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“So, it’s snowing buckets up in Sioux Falls,” Sam said, setting his phone down on the kitchen counter when Dean walked in with a couple of empty mugs. “Looks like we won’t be making it to Jody’s for Christmas at this rate.”
Dean stopped in the middle of the room long enough to frown, then grunted and proceeded to the sink to wash the mugs.
“We could always invite them all down here to get away from the blizzard,” Dean offered.
His back was turned to Sam, so he didn’t see the epic bitchface, but he definitely heard the derisive snort.
“You do understand that if we can’t get through to South Dakota, they can’t get out of South Dakota, either, right? And it’s supposed to start snowing here in a few hours, too.”
Dean shut off the faucet, closing his eyes as he dried the mugs and his hands. He glanced longingly at the stacks of plastic containers filled with cookies, candy, and pie that he and Cas had spent the last few days making in preparation for their big trip, and then rounded on Sam.
“Well, the Grinch can’t steal all of Christmas, at least,” Dean said, then started sorting through the holiday treats in search of the pumpkin pie. “Guess this is all mine, now. Merry Christmas to me.”
Sam frowned at him for a second, and then sighed, shaking his head. “Jody said we can just postpone Christmas until next weekend. Wrap it all up together with New Year’s and make a big blowout of it. The roads should be clear by then, and there’s no more snow in the forecast after tomorrow.”
Dean cradled his pie that he now didn’t have to share with anyone and tried to work out why Sam still looked so constipated. Before he could muddle his way through it, Cas wandered in looking confused and a little sleepy. He perked up right away when he saw what Dean was holding, and Dean reminded himself that he was happy to share his pie with Cas.
“I was wondering what was keeping you, Dean, but I think I have my answer,” Cas said, strolling over to Dean’s side and tapping a finger on the top of the pie box. “I thought we weren’t allowed to touch the desserts until we got to Jody’s.”
“Things change,” Dean replied.
“The roads are closed in South Dakota,” Sam said. “We’re not going until next week now.”
“Yup, Christmas is officially postponed” Dean replied with a grin. “Which means we’re gonna have to bake all this shit again, because we are not showing up with stale cookies.”
“I think a lot of that stuff should keep,” Sam added, completely unasked and mostly ignored aside from Dean rolling his eyes and mockingly mouthing along with Sam’s words. “The fudge and the other candy will, at least.”
“Not if we need sustenance to survive the storm, Sammy,” Dean replied. “So is Eileen on her way over, too? We got plenty for everyone.”
Sam scoffed. “Dean we have no actual food in the house. You can’t live on junk food for the next few days, and we’re forecast to get like a foot of snow by morning. I’m meeting Eileen out at the grocery store, and we were planning on stocking up. So, uh... you guys might wanna think about doing the same.”
That got both Cas and Dean’s attention. They exchanged a quick glance before Dean spoke for both of them. “Wait, you guys are gonna hunker down at her place?”
Sam shrugged, looking slightly regretful, but then nodded. “Yeah, we thought it might be nice to enjoy the winter weather instead of being locked in a windowless underground bunker.”
Dean elbowed Cas as a grin slowly spread across his face. He leaned in close to Cas as if everything he said was a secret despite saying it right out loud.
“I think Sammy here’s a romantic. They’re gonna go walking in a winter wonderland.”
Cas nodded seriously.
“So Sam, are you gonna do the whole Norman Rockwell Santa thing? Hang stockings by the chimney with care or whatever?” Dean asked him directly.
Sam made a disapproving noise and evaded the question while attempting to make his escape. “That’s Clement Clarke Moore anyway.” He picked up his phone and rubbed a hand over his face before finally getting to the point. “Whatever. Not important. But are the two of you okay with that? I mean, we don’t want to abandon you guys completely when you were expecting the whole big family holiday thing.”
Dean frowned at that, setting the pie box down. “Wait, what about Jack?”
