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The first thing Dean thinks when he opens his bedroom door on December first is that almost falling on your face isn't a great way to start the month. The reason he almost falls on his face is that some idiot has left a box right outside his bedroom door, and he's about to yell out a curse on whoever that might be when he realises what the box actually is.It's just a cardboard box, but inside are twenty-four of what look like beer bottles. The caps each have a sticker with a number, one through twenty-four, and when he pulls out bottle number one, finds that it has a green tag reading 'BEER A DAY Advent Calendar' in red and white candy-cane style lettering. The only label on the bottle is a sticker in the same style with the number one same as the cap. Despite the trip hazard it presented from being in front of his door, Dean can't help but smile at the thoughtfulness of the gift.He picks up the box and carries it into the kitchen, where Sam is eating some kind of disgusting hippie breakfast consisting of egg whites and a green smoothie that probably has too many vegetables for that time in the morning. There's a set of shelves against the wall by the fridge, and Dean clears most of one shelf, leaving two heavy tins as bookends between which he can stack the bottles. Sam watches him curiously as he lays them out, eighteen to twenty-four in the bottom row, and the rest stacked above that, nice and tidy. Dean smiles at the festive display, then decides, fuck it, it's five o'clock somewhere, as he pulls out the first bottle again and opens it up.'Is that beer?' Sam asks incredulously, which is fair since it's only seven in the morning.Dean takes his first glug and smacks his lips with great enjoyment at the surprising pumpkin flavour of the beer. 'Don't look at me like that. If you didn't want me to drink beer first thing in the morning, you should've given it to me later.''Given you what?''The beer calendar.'Sam snorted. 'Does that sound like something I would give you?'Dean takes another sip as he considers it. 'Good point. You'd probably give me a kale calendar, whatever the hell kale is.' Sam just rolls his eyes. 'Must have been Cas, then,' Dean concludes, unable to hide the small smile just saying the former angel's name elicits.'He has been spending a lot of time on Pinterest,' Sam muses. 'Guess he was looking for ideas.''Well, he hit this one out of the park. I'm gonna go thank him.''I bet you will,' Sam mutters into his scrambled egg whites. Dean chooses to ignore that. Sam has been more open in his comments about Dean's (not so) little crush ever since Dean actually admitted it out loud while in a drunken stupor back when Cas was dead, but Dean still hasn't quite managed to get drunk enough to admit it to Cas himself yet. Maybe if he drinks the entire advent calendar in one go it would be enough, but even he isn't up for drinking that much at this time in the morning.He knocks on Cas's door, and oh boy, he must have interrupted morning yoga, because when he opens it at the rough call of 'Come in,' he sees Cas wearing only skin-tight shorts and doing what kind of looks like a push-up, except his hands are facing the wrong way and his feet aren't even touching the ground. His muscles are bulging, his cheeks are pink, and there's sweat glistening on his tan skin. Dean almost drops the bottle along with his jaw.Cas lets his toes drop and comes out of the pose gracefully before sitting back on his heels to look up at the door. He smiles when he sees Dean and what he's holding. 'Hello, Dean. I see you found my present.'Dean holds the bottle up and takes a sip to wet his mouth so he can speak. 'Yeah, thanks. Great idea.' He swallows hard as he takes in the image of Cas's bare chest, still slightly heaving from the exertion. 'So, uh, doing yoga, huh?' He sips again without taking his eyes off Cas, and this time he notices the way Cas stares at his mouth around the bottle, unconsciously licking his lips.'Yes. It keeps me supple.'Dean lets his eyes sweep over Cas's body again. 'It sure does.' Shit. He didn't mean to say that out loud, and definitely not as lasciviously as it came out.Cas doesn't seem to mind though. He smiles and jumps to his feet, striding over to Dean in a few steps with no thought to personal space. 'I have another calendar if you're interested,' he says, voice a bit shaky with nerves but otherwise deep and full of promise. Dean nods as he kicks the door shut with his heel, suspecting this isn't something to be shared with the other occupants of the bunker.Cas walks over to his chest of drawers, and Dean follows. From the top drawer, Cas pulls out a thin cardboard advent calendar, looking like a traditional kind with little windows you pull open, but instead of a Christmassy image or a piece of chocolate inside each one, the title indicates that much saucier surprises await: The Sexy Christmas Countdown.Dean's eyes go wide, and he chugs the rest of the beer before setting the bottle down with a bit more force than necessary. Cas is blushing now, fidgeting with the edges of the calendar and looking like he regrets having made this terrifying leap over the chasm of what's been unspoken between them for years. Dean decides that he doesn't like that look.Gently taking the calendar from Cas's hands, he opens up the first window to find a picture of two men kissing. Well, no mistaking that message. He shows it to Cas before tossing it aside and sweeping him up in his arms, one tight around Cas's waist and the other coming up to let him cradle Cas's jaw in his palm. He inches his face closer, slightly nuzzling Cas's cheek with his nose before finally letting their lips come together.The first thing Dean thinks when he falls onto Cas's bed a minute later is that this is a pretty awesome way to start a month.

