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The emails used to be so consistent. Cas looked forward to the weekly update from his old childhood friend Dean; they were pretty mundane, but Dean’s humor always shone, and Cas could always hear his laugh and envision his smile with every email. But the emails slowed down, and eventually stopped altogether, both men going their separate ways with life. As a professor at Oxford, Cas's schedule was pretty strapped as is, and if it weren’t for his annoying brother, he probably would have turned into a hermit. He let Dean slip through his fingers, and figured he would always be the ‘the one that got away’, and while that was depressing, he tried not to linger. Dean probably found a beautiful woman to settle down with, had a family, a house…
Cas decides to return home one winter for the holidays. Gabriel had been very insistent and threatened to fly to Cas and that just could NOT happen, so Cas had gotten on a plane on his own and suffered through the flight to return home to snowy Kansas. The first few days were uneventful. Cas eventually got stir crazy, and seeing Gabe with his wife Kali reminded him of how alone he was, so on Christmas eve Cas decided to go out on a walk.
This is where he is now. There’s a dusting of snow on the ground and the color of the clouds overhead threaten to flutter down, but he ignores it, wrapped up carefully as he walks through his old neighborhood towards the park. It’s empty, of course. He sits on a swing and sways idly, tipping his head back to look up at the sky. Another Christmas. Another lonely holiday.
“Cas?”
Cas blinks in surprise, head whipping to the side. His heart leaps up in his throat, his vision blurs, and his tongue gets tied. There stands Dean Winchester, whom he hasn’t talked to in at least three years - tall, beautiful, and just as bundled. Blinking rapidly, Cas watches in a haze as Dean grins and approaches, taking the swing next to him.
“Well look what Santa dropped off,” Dean says warmly. His eyes are as green and pretty as Cas remembered.
Finally coming to himself, Cas smiles a bit shyly. “Gabe guilt-tripped me into coming home.”
“I’m glad he did,” Dean says. “I was worried you died or something.” Cas snorts. Dean rolls his eyes as he kicks off the ground idly. “I mean it. Been what, three years since our last email?”
Cas nods, staring at the ground, watching his boots create skid marks in the snow and dirt.
“I’ve missed you,” Dean says. “I guess it was my turn to reply, huh?”
Cas glances up, “Was it?”
Dean’s gaze turns up towards the sky, thoughtful. “Maybe?”
Cas chuckles. “We both got busy.”
They fall into silence, each one swinging idly. After a few moments of silence, Dean speaks up. “You in town for a while?”
“Til’ the new year.”
“You wanna come back to my place?”
“I don’t want to intrude on your family’s Christmas.”
Dean huffs a laugh. “Family? Sam’s off being a big shot lawyer. He and his wife couldn’t make it. Best company I’ve got back at my place is Jack Daniel’s and Netflix.” Cas blinks, surprised. Dean continues, shrugging, clearly going for nonchalant and missing by a mile. “So uh. I guess I’m asking… if you wanna Netflix and chill?”
A smile curls over Cas’s lips, heat blossoming through his body. “I would like that.”
Dean’s smile transports Cas back twenty years, the two of them fumbling clumsily, awkward lips and teeth and tight hands, sharing with each other the first inklings of intimacy. “Merry Christmas to me.”
Cas laughs, “You’re the best gift I could ever ask for.”
Of course, they unwrapped each other much later.