling me?"

Fuck.

"Sam, I can't tell you," Dean said.

Sam stood up quickly and rounded on Dean.

"Are you serious?" Sam shouted, "Why the hell not, Dean?"

He couldn't tell him. Sam definitely needed to know, but Dean couldn't tell him.

"If you're going to find out, you have to find out from Gabriel. It's not my secret to share. You need to hear it from him," Dean said.

Sam sighed exasperatedly and started for the door.

Before he got there, Dean said quickly, "I can tell you that you're wrong on both counts. He definitely wants to be friends, and it has nothing to do with Luci. I don't know why he doesn't want to tell you, but he's not hiding anything bad."

Sam stopped and looked at Dean, confusion in his eyes.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded.

"How can I be sure?" Sam asked.

Dean replied, "You're gonna have to trust me."

Sam nodded slowly. "Thanks, Dean," he said.

Dean felt like shit. There was just no way he could tell Sam something like that. He wished he could tell Sam more, something to help more, something to at least get him on the right track. How the hell was he not already on the right track? It's not like Gabriel was subtle at all. To be fair, Dean hadn't thought it was more than attraction until Gabriel told him outright, but that hadn't even occurred to Sam as a possibility. Dean really worried about what was going on in Sam's head.

"Hot chocolate?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded.

Dean sat on the couch with Cas while Sam went to help Dorothy and Charlie with the hot chocolate. They were bickering over how much chocolate was the right amount to put in while Sam tossed a bag of marshmallows at Charlie, which apparently had great influence on the chocolate debate as the girls both grinned and started pouring chocolate syrup in.

"What'd Sam want to talk about?" Cas asked.

Dean said quietly, "He knows Gabriel's not telling him something."

Cas' eyes widened. "Did you tell him?" he asked.

Dean shook his head, "He can't hear it from me, but he knows I know something."

"Is he upset?" Cas asked.

Dean nodded, "A bit. I don't think he's mad at me, but I think he's frustrated. I don't know why Gabriel's keeping him in the dark about this."

Sam walked over, effectively ending their conversation.

"Hot chocolate for you," Sam said, handing a mug to Cas.

He held one out to Dean, "And I'm not mad, but you guys need to learn to talk quieter."

Shit. They both looked at Sam.

"I'm sorry," Cas said.

Sam sat down next to Cas and sipped his hot chocolate.

"It's fine," he said, "Honestly, I'm glad you know. You're one of Gabe's best friends and one of my best friends. If it was something that would be a problem for either of us, I'm sure you'd tell me."

Cas nodded, "Of course I would."

They all finished their hot chocolate, watched Doctor Who, and watched Charlie and Dorothy play Portal 2 in co-op mode until Cas started falling asleep on Dean's shoulder.

When Charlie snapped for the third time, "How the fuck are we supposed to get over there? We don't have any freaking gel," Cas jolted awake a bit.

"We're gonna go to bed," Dean said, "Goodnight, guys."

To Charlie, he said, "And remember, you have a portal gun."

Charlie blushed, "Shut up." She then placed portals and let Dorothy follow her across.

He helped Cas up and walked him over to their room. Cas yawned and collapsed on their bed. Dean helped Cas strip down to his boxers and did the same for himself.

"You probably shouldn't sleep with that on," Dean said, indicated the ring, "It's not the best metal. It might turn your finger green."

Cas nodded sleepily, pulled off the ring, and put it on Dean's dresser.

Dean crawled into bed with Cas, saying, "Merry Christmas, Cas."

Cas replied, "Merry Christmas, Dean." He put his head on Dean's chest and wrapped his arms around him. Dean ran his hand up Cas' back slowly. He knew Cas liked to fall asleep feeling Dean rubbing him in some way, and he absolutely loved to oblige.

Cas softly kissed Dean and carded his fingers through Dean's hair. Dean reached up and slowly rubbed the back of Cas' neck, extending his hand up into Cas' hair. He'd learned not that long ago that rubbing Cas' neck all but made the man purr. Kissing and neck rubs got Cas excited in the best way. Pleasure shot through Dean as Cas moaned at Dean's touch. It was the best sound in the world. But Cas was tired. This wouldn't go anywhere. Dean kissed Cas a few more times before Cas curled back up to sleep on Dean's chest.

Cas said quietly, "I love you, Dean."

At that moment, Dean's heart stopped.