Sam shrugged. “I was gonna call him next, but since he and Amara were somewhere up in Canada to watch the Northern Lights, they were supposed to meet us at Jody’s. I don’t think they’re making it back here, at any rate.”
The full understanding of the picture began to settle in for Dean, and he shot Cas a conspiratorial glance. “And mom’s still out at Rowena’s place in Wyoming, right?”
Sam nodded slowly, trying to deliver the news as gently as possible now that Dean seemed to finally be grasping the bigger picture. “No, they’re stuck too. They called earlier to say they weren’t likely to make it back, either.”
“So doing the math here, if you and Eileen are also vacating the bunker, that means me and Cas have the whole place to ourselves for the next few days?”
Sam went from looking worried that Dean would be upset, to looking worried that Dean and Cas were gonna get themselves into trouble.
“Please, whatever you do, don’t start another apocalypse or anything if you get bored or whatever. There’s probably stuff in the storerooms that’s still dangerous, you know.”
Dean snorted, and Cas gave him a decidedly uncharacteristic devilish smirk. Sam cringed at the sight as he realized what sort of trouble they were actually likely to get into. Dean threw an arm around Cas’s shoulders, collected his pie and a couple of forks, and began walking Cas out of the kitchen. He stopped as they passed Sam.
“You really think we’re gonna waste time digging through dusty old boxes when we have this entire place to ourselves? Best Christmas present ever, Sammy.”
Dean gave Sam a winning grin and then marched Cas out of the kitchen. Sam called out to them as they walked toward their room.
“I’m asking Santa for a gallon of antiseptic cleaner.”
“Get some mistletoe and go kiss your girlfriend, Sam,” Dean yelled back as he and Cas rounded the corner out of sight. “And Merry Christmas.”
When they were well out of earshot of the kitchen, almost back to their room, Cas finally questioned Dean’s apparent course of action.
“If we really are about to be snowed in for a few days, we should probably go out and stock up on supplies.”
When he’d been an angel and didn’t have to eat, Cas tended to forget that humans needed food on a regular basis. Now that he was human, his awareness of the fact rivaled Dean’s. It had been therapeutic for both of them to realize and commiserate over their struggles to feed themselves in the past, and to revel in their magical credit card that would never let them go hungry again.
Dean turned to Cas with a smile as he pushed the door to their room open and escorted Cas inside before kicking the door shut again. He set the pie down on his desk and then proceeded to remove his robe and pull on a flannel shirt.
“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure Sammy didn’t snag that pie on his way out to Eileen’s. I was just preventing the commission of a crime.” Dean kicked off his slippers and pulled a pair of jeans on over his pajama pants while Cas stood there watching him. “If you wanna leave the house you’re gonna have to put on some pants, babe.”
Cas snapped into action as Dean sat down to put on his boots. He stopped just long enough to admire the breadth of Cas’s back as he pulled off his own robe and shrugged on the big fluffy sweater he’d talked Dean into buying him when the weather had turned colder. It was now his favorite article of clothing. Dean loved it too, because he knew every glorious detail of what lay beneath the shapeless lumpy mass of wool. To him, there wasn’t much Cas could wear that would’ve been hotter.
“Yeah, my imagination is my worst enemy,” Dean muttered to himself, and went back to lacing up his boots. Cas just smirked at him and went about giving Dean a reverse strip tease, wiggling his butt as he pulled on his jeans. “We’re gonna have an amazing Christmas.”
By the time they got out on the road, it hadn’t started snowing yet but they could feel it in the air. Dean had reasoned that if they were going out anyway, they might as well risk driving up to Hastings and getting some proper holiday decorations. They had a few things they’d accumulated over the years back at the bunker, but they hadn’t bothered sourcing a proper holiday setup this year since Jody had invited them to her place. It seemed like a waste of time to decorate the entire bunker if it was just gonna be empty on the big day.