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It's easy to forget that, in many ways, Jack is still just a child. Sure, he may be adult-shaped, and he may have commanded armies in the apocalypse world, but he's also wide-eyed and innocent in so many ways. So Sam probably shouldn't have been as surprised as he is when Jack asks if he can write a letter to Santa. After his eyebrows return to their normal latitude, Sam gets out some nice paper and a fancy quill and inkpot from the Men of Letters stationary cupboard for Jack to write a proper old-fashioned letter.It takes Jack a little while to get used to the quill, and he seems to change his mind a few times about what to ask for, but eventually he presents his letter to Sam with great pride. 'Do you think Santa will help me?'Sam can't help but get choked up as he reads the hopeful letter.
Dear Santa,

Please may I have a TV for my room. I would also like Castiel and Dean to be happy.

Can I have my grace back so I can bring Eileen back for Sam? He misses her.

I have been very good my whole life.

Thank you,

Jack Kline
'Wow, Jack, that's a really great letter. It's kind of you to ask for gifts for everyone,' he finally says. 'I'm pretty sure Santa can do the first one at least.'Jack frowns. 'But not the others?''I'm not sure Santa can restore grace or make people happy,' Sam replies gently. 'How would he even make Dean and Cas happy?''By making them go on a date,' Jack says as if it were obvious. 'So they can find out they're in love with each other.''I'm sorry, what?' Sam chokes out.'Castiel and Dean are in love with each other, but they don't say anything. I think they're afraid for some reason.'A series of images flashes through Sam's mind, and it doesn't take long for him to realise that Jack is completely right. 'Huh,' he says. 'Isn't that something?''So do you think Santa can help?' Jack asks hopefully.'I don't think so, but maybe you and I can give it a try,' Sam replies conspiratorially.'Really? How?''Do you know any Shakespeare?'**********Dean is walking down the hall to the kitchen, just minding his own business, thinking about making a sandwich, when he gets the shock of his life.'You really think Cas loves Dean?' he hears Sam ask someone, presumably Jack, and Dean throws himself against the wall to eavesdrop without getting their attention.'Yes, I'm sure,' Jack says firmly. 'I could sense it when I had my grace.''But just like a brother, right?' Sam asks.'Oh, no, he's in love with Dean like boyfriends,' Jack says in that straightforward way of his. 'Romantically.' He pauses for a moment, then adds, 'And carnally. Very carnally.'Sam clears his throat uncomfortably. 'OK… so why are you telling me?' Dean's heart pounds as he wonders the same thing.'I think I should tell Dean, and I'd like your advice about the best way to do it.''Oh, I don't think that's a good idea, Jack.''Why not?' Jack asks, as if echoing Dean's own thoughts.'Well, Dean is straight, and Cas… well, he's an angel, but he's in a male body, and Dean isn't interested in men romantically. Or, er, carnally.' Dean blushes, half impressed that he's managed to fool Sam for this long, and half kicking himself that his façade might be screwing him over.'Why does that matter?' Jack asks innocently.'It shouldn't. There's nothing wrong with liking people of any gender. But Dean… well, I just don't think he can see it that way.' Dean's heart constricts at this judgement of himself. He didn't care about Charlie being into chicks, or Jesse and Cesar being married. Why would Sam think he's a bigot? 'I mean, I think he's fine with other people being that way, but he couldn't get past his own ideas about himself to even consider thinking about men that way. I think he'd be too afraid.' OK, so that's not so far from the truth.'But maybe if he knew that Cas loved him, he wouldn't be afraid,' Jack persists. 'I just want them to be happy.''That's really sweet of you, Jack, but if you want Cas to be happy, maybe tell him he needs to just give up on Dean. I just don't think it's ever going to happen,' Sam says sadly. Jack mumbles something that Dean can't hear through the blood rushing in his ears.Cas loves him? It's not possible. Why the hell would Cas love him? His first instinct is to dismiss it, but when he thinks about it, really thinks about it, he realises that nothing else could really explain all the stuff that Cas has done for him over the years. And what's Dean done in return? Treated him like crap, that's what. Called him a bad hunter, kicked him out of the bunker when he was a vulnerable human- god, that one still hurts to think about- and gotten him killed more times than he can count. Yet Cas always comes back to him. Damn, Dean's been a stupid fucker. Forgetting all about the sandwich, he stomps off to the library in search of Cas.'Do you think it worked?' Jack whispers when they hear Dean's footsteps walking away.'Only one way to find out. Come on.' Sam leads him down the hall, following Dean at a safe distance to avoid detection. They can't look into the library without being seen themselves, so they content themselves with listening.'Hey, Cas. What you up to?' they hear Dean say.'Hello, Dean,' Cas replies warmly. 