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Y/n hums softly to herself as she inhales deeply, the scent of the pine tree stinging her lungs slightly. She twists around the tree and her hands rest on her hips as she tries to decide where to place the ornament. She tilts her head and studies the tree, her eyes sweeping over every branch. She sighs softly and glances down at the small orb ornament in her hand. It was simple, clear, glass, and had a small winter scene inside of it. Y/n bites her lip and looks back up at the spiky, green tree. Every branch that catches her eye doesn’t seem to be a good place to put it until she spots one near the top. A proud, large smile spreads across her face as she stands up on her tiptoes, and lightly grips one of the branches to steady herself slightly as she stretches her arm upwards. She slides the ornament on with a bit of a struggle, but eventually get’s it perfectly nestled in the tree. She hops away, and claps slightly, a soft giggle falling past her lips. It was perfect. Sam and Dean hadn’t decorated the bunker for Christmas, which was tomorrow morning. She’d arranged the gifts they’d all gotten for each other under the tree, hung and filled stockings on the wall, set up the tree- and she’d done it all by herself. She smiles brightly and closes her eyes briefly before she reaches down into the box and pulls out the tree topper: a small silver star.
“What are you doing?” The deep voice startles her, and a small yelp falls past her lips as she whirls around. The tree topper slams into Castiel’s side, and he grimaces slightly.
“Oh- Cas, I’m so sorry.” She murmurs, a sheepish grin on her face. “I- uh, I’m decorating for Christmas.” Y/n turns around, straining to try and reach the top of the tree. “Sam and Dean didn’t, and it just doesn’t feel the same without it…you know?” She sighs, pulls her arm back down and falls back on her feet, unable to reach it. Her elbow smacks into something solid, and another surprised grunt leaves Castiel. Y/n’s eyes widen as she turns around to see Castiel holding his jaw. “I- I’m so sorry- Cas, really, I don’t know how I kee-” He shakes his head.
“Do not worry, y/n. I’m fine. But why are you up? Shouldn’t you be asleep like your brothers? Why aren’t they helping you, y/n?” He moves forward and grabs the star from her hands. “This goes on top of the tree?” He asks, reaching up when she nods in affirmation. He shimmies it on the top of the tree and moves back.
“Well, I wanted to surprise them, I guess…” She says softly. Castiel glances down at her.
“Is there still much left to do?”
“Uh, we need to put tinsel on the tree…” Cas glances around the room.
“Tinsel?” He asks.
“Yeah, it’s in that box.” Y/n moves forward to grab it at the same time as Cas, and when they lean over to grab it, her head smacks into his, successfully sending him to the ground. “Oh, holy- holy…” Y/n pushes the box of tinsel out of the way, her cheeks staining bright red. “I can’t believe I’ve been so…so clumsy, Cas. I’m sorry.” He peers up at her, shaking his head slightly.
“Really, do not worry y/n.” He lifts his hand up and places it on her cheek, his head tilting slightly. He sits up halfway, his legs sprawled out as his other hand moves to her back to pull her closer. “Are you okay, y/n?” He asks, his thumb brushing over her cheek. “You are pale, and your cheeks are flushed…are you getting sick, y/n?” He moves his face closer to hers, studying her expression closely, searching for any signs of sickness. “You seem to be healthy,” he murmurs, his forehead crinkling in confusion. “Yet your heartbeat is racing…” His hand moves down from her face, lightly tracing the base of her neck, trailing across her collarbones. Her eyes widen slightly as she stares down at him.
“The tinsel,” she chokes out, scrambling away from him and grabbing the box, standing up a little too quickly. Her vision dips slightly as her head swims, and she closes her eyes, stumbling back a bit. “Wh..whoa,” she murmurs. Castiel is up in an instant, moving forward to grab her when she suddenly steps forward to go to the tree.
She knocks into him, and he staggers back slightly, keeping his hands on her shoulders to ensure she doesn’t fall. Her eyes open and she laughs lightly. “I must’ve hit my head a little hard,” she murmurs, a small smile spreading across her face as she hopes he accepts her answer. Cas’ head tilts, and he grabs her face gently.
“Y/n, you should get some rest. Tell me what to do and I will finish decorating…” His voice is low and somewhat gravelly. Y/n closes her eyes, and shakes her head, breathing in deeply.
“I want to do this, Castiel.” He watches her warily as she moves forward, tossing the tinsel around on the tree methodically. He moves forward, grabbing a handful of tinsel and mimicking her actions, spreading it out as evenly as possible.