“So we’re gonna be as quick as we can,” Dean said, pulling up into the crowded parking lot at the Walmart and laying out his plan of attack. “Food first, then everything else. We’re not gonna half-ass Christmas.”
He leaned over and gave Cas a quick kiss before they both got out and hurried through the throngs of frazzled shoppers and into the store. Food had not been a problem at all. Aside from being a little picked over between holiday shoppers and snow panickers, they were easily able to find enough to make themselves a feast that would surely last until they eventually left for Jody’s again. Dean also threw enough flour and sugar into the cart to replace the mountain of cookies they were likely to eat over the next few days. It was Cas that remembered the pumpkin.
“We’ll need to replace the pie, as well,” he said, eyeing Dean as he put the cans into the cart.
“Good thinking,” Dean had told him as they steeled themselves to venture into the holiday section.
They stood at the edge of the department looking over the wasteland of picked over and scattered holiday decor. Even the display trees had been picked clean and looked like they’d seen better days. A few stockings lay on a shelf along with holiday themed placemats and candleholders. Three mismatched strands of holiday lights were all that remained, and Dean quickly scooped them up and dumped them in the cart while Cas looked over a selection of pine garlands that had burst free of their packaging.
“I gotta say, this ain’t too festive,” Dean grumbled.
Cas draped the garland over Dean’s shoulders and then dropped a black Santa hat on his head, then stood back to admire his work. “I don’t know, you look festive to me.”
Dean laughed, and threw both items into their cart and headed for the front of the store with Cas at his side. “Yeah, well, maybe next year we can plan a little in advance. Invite everyone to the bunker for the holidays and do it all up right.”
“That does sound nice.”
The checkout line wasn’t nice, or festive. Too many shoppers doubly anxious over having their Christmas shopping cut disastrously short by the inconvenient snowstorm made for a harrowing ordeal. By the time they’d collected their purchases and made it back out to the car, a few stray flakes of snow had begun to fall. Dean glared up at the clouds through the windshield, as if daring them to try and snow on them before he could get back home.
“I’m surprised we didn’t run into Sam and Eileen in there,” Cas said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder toward the store as they pulled out onto the highway.
Dean laughed. “Yeah, no, they probably just went to the little place near home and got a sensible amount of food. We’re stopping at the liquor store on the way back, too. Gotta get some good whiskey to put in that egg nog.”
“If the weather holds,” Cas replied, watching snowflakes melt on the window.
“It’ll hold,” Dean replied. “Gotta get at least one Christmas miracle out of the deal, right?”
Cas hummed thoughtfully as they raced back toward Lebanon.
Dean pulled up in front of the liquor store and left the engine running. The snow had begun in earnest, and the streets were all but deserted. The shopkeep was just about to turn the sign in the front door to CLOSED when he saw Dean shuffling across the slippery sidewalk and grinned as he held the door open for Dean to slide his way inside.
“Hey, Dean, you’re just in time. I was just closing up for the night.”
“Thanks, Jackson. Just gonna grab a couple things and I’ll let you get out of here.”
Jackson snorted and strolled back around the counter to the cash register to wait. “Yeah, got that long commute upstairs ahead of me. Hope I can make it through this mess. Take your time. I just didn’t think anyone else would be out driving in this weather tonight.”
“Yeah, well we were hoping to beat the storm back home. Nearly made it, too,” Dean replied, grabbing his selections and snapping up a case of Margiekugel on his way to the counter. “But if we’re gonna be stuck at home until after Christmas, we’re gonna make the most of it.”
He paid, and wished Jackson a happy holiday before dumping his bags in the back seat and skidding around the back of the car. He took a second to regain his balance before opening the door and sliding inside. He grinned at Cas, and they both waved at Jackson locking the door to his shop as they slowly and carefully drove away.
