Work Text:
You were working on a case on your own. You didn't even know if it was worth looking into it but, after weeks of intense negotiations, you convinced the Winchesters to let you work on it alone.
You were well prepared, your knives were sharpened, your cardio was alright, you had your flashlight and two sets of batteries just in case. You were ready for everything and anything. What you did not expect however, was the blizzard that took over the city and stopped you from going back to the bunker at the end of the day.
"Aaah, a sweet night at the motel, just like old times," you mused sarcastically, reminiscing on all those nights you used to spend in cheap rooms, with no hot water or with a broken heater during your rookie years. That was before you met the brothers and they took you under their wing.
You called them to let them know you were ok and where you were spending the night. Dean insisted that he could come and get you because no blizzard could ever stop him and Baby, but surprisingly, you managed to reason him. You didn't even bother to call Cas, he had been away for days on some secret mission in Heaven.
After finding the last available and most unfancy room you had ever seen, you bought some candy and chips from the vending machine, let yourself inside your room and cranked up the heat. You wanted to take a hot shower but the mere thought of walking away from the heater and having to get out of your clothes was unbearable. The three little bottles of vodka, rum and whisky you found in the mini fridge however, felt like a miracle.
In the middle of the night, the remnants from your feast were scattered across the table. Candy wraps, eviscerated bags of chips and two empty little bottles mixed with your journal and newspapers' clippings you had brought with you to continue to work on the case, you didn't want to miss or leave anything up to chance. You ambitioned to win Best Hunter of the Year, shame such an award didn't exist. An old black-and-white movie was playing on the tv and the violent gusts of wind outside the window were your only background music. You checked your phone, it showed 2:43. Getting up to your feet to stretch, that's when you heard it. That dreadful sound. That terribly familiar sound. The rattling last breath of a heater giving up. You tried to pat it back to life gently, maybe it would respond to your kind, coaxing voice. When that method didn't work, you hit it a little harder in despair. To no avail. You had to face it. The night stretching ahead of you will be a hard and cold one.
You took a look at your old car parked outside, barely visible through the snow billowing all around but standing strong. You cheered to it through the window with the last bottle of whisky you had and downed it. You lied down beneath the thin sheets of the bed and prayed for the alcohol to kick in as soon as possible.
You nearly missed it between the wind blowing outside and your teeth chattering. The unmistakable rustling of angel wings.
"You're shaking..." you heard Castiel say behind you, you felt the bed dip as he draped a warm blanket around you, "Dean told me where you were, why didn't you call?"
"You life-saver, you!" you mumbled, the alcohol did work its magic. You had missed him so much. Missed his voice, his eyes, his hands. You never said anything to him about this silly crush of yours of course, there was no time for romance in this life. Besides, that was definitely not the way to go to win Best Hunter of the Year. That was your excuse anyway.
"Are you drunk?" he asked, a slight hint of amusement in his voice, "I'll take you to the bunker," he said, reaching for your forehead, ready to zap you both back home.
"No, wait, wait," you smiled, motionning for him to sit down next to you on the bed, "let's stay here for a bit, please, just you and me..."
You laid your head on his shoulder, not believing the words that just came out of your mouth.
"I would really much like that," he said. You felt him tense up a little at first, he then relaxed as you rested peacefully. His hand went to your back and the bright light coming off of it casted your shadows on the walls. You felt instantly warm and cosy. You looked him in the eyes, you were both smiling.
"You should sleep, I'll keep you warm," he said.