'I'm just reading a book on-''Do you love me?' Dean asks abruptly, and they hear the thud of whatever the book is hitting the floor.'I… I… that's… I mean… what?' Cas stammers.'Do you love me?' Dean asks a bit more timidly this time.'Of course, Dean, we're family,' Cas answers. 'You, and Sam, and Jack.''No, I mean… do you love love me?' Dean presses.'Do you mean in a romantic sense?' Cas asks, shyness creeping into his voice as well.'Yeah, like that.''I'm not sure what you want me to say.'Dean huffs. 'The truth, man.''I don't think you would like the truth,' Cas says carefully.'Why not?''I think it would make you uncomfortable.''Just tell me. Please.'Something in the tone of Dean's voice must convince Cas, because he replies, 'Of course I love you. I love you in every possible way and I always will.'Sam and Jack look at each other wide-eyed, and Sam holds his breath when he hears Dean let out a half-sigh, half-laugh. 'Thank fuck for that,' Dean says, and they hear Cas's chair scrape against the floor. Taking the risk to peek around the door frame, they see that Dean has wrapped Cas in his arms and is kissing him pretty enthusiastically. Cas gets over his surprise quickly and starts kissing back with equal enthusiasm, and soon it starts becoming a scene that is neither brothers nor adopted Nephilim sons really want to see.Sam puts his arm around Jack's shoulders and leads him away. 'Looks like you need to write a new Santa letter.'Jack's smiles brightly, at first metaphorically, and then Sam realises that the brightness is literal- Jack is actually glowing, a shining gold aura surrounding him and lighting up his eyes so radiantly that Sam has to shield his own.'Sam!' Jack cries cheerfully. 'It's my grace!' The light finally fades as Jack returns to normal, but Sam has no time to recover before Jack disappears.'Jack?' he calls out, and Jacks reappears holding the small box where Sam kept Eileen's ashes. 'Jack, what's going on?''I just have to go to heaven real quick,' Jack says. 'I'll be back soon.' Again Sam is left standing alone in the hallway, completely bewildered. The noises coming from the library are growing increasingly disturbing, so Sam decides to go back to his room to shop online for a TV for Jack's room.A few hours later, Sam has his noise-cancelling headphones on, as Dean and Cas had decided to transfer their loud and passionate activities to Cas's room; Dean's room had apparently been too far away, and to Sam's regret, Cas's room was closer to both the library and Sam's room. As happy as he is for them, he really doesn't need to hear that stuff, hence the headphones.That's why he's taken by surprise when he gets a tap on his shoulder. Quickly pulling the headphones off, he looks up to see Jack smiling widely at him. 'Hey, everything OK?''Yes,' Jack says emphatically. 'Cas and Dean are happy, and look!' He rushes over to the door and throws it open, revealing none other than Eileen standing on the other side.'Oh my god!' Sam cries out as he rushes to her. 'Eileen! You're back!''I'm going to go change my Santa letter now,' Jack says, clearly happy at Sam's reaction.'Jack, thank you,' Sam says earnestly. 'Thank you so much.''You're welcome,' Jack smiles, and heads back to the kitchen to retrieve his writing materials.Unable to wait any longer, Sam picks Eileen up in a hug and swings her around, delighting in the sound of her laughter. 'I can't believe you're here,' he sighs happily.'Jack was very persuasive,' she says.'What did he say?''He said that you loved me. Romantically and carnally.' She doesn't give Sam much chance to do any more than blush before pushing him back until he flops onto his bed. She climbs on top and straddles his hips. 'I gave up heaven for this, so it had better be very carnal.'**********
Dear Santa,

My new TV is great, and all of my dads are happy. Dean says we're going on a goddamn vacation to somewhere warm and sandy where he doesn't have to freeze his balls off or get covered in monster guts. He bought matching Hawaiian shirts for all of us, even Eileen.

Thank you for making all my Christmas wishes come true.

