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Sam finds the mistletoe in a box marked "Christmas Decorations" hidden in the back of a storage closet. It's kind of a stupid idea but probably also hilarious, at least for him, so he tucks the cheap plastic into his pocket and keeps cleaning.
The most obvious place is the kitchen so Sam starts there. He tacks it to the doorjamb and waits. Cas shuffles into the kitchen first and stands in the open door of the fridge, squinting with disdain at the food even though Sam’s fairly certain Cas doesn’t actually eat.
Before he can ask, though, Sam hears Dean clomping down the hallway, shouting his name. Sam rolls his eyes and sticks his head out into the hall.
"In here, Dean."
He backs up a few steps and notices with satisfaction that Dean stops in the doorway, eyes flicking between Sam and Cas where he’s straightened up and shut the fridge door.
"Hey, Sammy, I wanted to talk to you." He pauses and looks at Cas. "Alone."
Cas nods. "Of course, Dean."
He steps past Sam, and when Cas is in the doorway, turned sideways to squeeze by Dean, Sam holds up a hand. “Hey, wait a minute, Cas.”
Cas turns his head to look back at Sam while Dean frowns. Sam just grins and points to the mistletoe hanging above their heads. Dean groans and sends Sam a dirty look.
“Really, Sam?”
Cas squints at the plastic plant. “Why is there mistletoe on the door?”
“It’s a Christmas tradition,” Sam answers before Dean can. “If two people get caught under it, then they have to kiss.”
Cas frowns. “But what if they don’t want to kiss?”
Dean raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, Sam? What if they don’t want to kiss?”
Cas glances at Dean. “Would you and Dean have to kiss if you were both under the mistletoe?”
Okay, so Sam probably should have seen that question coming. Still, he wrinkles his nose as Dean gives a sharp bark of laughter. “He’s got ya there, Sammy.”
“Family would hug,” Sam says, giving Dean a pointed look.
Cas nods at that, then turns and hugs Dean. Dean jerks, startled, but then hugs back, slapping Cas on the back.
“Alright,” he grumbles, “enough with the Christmas cheer.”
Cas smiles at Dean, then at Sam and leaves the kitchen. Sam grins at Dean and Dean makes a face back at him, eyes narrowed until Sam relents and asks, “What did you want to talk about?”
Dean considers him. “You know what? Never mind. I think I’m good.”
“You sure?” Sam frowns.
“Yup.” Dean nods. “Absolutely.”
After Dean leaves the kitchen, Sam leans up against the counter and considers. It wasn’t a loss, but it definitely wasn’t a win. He’ll just have to try harder.
The next couple of tries are definitely losses. First, Sam gets caught under the mistletoe with Cas, and Cas hugs him as he’d hugged Dean. Then Dean and Sam get caught under the mistletoe, and Cas insists they hug. Dean turns the hug into a noogie, and an impromptu wrestling match occurs as Sam tries to regain some of his dignity back. Cas watches this with a squinted glare of confusion.
Sam decides it’s time to give up the effort at subtlety and go straight for the obvious. He takes the mistletoe and heads for Dean’s room. As he nears Dean’s door, he hears the low rumble of Cas’s voice. Dean’s door is mostly closed so Sam pauses just outside to listen in.
“...don’t understand Sam’s interest in the mistletoe,” Cas says.
Dean laughs. “He’s tryin’ to get us to kiss, Cas.”
Cas doesn’t respond to that, but Sam can almost imagine the confused frown. He’s surprised that Cas’s next question is not “Why” but “What is the purpose of such a tradition?”
“It’s a makeout game.”
“Ah, like Spin the Bottle or Seven Minutes in Heaven.”
“Yup.”
Sam blinks.
“Hey, you should kiss Sam the next time you get caught under it with him.”
Cas makes a noise. “I don’t think Sam would appreciate that.”
Sam frowns and then rolls his eyes when he hears Dean laugh.
“His face would be hilarious.”
“You know he’d stop trying if you would tell him, Dean,” Cas says.
There a moment of silence then Dean sighs. “I was actually going to, that day in the kitchen, and then he started the mistletoe crap.”
“So you’re refusing to tell him out of spite.” Cas’s sounds amused and fond, like Dean being a shit is endearing. Sam makes a face. And tell him what?
Whatever Dean’s response is to that causes Cas to chuckle. The sound of cloth shifting comes from within the room, and then Cas says, voice low and soft, “If I was going to kiss any Winchester, it would be you, Dean.”
“Damn right,” Dean returns gruffly.
Sam’s mouth drops open. Familiar wet sounds come from the room then, and Sam screws his face up and pushes open the door.
Sure enough, Dean and Cas are sitting on the side of Dean’s bed, kissing. Dean has his palm pressed to Cas’s cheek, and Cas has one arm wrapped around Dean’s back. As Sam watches, Cas lifts his hand from Dean’s knee and grips the sleeve of his shirt. Dean tilts his head to deepen the kiss, but before it turns filthy, Sam throws the mistletoe at Dean’s face.
“You asshole!”
Cas and Dean jerk apart and the mistletoe bounces off Dean’s forehead. Dean stares at Sam in shock for a moment before he falls back on the bed laughing. Cas smiles at Dean, warm and fond and so utterly adoring Sam doesn’t understand how he missed it.
Dean finally gets himself under control and picks the mistletoe up off the floor.
Sam looks between them and asks, “How long have you two been together?”
Dean shrugs. “A few months. I was gonna tell you, Sammy…” Dean trails off. Sam can guess at the reasons why Dean waited, so Sam just makes a disapproving face at Dean.
“You couldn’t have waited and let me put my super plan into action?” he grouses.
Cas smiles at him, but Dean rolls his eyes as he throws the mistletoe back at Sam. “And such a high class plan, Sammy. Totally not obvious at all.”
Sam shrugs, grinning. “You sure you don’t want to hang this over your bed, Dean?”
Dean smirks. “Oh, Cas and I don’t need any help there.”
“Gross, Dean!” Sam gives an exaggerated shudder and turns to leave. He stops at the last moment and tacks the mistletoe on Dean’s doorjamb just as he had planned originally. He casts one last look over his shoulder in time to see Cas reach out and take Dean’s hand. Dean grins back shyly.
Sam gags loudly, and then ducks into the hallway laughing as Dean shouts after him, “Can it, Sammy!”
Epilogue
To: Charlie
>> my mistletoe plan was a failure
To: Sam
>> oh???
To: Charlie
>> yeah. they were already together. dean kept it a secret the jerk
To: Sam
>> really?
>> never would have guessed!
Sam frowns at his phone.
To: Charlie
>> did you know?
To: Sam
>> NO
>> i did not!
>> i’m as surprised as you are
>> how dare they hide it from you for months!
>> shame on them!
To: Charlie
>> how did you know it was months?
To: Sam
>> who said months?
To: Charlie
>> why am i always the last to know?