By 3 am, they’ve finally finished decorating, and y/n smiles proudly, staring at the tree. “It looks…oh, wait.” She frowns, moving forward and grabbing an ornament that had fallen off the tree. “Hm…” She stands up on her tiptoes, once again gripping a branch as she reaches up to hang the ornament up near the top. “I’m lucky this didn’t break…” She mumbles.
“Y/n, let me, please,” Castiel moves forward, placing his hand on y/n’s back.
“No, I’ve got this Cas, I’m fine.” In an attempt to move away from him, she stumbles over the tree skirt, quickly losing her footing. Her grip on the branch tightens as she twists rapidly, a loud scream flying past her lips. Castiel has little time to react as he moves forward, effectively shielding her while he stops the tree from tipping over, gently pushing it back into its place. He turns around to her.
“You’ve really got to be m-” His words are cut off when y/n looks up rapidly, the top of her head knocking into his chin, effectively clamping his mouth shut. He winces, his eyes closing gently.
“I-oh, oh…” Y/n stammers, her eyes watering slightly. “I- I’m sorry Cas,” she mumbles and turns her gaze to the floor. “I’m-I’m an idiot, I just…really, Cas…I’m so- so sorry, I just keep…” Cas shakes his head again and smiles reassuringly.
“You have done nothing wrong, y/n.”
“I’ve been practically throwing you around the room this whole time, Cas!” She cries out, covering her face. “Maybe if I could act normal around you this wouldn’t happen, but- ugh, I can’t do anything when you're around me!” Castiel’s eyes soften, and he moves forward, quickly wrapping his arms around her.
“Y/n, please, do not worry. You’ve done nothing wrong, I much enjoyed spending this time with you.” Y/n peers up at him, tears pricking her eyes.
“Really? Even though you kept getting hurt?” She whimpers.
“You have not hurt me, y/n. I was only startled. I’m fine,” he smiles warmly, his gaze searching hers. “I would gladly spend hours with you, even if you were constantly hitting your head against mine and knocking me to the ground. I like to be around you, y/n.” He picks a piece of tinsel out of her h/c hair and lays his palm on the side of her face. “I wanted to let you know- I was going to tomorrow, Dean said it would be best, bu-”
“What the hells going on? Whose hurt? What’s happening?” Dean and Sam come crashing into the room, half-dressed, guns in hand. Y/n yelps, burying her face in Cas’ chest. “Oh,” Dean comments, a huge smile spreading across his face.
“Oh?” Sam echoes, his voice clouded with confusion.
“Oh, now buddy, you see…you’re supposed to wait for Christmas to give her your present, you’re not supposed to give her it early.” Dean says, smirking widely. “Don’t tell me this means you two are gonna be all lovey-dovey in the morning.” His face crinkles in disgust.
“What are you talking about?” Sam asks. Y/n whirls around, ignoring her brother’s comments.
“Are you not going to say anything about the decorations?” She practically shouts, her face burning.
“Y/n…did you really think we didn’t hear you guys out here? You’ve been making a lot of noise. Sammy came and got me because he heard you giggling like crazy out here, and we snooped a bit, saw you and Cas decorating together.” Dean explains, raising his eyebrows and smiling lazily. “You two crazy kids need to learn to use your inside voices. You two were getting’ mighty close wh- ow!” He rubs his shoulder where y/n hit him, his smile only growing. “I’m surprised you two didn’t start hanging mistletoe, so you could- shit! Stop hitting me!” Dean jumps back, his smile fading slightly.
“If you knew we were out here, why’d you come out ready to kill someone?” Y/n howls, covering her face again. “And why’d you come out when you did?” She whispers the last part, disappointment flooding through her. Dean shrugs, smiling teasingly.
“Thought it’d be funny.” Y/n glares at him. “Oh, don’t pout. You’re still gonna get your angel.” Dean rolls his eyes, tossing his gun on the table.
“My angel?” Y/n repeats, everything slowly sinking in.
“What? He didn’t tell you?” Dean asks, and the same time Sam mumbles confusedly. Dean laughs and covers his mouth slightly. “Ah, well the dude’s crazy in love with you. He had this whole thing planned and everything…I thought that’s why he was holdin’ you…” Y/n’s eyes widen slightly as they fill with more tears, and she looks up at Cas.
“You love me?” She whispers.
“Thank you, Dean. It’s not like I wanted to tell her that myself,” Castiel says, his voice dry. “I hope you are happy. You have single-handedly ruined the Christmas.”