Love,

Jack Kline

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'How's it comin' with those cookies, Cassie?' Gabriel called out as he walked back into the kitchen of Heavenly Delights. He'd built the business (like the baked goods) from scratch, and now in its third year, the bakery was really hitting its stride. His younger brother, Castiel, was helping out with the Christmas cookie rush, which thankfully was just about finished. The last batch was out of the oven, and Castiel's job was to spread on the base layer of icing for Gabriel to finish decorating with his special freehand designs. This final batch was going to the ER and ambulance crew at the nearby hospital, so the cookies would be decorated with Santa hat-wearing ambulances, stethoscopes and oxygen tanks to give them all a smile while they worked over the holidays.Though Gabriel was grateful for the first responders' service and for having paying customers in general, he was particularly happy about this particular order, because ambulance driver Dean Winchester would be picking it up. Not that he was particularly interested in Dean as such, but he was one hundred percent certain that Castiel would find him very interesting indeed. He'd been trying to get them to meet for most of December, but despite Castiel working long hours in the kitchen and Dean coming in nearly everyday for a slice of pie and a coffee, they'd somehow never managed to be in the shop at the same time.Well, today that was going to change, because it was Christmas Eve, Cas was in the kitchen, and Dean would be collecting the cookie order in exactly thirty minutes. Finishing off the cookies, however, would take forty-five minutes, which meant that when he sent Castiel out to the counter to keep Dean entertained, they would have fifteen minutes to get to know each other, maybe exchange phone numbers. It was a cunning plan, if he did say so himself.As if by magic, the instant Castiel had iced the last cookie, the bell at the front door dinged to indicate someone coming in. 'Aw nuts, these aren't quite done yet,' Gabriel sighed, indicating the half dozen cookies still to have their designs put on. 'Can you go out and keep the guy busy while I finish them off?''Of course,' Castiel replied, hurrying to wash his hands and ruffle his hair to shake out any flour that might have accumulated. 'How long do you need?''Fifteen minutes maybe?' Gabe replied. 'Give him a coffee, and feel free to have one yourself, both on the house.''Thanks, Gabe,' Cas said with a soft smile for his brother before heading out into the shop. Gabe strained to hear their conversation while he finished the cookies. 'Hello, welcome to Heavenly Delights,' he heard Castiel say as he walked to the counter, but then the kitchen door swung closed again and he couldn’t hear a thing. Oh well, he'd have to get the story from Castiel afterwards.Fifteen minutes later, Gabriel walked out of the kitchen with a big box of cookies, and nearly dropped them when he saw what was going on: Dean and Castiel both on the customer side of the counter, making out like teenagers.'Order's up!' he shouted, but they paid him no mind at all. Dean's hands were buried in Castiel's hair, while Castiel's hands were planted somewhere substantially further south. It took Gabriel repeatedly ringing the countertop bell to finally get their attention. 'Well, I'm glad my little ploy worked, but I've gotta admit, you boys moved way faster than I expected.'Castiel tilted his head and squinted questioningly at him. 'What ploy?''To tell Dean to come early and then sending you out here so you could meet, obv. I've been trying to hook you two up for weeks!'Dean and Castiel exchanged a look and burst out laughing. 'Dude, Cas and I met the first day he was working here. I asked for his number and we've been going out ever since.''What? Cassie, why didn't you tell me?''Because I still remember what you did when I told you about my first boyfriend,' Castiel replied with a hint of bitterness in his tone.'Oh come on, the glitter all came off eventually!' Castiel's response was just to glare.'OK, I really wanna hear that story sometime, but I've got a bunch of cranky medical professionals waiting for those cookies, so I better head out.' Gabriel handed over the box, and Dean tucked it under his arm. 'Call you when I'm off shift?' he added softly to Castiel.'Of course. Be careful out there,' Castiel replied with a kiss, and Dean kissed him back a little deeper for just a moment before reluctantly pulling back. 'Mmm. Stay hot, babe. See ya, Gabriel.' With a wave, he left the shop and drove off to start his shift.'I knew he'd be perfect for you, even if I didn't really set you up in the end,' Gabriel said, put an arm around Castiel's shoulders.'He is perfect,' Cas agreed with a sigh. 'I know it's only been a few weeks, but I'm pretty sure I'm falling for him.''Wow, baby bro, that's big stuff. Tell you what, when you guys get hitched, I'll do the cake for free,' Gabriel joked. 'Just don't do it in December, I've got way too many cookies to do this time of year.'The wedding was two years later, but the grooms opted for pie and cookies instead of cake.