Dean pulled into the bunker’s garage after debating whether it would be worse to have to shovel the car out of the snow or shovel the entire driveway up to the garage. Cas had settled the debate with the reminder of how many bags they had to carry inside, and that regardless it would be far less unpleasant to do that in the warmth of the garage rather than down the snow-covered front steps.
“There is no off position on your genius switch, Cas,” Dean said as they got out of the car, and the layer of snow on the roof began to melt.
Cas grinned at Dean across the car, and they began the arduous task of putting everything away. They started with the food, since the vast majority of what they’d bought was the sort of frozen junk food that Sam always gave them disapproving looks over. If Sam wasn’t there to judge them for eating pot pies and mac and cheese three meals a day, then by golly that’s what they were gonna do.
Dean immediately began unloading stuff into the freezer, but Cas stopped at the counter and picked up a piece of paper Sam had left for them beside a box wrapped in red and green paper with a shiny stick on gold bow on top. Cas read the note to himself before reading it out loud to Dean.
“Hey guys, this was supposed to be for Christmas morning, but we can get more before we head up to Jody’s. You might as well enjoy it while you’re stuck in the bunker. Merry Christmas, and Eileen and I will see you in a few days.”
Dean looked up from stuffing a pint of Chunky Monkey in the freezer and shut the door, finally noticing the festively wrapped package.
“Well, hell, I didn’t know we were doing presents already,” he said, frowning as he approached the box.
“I think this was more intended as a gift to all of us,” Cas replied. “And from the note it sounds like it might be food.”
Dean laughed. “Yeah, just what we need, more food.” He grabbed the box anyway and tore into the wrapping. The box inside contained a canister of the fancy cocoa and a selection of handmade marshmallows in an assortment of flavors. “Well this is only sorta food, at least. I didn’t know Sammy had it in him to be so indulgent.”
Cas picked up a few of the marshmallow packets labeled hazelnut, almond, and white chocolate, showing them to Dean. “I think these were likely intended for Christmas morning breakfast treats. There’s more than enough for everyone who was supposed to be at Jody’s this weekend.”
Dean frowned down at another marshmallow packet. “I think peppermint marshmallows sound like flavor overkill, but probably worth trying anyway. And yeah, maybe it was a treat for everyone, but it’s all ours now.”
“We should make some,” Cas said, picking up the cocoa and reading the label on the canister.
Dean took it from his hands and set it on the counter, before taking Cas’s face between his hands and giving him a gentle kiss. “Sure, but we’ve got a few more things to get put away first. And dinner to make. What do you say we save it for dessert?”
Cas hummed and kissed Dean again while he was still standing so close. “It’ll go well with that pie.”
Dean smiled and reluctantly let Cas go. “You know, I’m kinda glad this weekend turned out the way it did. Snowed in, all alone with you.”
“So you’re not disappointed we won’t get to spend the holiday with everyone else? I know humans are fond of those sorts of traditions.”
Dean shrugged and went back to putting the rest of their groceries away. “Time is fake, and we’re still getting to spend the rescheduled holiday with them. Plus I don’t think me and Sam ever had a normal holiday in our lives, so we ain’t got a lot of traditions anyway. We can make our own now, and I say getting Christmas here with you and getting bonus Christmas next week with everyone else we care about sounds like a good tradition.”
They finished up in the kitchen, and Cas was about to head back out to the garage to begin brining in everything else when Dean stopped him. “You hungry yet? We can put off the rest until after dinner if you want.”
Cas shrugged. “Whatever you want, Dean. We’re not on a schedule.”
Dean grinned. “Damn right, we’re not. So let’s eat.”
“I think I’ll at least go retrieve the alcohol while you cook, then.”
Dean pulled out the steaks they’d picked out and gave Cas a thumbs up while he set about preparing everything. Cas returned a few minutes later and watched Dean cook. Dean, as usual, talked through the entire process, explaining to Cas not only what he was doing, but why. And the why more often than not included stories from the entire span of his lifetime, people who’d cooked for him, memories of discovering the Food Network and then even more memories of what town he was in or what they’d been hunting at the time. Cas mostly listened with the restrained awe he always watched Dean with now that he knew Dean was entirely his.
