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Frost nips at Cas’ fingers and his grip around the keys in his hand slips. They tumble to the ground at his feet and hit with a loud jingle. Wind rustles around him, stirring up the red wool scarf around his neck, wacking him in the face.
Fumbling with the keys, Cas manages to unlock the barn door, slipping inside before too much cold air can drift in. Once inside, heat swirls around him. Across from him, in the corner of the barn the radiant gas heater chugs along. Cas rubs at his fingers and slowly, they start to warm. He’ll have to have Dean knit him a new pair of gloves; this first winter might be more than they bargained for.
Above his head hangs a long string, he tugs it and a few dozen dim lights illuminate the length of the building. A loud neigh welcomes him from the back.
“Good morning to you too, Lady.”
He gathers up two large buckets full of hay and heads towards the back. On his way, he passes Equuleus, who sticks his head over the door of his stall and nuzzles at Cas’ hair.
“Hi Equuleus,” Cas says. He pauses and sets one of the buckets down so he can reach up and pet Equuleus’ nose. “Treats first?” Cas asks.
Equuleus licks at Cas’ fingers and bumps his nose against Cas’ palm. “Okay, okay. Just don’t tell Dean.”
He slips a carrot out of his pocket and feeds it to Equuleus, who huffs and makes quick work of it.
One bucket of hay goes into the trough on the side of Equuleus’ stall. Cas watches while Equuleus eats. His black coat glints in the light, freshly brushed from last night. A dark curtain of mane tumbles forward, covering one point of the white star on Equuleus' forehead. Cas gives him one last pet before continuing on to Lady.
Up ahead, Lady prances in her stall, her white hooves clopping happily. She’s a pinto, with a mismatched collection of brown, black, and white splotches covering her coat. She bumps up against the gate of her stall, eagerly sticking her head over the top and reaching for the hay in Cas’ bucket.
While she’s distracted, Cas gets the other carrot out of his pocket and dangles it in front of Lady’s nose. She snaps with her teeth and grabs it, crunching loudly on it.
“Dean will be around later, he’s fixing breakfast. He told me to give you a kiss for him.”
Cas does as he said, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to Lady’s forehead. With both horses eating away, Cas heads towards the door. Sunlight is just starting to drift under the doorway, a golden light that casts a long ray over the dirt floor. He looks back once at the horses, adjusts his scarf tighter around his neck, and steps outside.
Cas is met with blinding light, the curve of the sun peeking over the top of the house. Around him the settling fog entangles with the surrounding forest; a sheen of glowing mist in the light. A gorgeous morning for the first frost of the year.
Ahead, Cas sees steam billowing from the chimney atop the farmhouse. It looks picture perfect, a Thomas Kinkade painting, brown leaves swirling around in the wind and leaving a trail that leads him back home. He stuffs his hands deep into his coat pockets, hiding from the cold, and trudges forward, newly fallen leaves crunching under his boots.
Warmth greets Cas in the entryway. He steps out of his shoes, hangs his coat next to Dean’s, and rolls up the sleeves of his flannel. Music drifts in from the kitchen, a little staticky, coming from a discount record player Dean found a few months ago at a thrift store. Over the music, Cas can hear Dean humming along; the first few notes to “Rain Song.”
Cas follows the sound of Dean’s voice and the scent of bacon.
“How’re the kids?” Dean asks, hearing Cas’ footfall.
Momentarily, at the edge of the kitchen, Cas freezes; distracted. Dean stands at the stove, spatula in hand. Bacon and eggs sizzle in front of him, the aroma wafting up and filling the entire room. He just rolled out of bed, his hair sticks up on one side, and despite the apron covering his t-shirt he somehow managed to get bacon grease on his green sweatpants.
“Happy, it’s nice out today. We should take them out for a ride later.”
“Ain’t it cold?”
Cas notices Dean’s eyes leave the food and up to the window in front of him, watching fallen leaves blow by.
“Just a bit,” Cas answers. He moves closer, behind Dean, and rests his hand on Dean’s hip. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm,” he says, punctuating the statement with a soft kiss to Dean’s cheek.
True to his word, Cas slips his hands underneath Dean’s apron. He rests them on Dean’s stomach and pulls him gently back until their bodies are flush.
“You will, huh?” Sunrise dusts Dean’s cheeks in a peach blush and there’s a small smile playing on his lips. He turns minutely in Cas’ arms, enough to lean in and bump their noses together. His eyelashes flutter shut and his smile widens as Cas nuzzles against Dean’s cheek. Golden light dances against his lips and his eyelids; he looks so at peace Cas’ heart aches. Cas thinks this might be the most beautiful Dean has ever looked; well at least until tomorrow comes.
“Always,” Cas answers.
A flash of aqua hits his eye from atop Dean’s t-shirt, his vial of grace glistening in the light, sparking like it’s diamonds instead. Cas kisses Dean properly then, lingering and wet, made up of memories from this morning and promises for later.
They separate at Miracle’s interruption, jumping up between them, happy that Cas has come back inside.
Dean laughs at her insistence as Cas bends down to pet her, ruffling her fur on her head. She darts away after having her fill of pets, yapping happily.
“Shouldn’t be too much longer,” Dean says. Still wrapped up in Cas’ arms, he focuses briefly on their breakfast, flipping the eggs expertly with the spatula. “Can you bring down our ridin’ boots from upstairs?” Dean asks, stealing a glance over at Cas. “Cause it sounds like we’re going out later.”
“Mhmm, I will.” Cas presses a kiss to Dean’s temple, and with one last squeeze on Dean’s hips, he moves to head upstairs.
“Hey,” Dean says, clinging to Cas’ fingers before he gets too far away. He tugs Cas back towards him. “One more?”
Cas obliges him, cupping Dean’s cheeks with his palms, thumbs brushing the crinkles at the corner of Dean’s eyes. He kisses him once more, only pulling back when Dean whimpers against his lips, chasing Cas’ mouth for more.
“Insatiable,” Cas teases, nipping at Dean’s bottom lip.
Dean shrugs, the blush on his cheeks brightening to match the grin on his face. “That’s me.”
With a pleased smirk on his face, Dean goes back to cooking, and Cas knows that this kiss was merely a placeholder for after breakfast. A reminder of the shower they’ll take together later, after their ride, warming up in more ways than one.
As Cas heads towards their bedroom, he pauses at the base of the stairs, turning to look once more at Dean. Dean has started humming again, dancing to himself while he cooks. The sun, now risen, streams through the open window in front of him illuminating him in a golden glow, a natural spotlight.
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me.
And somehow, in that moment, Cas loves Dean even more.