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'You know, you could just ask me to hang that up for you,' Sam says dryly, pausing from hanging up lights to watch as Rowena reaches on her very tippy-toes only to still come up several inches short of the door frame she's standing under. 'Or I could pick you up so you could reach.'Rowena gives him a look that he's pretty sure could actually kill if she put her mind to it. 'If you ever again want to use your genitals without a microscope, I would think twice about trying that, Samuel,' she warns, but it's hard to take the threat seriously when she's hanging up mistletoe while wearing nothing but lacy red underwear and a sheer green robe.All the same, when your girlfriend is possibly the most powerful witch on earth, you don't take chances with these kinds of things. Instead, you let her use her own methods, which ultimately involve a little burst of purple light sending the mistletoe the rest of the way to the top of the door frame. It hangs there over her head as she smirks at Sam. He takes the provocation as an invitation and sweeps her up into his arms before kissing her soundly.'Put me down, you giant brute,' she says, but there's no heat in her words nor any attempt to actually escape, so Sam repositions her legs to wrap around his waist and pushes her gently against the wall. 'You really are taking advantage of your size now, Moose,' she teases.'You didn't complain about my size last night,' he murmurs against her ear.'Well, sometimes I like to take advantage of it too,' she agrees. There's certainly something quite sizeable making its presence known now, and Sam gasps when Rowena tilts her hips against him.'Your size is pretty nice too,' Sam says, running a hand under her bare thigh.'As we say back home, guid gear comes in sma' bulk.' She snakes a hand between them to brush her fingers along the outline of Sam's erection. 'There are exceptions, of course.''So no going microscopic?' he asks as he begins carrying her to the bedroom.'I suppose not,' Rowena sighs, 'but I'll need a thorough reminder of all the full size benefits to be absolutely certain.'Sam is happy to oblige.

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It had been a long day of talking to local law enforcement and inspecting corpses, and Sam could not wait to get home. It was lucky that their latest case had only taken them a few towns over from the bunker, so they had decided to just regroup back there after their respective tasks. Dean had immediately claimed talking to witnesses when it turned out the victims had all worked in a candy store, and Cas had (of course) gone with him. Pulling into the bunker garage, Sam saw that the Impala was already inside, so he headed straight for the library with his files. Sure enough, Dean and Cas were already there, reading through witness statements.Well, Dean was reading through witness statements. Cas was sitting slightly hunched over, with his hands in his lap, staring at Dean with wide eyes and a slack jaw. At first Sam couldn't figure out why, until he heard a slurp.'Is that a candy cane?' he asked as Dean slurped it again.'What? Oh, yeah, the owner of the candy store gave us a whole pile.' He waved at a stack of candy canes in the middle of the table. 'I've already had like three of 'em, they're pretty good.' He returned his attention to the file in front of him and went back to slurping away at the candy cane, pulling it in and out of his mouth and rolling his tongue around it rather obscenely. Cas didn't say anything, just watched the spectacle.With a shrug, Sam took one of the candy canes and unwrapped it, eating it much more discreetly than his brother. Cas didn't even spare him a look. When Dean finally finished his cane, crunching at the last few bites, Cas picked one out of the pile and held it out.'Here, Dean. You should have another one,' he said eagerly.'Oof, thanks, buddy, but I've already had four. Every bit of me is gonna be minty fresh at this rate,' he joked. Cas looked disappointed, until Dean picked up his pen and stuck the end of that in his mouth. Though somewhat less graphic than the candy cane fellatio had been, it was enough to make Cas perk up again. Sam groaned internally when he realised it- Cas had a fixation with Dean's oral fixation. He wished Dean would just get his head out of his ass when it came to Cas. The sexual tension was becoming suffocating.As if reading Sam's mind, Dean looked up just in time to see Cas licking his lips at the sight of Dean sucking on his pen cap. Realising he was caught, Cas blushed and hurriedly excused himself, hands stuffed in the pockets of his trenchcoat. Dean looked at Sam briefly out of the corner of his eye, cleared his throat, then set down his pen. 'I'm just gonna…' he said and waved in the general direction of the hall before going after Cas. A moment later he jogged back, picked up a couple of candy canes, and walked right back out again.A little while later, they still hadn't returned, so Sam just decided to go to his room. He had no idea what had been said once Dean caught up with Cas, but based on the combination of slurping noises and moaning coming from Dean's room, he decided that he didn't want to know.