They were quiet while they ate, aside from occasional comments about the food. Dean spent half his time appreciating his own cooking and the fact that Cas seemed to enjoy it too, and the other half plotting out the rest of their evening. He’d hoped they’d be able to find enough holiday decor to deck out the Dean Cave, but considering what had been available he’d shifted his plans to decorating their room instead. By the time they’d finished cleaning up, he was practically vibrating with anticipation. He grabbed Cas’s hand and led him back to the car to retrieve the last of their shopping bags.
“So I was thinking we could just hang the lights and shit up in our room,” Dean said as they carried everything through the hallways. “You know, like some sort of holiday hibernation den.”
Cas gave him a confused look for a second while he imagined what Dean suggested, and then nodded. “That sounds very cozy.”
“Glad you agree,” Dean replied with a grin. He set the bags down on his bed and began laying out the lights they managed to buy. Two strands of colorful bulbs-- one tiny twinkling lights and the other larger bulbs that resembled cut glass-- and one strand of icicle lights. Cas draped his pine garland around the doorway while Dean hung the icicles up near the ceiling above his wall of weapons.
“That looks oddly festive,” Cas said, admiring the way the warm glow lit the room.
The fact it was also sparkling off an array of blades that would make most people run screaming from the room only added to the effect, in their opinion. Dean draped the remaining lights around his dresser and across his desk, and then switched off the light. The cheerful glow of so many colors made the whole room feel close and homey, and Dean had the sudden urge to make a nest of blankets and just curl up with Cas for the duration of the week. Cas still had other ideas, though. He’d spotted the pie box Dean had stashed in their room hours ago, and presented it to Dean while he was still distracted admiring their handiwork.
“Oh hey,” Dean said, turning a bright grin on Cas. “Now this is a perfect little holiday hideaway.”
“We should’ve brought some cocoa with us,” Cas replied, handing Dean a fork as he sat down on the sofa and opened the pie box on his knees.
Cas sat down beside him, and they alternated taking bites of pie while just sitting there enjoying the atmosphere they’d created. They were still full from dinner, so after a few minutes Dean closed up the box and set the rest of the pie aside for later. Cas sighed and had just gotten cozy against Dean’s side when Dean suddenly stood up like he’d made a decision and marched over to his desk. He riffled around in a drawer for a second and then hesitated before making up his mind and returning to his spot beside Cas. Dean held his hands clasped tightly together around something small that Cas could only catch glimpses of as he fiddled with a satiny ribbon that poked out between his fingers.
“So, uh...” Dean started, looking down at his hands like he still wasn’t quite sure what he was doing.
Cas reached over and rested his calm hand atop Dean’s nervous ones, which prompted Dean to look up at him. For a moment he looked panicked, but then sucked in a deep breath and blew it out with a laugh. He finally smiled at Cas, calmed by the warmth and comfort of his gaze.
“I didn’t really intend to give this to you today. I mean, I definitely intended to give it to you eventually, but I didn’t really have a plan for it. Christmas just seemed like such a cliche for it, but it’s been sitting in the drawer for almost a week and I don’t want it to just sit there forever, so... uh...”
“Dean, whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not inappropriate,” Cas replied, trying to be supportive despite the clear confusion in his eyes.
Dean gave a little nod and slowly opened his hands, revealing a little green velvet pouch tied with a satin ribbon. It almost looked like a hex bag that hadn’t quite been filled up enough to contain any magic. Cas’s curiosity was piqued, and he slowly withdrew his hand to give Dean the space for whatever he planned to do. Dean caught his hand and held it before he could pull it back into his own lap, turning the little bag over and over in his other hand. Eventually he cleared his throat and tried again.
“Remember that guy at the ren faire a couple months back? The one who made the little gold bees?”
