Work Text:
Castiel loved his job, and almost everything about his job. Getting shot at wasn’t fun, but he enjoyed the atmosphere of the military life. Highly regimented, comradeship with his fellow soldiers, good work that he did well. It wasn’t for everyone, but for Castiel, this is where he felt he belonged.
Leave was often a stressful time for him. His parents were both retired Air Force, and they kept military discipline in their household. It was just enough different from the routines on base to throw Castiel off, and his parents weren’t any more forgiving than his CO. He usually stuck it out for four days before taking off to find his sister.
Anna had run away from home, in a sense. Technically, once you’re eighteen, it’s not running away, but she left in the middle of the night with a suitcase and no obvious way to track her down, so that’s what it felt like. She didn’t join up the way Michael and Naomi had expected her to, and she wasn’t going to. She wanted freedom in her life, and she’d found that with her friend Ruby. Wife, now, apparently.
Ruby didn’t like Castiel, but since Anna welcomed him and Castiel didn’t interfere with their relationship or try to convince Anna to go home, she tolerated him. This time, when Castiel came, Ruby rolled her eyes. “This is gonna be fun. Be nice to my sister, or I’m kicking you out. She was here first.”
For the first two days, that had been easy. Castiel kept his early to bed, early to rise hours, while Meg was almost never awake before noon, and stayed up late into the night. They rarely saw each other. It was quite the surprise when Castiel went outside one morning at 6 am to do some calisthenics where he wouldn’t disturb anyone to find Meg out there, laughing and playing in the snow.
“Hey! Unicorn! Think fast!” A snowball came flying at Castiel, who put up a hand and caught it. Or attempted to, anyway; it exploded as it hit his hand. He was still processing that when the second snowball hit his chest. “Thought soldiers were better at paying attention to their surroundings than that, Unicorn. Come on, let’s go!”
Castiel went inside. When he went back out, this time wearing his coat and gloves, Meg was turned away from him. He smiled and scooped together several snowballs. The first one whistled over Meg’s shoulder, only an inch or two from her ear, which got her attention and caused her to turn around. The second snowball hit her in the face. “Don’t start things if you’re not willing to finish them.”
“Oh, you’re on, Unicorn.” Meg scooped up some snow, and snowballs flew back and forth until they were both out of breath from running and laughing so hard. Meg held up her hands and dropped the snowball she was holding. “Truce?”
“Truce.” Castiel tossed his snowball aside. “Have you even slept since yesterday?”
“Nah, I was just about to go to bed when I looked out the window and saw the snow. I love the snow. I was just about to go back in when I heard you coming out, and, well. Totally worth it. I haven’t had a snowball fight that fun since Ruby and I were kids.”
“You should sleep.”
Meg shivered a little. “Yeah, I should, but I don’t think I could for a while at least. Too wound up from the snowball fight. I know it’s not your normal calisthenics, but you certainly got a decent workout running around like that, so come inside and have some hot chocolate and breakfast with me, Unicorn?”
“Why do you call me that?”
Meg tossed her head back laughing. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Ruby and Anna, and I was expecting you to be like every other career soldier I’ve met. Boring and dull and all about the discipline. Then I get here, and I never see you except in passing, but I could tell you were different. You were the type of guy who’d roll with a snowball fight, even if it was a girl who started it.”
“You’re hardly some defenseless innocent damsel in distress who can’t take a snowball to the face.”
“Yeah, but I’m a civilian, and you have no idea how many soldiers seem to think civilian female equals damsel in distress.” Meg paused and reconsidered that statement. “Actually, you probably do, I guess, but you don’t think about it quite the same way I have to.”
“So you call me a unicorn because I’m not like other soldiers?”
“And I never see you so I could never be entirely sure you existed.” Meg stuck out her tongue at him. “I’m not convinced you’re real, even now. The Anna’s brother I heard about from Ruby is a complete stick in the mud with no sense of humor or other redeeming qualities. That guy would never have missed that first snowball just to make the second one more satisfying.” Meg got some cocoa heating while Castiel made toast. “I dunno what Ruby’s problem with you is. I think you’re cute and kinda charming.”
“Ruby’s never really given me a chance. She sees that I followed my family into the military, and has decided that makes me just like the rest of them. They wouldn’t approve of Ruby.”
“But you do?”
“No, not at all. I think Ruby’s a terrible person who is a bad influence on Anna. I just think that I’m not the one who gets to make that choice. Anna loves Ruby, therefore I tolerate her.”
Meg burst into laughter again. “Refreshingly honest! You’re right, Ruby’s kind of a terrible person. Anna’s been a good influence on her, at least. You know what would really piss her off?”
“What?”
“If you said yes when I asked you on a date.”
Castiel tilted his head, squinting at Meg. “Was that an attempt to ask me out?”
“Yep. So? What do you say, Unicorn?”
Castiel thought it over. “Sure. This could be interesting, and it would annoy Ruby in a way that she can’t protest too much.”