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‘So get this,’ Sam says, reading from the Men of Letters Herbal Compendium. 'In ancient times, mistletoe was seen as a fertility symbol. The Celts thought it was the semen of Taranis, who was kind of like the Celtic Thor, and the Ancient Greeks called it oak sperm.'Dean rolls his eyes and says out of the corner of his mouth, ‘Yeah, dat’s great and all, ut it uzzn’t really hel wid dis cursed mistletoe dat has me and Cas attached at de lis.’Sam manages to make out what Dean's saying despite the fact that he is, indeed, attached to Cas at the lips. They had been going through the MoL store rooms, and in a box innocently labelled 'Christmas,' Dean had found the aforementioned mistletoe. He'd playfully waved it over Cas's head, but instead of the joking eyeroll they'd all expected, Cas had suddenly launched himself at Dean and kissed him. Sam had laughed at first, but the look of distress on Cas's face when neither he nor Dean could actually pull away quickly turned him serious.Now he's spent the last hour combing through every book he can find that has any references to mistletoe, and this is the first one that might give an indication of what's going on.'Actually, Dean, I think it does help. The spell on the mistletoe pushed you guys to kiss- what if it's a fertility spell?'Dean blushes right to the tips of his ears, and even Cas's cheeks go a little pink. 'Hertility?' Dean repeats weakly.'Yeah. The unsuspecting people would hang up the mistletoe thinking it was just a harmless kissing thing, and then be tied together, maybe for some kind of ritual,' Sam hypothesised. 'Do you, uh…' he begins, trying to hide his smile. 'Do you feel like… mating?'Dean doesn't dignify that with a verbal response, but his probably-subconscious adjustment of his jeans answers the question just as effectively. The back of his hand brushes the front of Cas's trousers, causing Cas to let out a little moan that has them all feeling a bit embarrassed.'OK, I'm gonna look at fertility spells using plants,' Sam declares, and scans the shelves for something that would match that in his filing system. He pulls out another dusty tome, and a few minutes later has to resist shouting eureka at his discovery. 'Yeah, just as I thought. Mistletoe can be blessed, or, depending on your point of view, cursed, to drive potential lovers together. The spell can be broken by the caster breaking it, or…' Sam clears his throat as he lets the implication hang.'Wha? Wha else can we do?' Dean insists, not getting it.'You can, uh… consummate the spell,' Sam explains. He lets that sink in for a moment, before adding, 'This has been sitting in the storeroom for at least fifty years. The chances of finding the caster are non-existent. I can call Rowena, see if she might be able to do something.''So wha you're saying is, e and Cas gotta get it on or we'll stay stuck like dis?' Dean asks.'I'm sorry, Dean,' Cas says as apologetically as he can with only half his mouth. 'I know you would ne'er want dat wid me.' He almost sounds sad as he says it.'Hey, no, don't e sorry,' Dean consoles him. 'I mean… it's not dat I wouldn't want to. You're retty hot or whate'er.''You really dink so?' Cas asks eagerly.'Yeah, Cas. Totally. Ut I won't orce you to do anyding you don't want to do.''Oh Dean!' Cas cries out, and now they're kissing for real.'Oh Cas! Huck, I want you so much!''What ih dis is just de spell?' Cas asks despondently.Well, Sam can at least help with that. 'Don't worry guys, it only works if the people involved have been harbouring secret feelings for each other.' Technically the book doesn't exactly say that, but it's kind of implied, and Sam is pretty damn sure that whatever is about to happen is completely consensual. He's also pretty sure that he doesn't want to be around to witness it. 'Anyway, how about you guys go sort this out in Dean's room?' he suggests, and ushers them down the hallway before turning tail back into the library.Dean and Cas emerge a couple of hours later no longer attached but looking pretty pleased with themselves. The cursed mistletoe ends up staying in Dean's room permanently.So does Cas.