Cas smiled fondly, remembering the jeweler, and their entire day pretending they lived in the middle ages, modern style. “Among other things, yes. He was pleasant to talk to, and knowledgeable about his craft.”
“Yeah, well, I snagged his business card when you were all distracted drawing ancient Celtic knots for him, and uh... I called him and asked if he could make something for me. Took a while to design it and cast it or whatever, but he sent it just in time for Christmas. So I guess now’s as good a time as any for this.”
Dean gave his hand a squeeze, and then pulled the little drawstring open. He dumped the contents of the pouch into his hand and then turned to Cas.
“I’d get down on one knee but my knees suck.”
Cas blinked at him for a second as Dean opened his hand and held it up for Cas to see.
“We can’t actually get married, like officially, but in every way that really matters, I kinda think we already are. I wanted you to have something that proves it.”
Cas stared the gold ring, sparkling brilliantly as the multicolored lights glinted and twinkled off the intricate patterns as Dean’s hand trembled. He wrenched his gaze up to Dean’s expectant eyes.
“Of course, I feel the same, but I don’t have anything to give you in return.”
That was more than enough for Dean. He took Cas’s hand and slipped the ring on his finger. Cas hadn’t even had a chance to see it properly, and for a second he was tempted to run over and turn on the overhead light so Cas could truly appreciate it, but Cas was still frowning up at him, and Dean couldn’t abide that. So he pulled Cas into a kiss, and then mumbled against his lips.
“I don’t care. You gave me yourself, and that’s all I need.”
Cas smiled against Dean’s lips, gave him a little kiss, and then pulled back so he could admire the ring on his finger. The ring Dean had made just for him.
“Do you still have the jeweler’s card? Because I think I need to give him a call as well.”
Dean laughed, and nodded. “Yeah, I got it. You know I’d wear a piece of string tied in a bow on my finger if you gave that to me. I don’t need to prove I’m yours, Cas.”
“But you clearly enjoy seeing me wear this,” Cas replied, glancing up at Dean practically vibrating with happiness beside him. “I think I can give you something a little more durable and permanent than a piece of string.”
“I wouldn’t say no to that.”
Cas nodded, as if that had settled everything, and went back to admiring his ring.
“He did an excellent job working the knotwork of the bee into the heart motif.”
“Yeah, he sent me sketches before he cast it. You can see those later if you want,” Dean said, as the surge of adrenaline finally began to dissipate, leaving him feeling a bit floaty and giddy now that he’d made it through that ordeal.
Of course deep down he knew Cas wouldn’t reject him after everything they’d been through together. Of course Cas would be thrilled to have a tangible reminder of the bond they’d fought through life and death and at least seven planes of existence to forge between them. And of course, because it was still them after all, it would never have been anything like a traditionally romantic cliche.
Dean scooped up Cas’s hand, where he held it close to his face to admire it from every angle, and dropped a quick kiss to the cold metal rapidly warming up from Cas’s finger. He stood up and tugged Cas to his feet with a groan. Wrapping his arms around Cas, Dean nuzzled into his shoulder and sighed.
“I still got you a real Christmas present. I had no idea when the ring would be done, so I hadn’t counted on it being here in time anyway.”
Cas laughed a little at that and dropped his forehead to Dean’s shoulder as he pulled him in tight.
“Considering Christmas has been postponed for an entire week as well, I suppose it worked out for the best.”
Dean snorted. “Yeah, and there was no way in hell I was gonna give you that at official Christmas in front of everyone we know anyway.”
Cas pulled back enough to grin at him. “We would’ve had to endure the rest of the day in everyone’s company pretending that nothing extraordinary had just occurred. But here we are, alone for the foreseeable future, in our own room without anyone to interrupt us.”
Dean nudged him slowly toward the bed, kicking off his shoes as they went. “Well, then I think we’ve got a lot of celebrating to do. We should get right on that.”