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Cas and Jack could have used their grace to form the snow into the three balls apparently required for a snowman, but Dean had been adamant that this would be missing the point of building a snowman. He refused to acknowledge out loud how cute it was when Cas and Jack had made matching squinty head-tilts at his proclamation.‘We do it right or we don’t do it at all,’ he had insisted, so the three of them had rolled up the snow while Sam took videos and photos of the process. Eventually they had three large balls stacked up and ready to dress up.‘I’ve got a carrot for the nose, but I don’t think there’s any coal in the bunker for the eyes and mouth,’ Sam mused.‘I’m not putting vegetables on my snowman, Sam,’ Dean replied dismissively. ‘And coal is dumb anyway. I’ve got a much better idea.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of bullets, then placed them into a smile on the top snowball. ‘There. Now for an eye… oh, I’ve got an idea, just need to run inside for a sec. can you guys put some clothes on him?’By the time Dean came back, the snowman was wearing Sam’s plaid shirt around its waist, and Castiel’s trenchcoat and tie (backwards of course). Dean pushed past the distraction of seeing Cas practically naked to stick on his amulet for the left eye.‘What about the other eye?’ Sam asked.Dean waved an eye patch and stuck it on the other side.‘Is it meant to represent Lily Sunder?’ Cas asked.‘Nah, it’s a pirate! Everybody loves pirates,’ Dean replied proudly.‘A flannel and trenchcoat-wearing pirate?’ Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.‘OK, it’s a hunter-angel-pirate,’ Dean specified.‘It still needs a nose,’ Jack pointed out.‘Ah, the piece de resistance,’ Dean said, and with a flourish, stabbed the snowman right in the middle of the face with the demon killing knife.‘You probably could have done that a little less violently,’ Cas said dryly as he picked the head up from where it fallen at his feet and reattached it.‘Wouldn’t have been as fun,’ Dean grinned. ‘Now come on, it’s time for the best part of finishing a snowman- hot chocolate.’

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'Sam, may I please borrow your computer?' Jack asks shyly.'Yeah, sure,' Sam replies, passing over the closed laptop. 'I don't need it right now. Need help with anything?''No, I know what to do. Thank you.' Jack walks off, taking the laptop to his room. He has a secret mission, the idea coming from the Christmas movies Dean has been making him watch.Once back in his room, he takes out the picture Apocalypse World Bobby took of the whole family ('I ain't no supermodel,' he had grumbled when they tried to get him in front of the camera too) in the god-awful Christmas sweaters Dean had bought for all of them to use as a reference. Opening Paint, he starts drawing. They didn't have a Christmas tree in the background of their picture, so he has to improvise a little, but after a couple of hours, he's satisfied with the result.The next step is to print it out, a copy for each of them. He finds Mary first, and her misty eyes and lingering hug are exactly the sort of response Jack was hoping to get. Sam gets his copy when Jack returns his laptop, and he's so happy and impressed that he opens up the file and e-mails it to all of their contacts, like Garth and Rowena. Dean and Castiel get theirs slid under the door of their room, because Jack learned the very awkward way that they don't always remember to lock the door and he should definitely not just go in when they're alone in there. The Apocalypse World hunters currently in the bunker each get a copy as well, and even Bobby's lips turn slightly upwards in response.The final copy is for Jack himself. He sticks it on the wall next to his bed so it's the first thing he sees in the morning and the last thing he sees before he goes to sleep. His first Christmas and his family, happy, healthy and together. What could be better than that?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'No. Absolutely not.' Sam crosses his arms in defiance, shaking his head so vigorously that his hair flies around wildly.'Dude, it's not my fault that the dude who owns this costume is a giant,' Dean replies, throwing his arms up in frustration. 'You're the only one who fits in it, and the witch is expecting to meet somebody in a reindeer costume. Unless you've got a better idea for how to smoke her out, you're wearing it.'With another grumble and muttered curse, Sam grabs the bag from Dean's hand and tromps angrily to the bathroom. When he comes back out a few minutes later, Dean can't help but burst out laughing. Sam presents a truly hilarious sight. The reindeer outfit is fuzzy all over, with hoof-shaped mittens at the end of the sleeves. The large red antlers attach to Sam's head with a green headband, and of course, there's the most important part currently dangling around Sam's neck.'I'm not wearing the nose, Dean,' Sam says before Dean can even open his mouth to remind him to put it on. 'I look ridiculous enough as it is.''You're not Rudolph until you've got the red nose, Sammy,' Dean teases, pulling on the elastic and settling the big red ball on Sam's nose. 'Now I know your clown thing means you've got a phobia of big red noses, but you'll have to deal with it until we gank the witch. Just… don't look in mirrors or something.'Sam grabs the nose and pulls it back down to his neck. 'I don't have to wear it until it's time to meet her,' he spits out through gritted teeth. 'And when this is all done, I'm going to stick it up your-''Would you look at the time!' Dean interrupts. 'Time to go, Rudy.' He ushers Sam out to the Impala, and they drive wordlessly to the meeting site, Sam too grumpy to talk and Dean cheerfully whistling Christmas carols.Sam pulls the nose on and waits. The witch in question shows up right on time, and Sam pretends that he wants to buy her services to fatally curse his annoying brother. As soon as she confirms that she's willing to kill and has done it before, Sam has his gun shoved in her face. Dean is so amused by the sight that it takes him a few seconds longer to do the same, but soon enough they have the witch pinned to the ground begging for mercy. They slap heavy iron chains on her and take her back to the motel; after confirming with Rowena the spell they need to do to reduce the witch's power down to where even bending a spoon will give her a nosebleed, they get it done and send the barely-witch on her way with a threat of witch-killing bullets if she tries anything again.As soon as she's out the door, Sam stands up to take off the costume… but when he tries to pull it off, he finds that it's completely stuck. 'What the hell?' he yells, tugging frantically at the sleeves, but nothing happens. 'Fuck! That witch must have cursed me! Quick, see if she's still outside.'Dean runs out the door, but the witch is nowhere to be seen. He comes back in to see Sam looking panicked. 'Sorry, man, she's gone. I'll call Rowena again. Uh… is the nose stuck too?' he asks sheepishly, but the icy glare he gets in return answers the question pretty clearly.As luck would have it, Rowena is only a few hours away, but that gives Dean plenty of time to get lots of hilarious pictures to send to everyone they know. There's a great one of Sam trying to drink coffee- he has to hold it between his palms because the hoof mittens wouldn't let him curl his fingers around the handle, and when he does get it up to his face, it ends up bumping against the nose and spilling down the front of the costume. He decides to sleep while he waits, but the extra ten inches of antler on a frame already too long for the motel bed means he ends up sprawled diagonally across it, drooling into the comforter- Dean gets a great close-up of that. He even gets a few fantastic action shots of Sam chasing after him in the snow trying to get the phone off him. Dean ends up with a giant snowball down the back of his shirt, but it's worth it.It only takes Rowena a few minutes to sort out the counter-spell, after which Sam goes off to take a shower while Dean shows her the photo album. He still hates witches, but he has to admit that this one had been pretty funny.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Dean is in the kitchen of the bunker, just doing some light cleaning to keep busy, when strong arms wrap around him from behind and soft lips plant a kiss on his neck. It's been years now, and Dean is closer to fifty than forty, but Cas can still send a shiver down his spine as if it were their first kiss all over again, as if Dean were a teenage girl rather than a middle-aged man. Dean turns around so Cas can transfer the kisses from his neck to his mouth, and they just canoodle for a while without a care in the world.And really, that isn't so far from the truth. The years since they got together hadn't exactly been easy, but when Jack got his grace back, he immediately (well, after they got their beach vacation, that is) set about fulfilling the vision he had given Cas before his birth. With the help of Rowena, he closed the gates of Hell, ending the demon problem on earth once and for all; he defeated Michael, containing his grace to be used as a power source for Heaven and starting material for construction of new angels; and he somehow even managed to put the Shadow of the Empty back to sleep so it was no longer a threat. When he'd finished doing all that, much to everyone's shock, Chuck and Amara turned up with an offer for Jack to travel the cosmos with them, and he had accepted with excitement.Sam and Eileen had stayed in the bunker for a while, running a Men of Letters/Hunter HQ to coordinate the American hunters, and had even started their family there, but eventually they wanted a back yard for their kids, and of course Sam wanted a dog or three, so they ended up moving out after a few years. They live in Lebanon, so it's still easy to see them, but after so long living in each other's pockets, it's taken Dean a little while to get used to the quiet and lack of hair products and pungent odours around the place.On the bright side, he and Cas can bang anywhere, anytime, and they often do. Dean is pretty sure that his fitness and stamina isn't entirely natural at his age, but if there was ever a good use for angelic grace, his sex life is as good as it gets.Speaking of his sex life, he's pretty sure it's about to make an appearance right here in the kitchen, but instead Cas pulls back and smiles at him. 'It's snowing,' he says softly. 'Would you like to go for a walk?''Yep, lemme just get my coat.' A few minutes later they're walking in a pristine winter wonderland. Cas had made a serious understatement- apparently, it's been snowing for a while, because it's lying at least three inches deep, crisp and white under the light of a full moon. They walk a bit of a distance from the bunker out into the prairie, holding hands and ignoring the few fat, slow flakes that still fall lazily from the sky. It's that quiet, almost muted feeling that a fresh blanket of snow brings, and Dean can't remember ever feeling so peaceful in his life. With a growing smile, he turns to look at Cas to tell him so, but the expression on Cas's face stops him, makes the smile drop and the cold he wasn't really feeling suddenly seep into his bones.Cas looks nervous.Something must be wrong. It's all too good to be true. They're practically retired, Sam has a family and a proper life, and Dean is happy. Of course it couldn't last. Cas is going to tell him about some world ending catastrophe, or that he'd done some kind of deal to get all this and his time is up, or… or he just doesn't want Dean anymore. Got tired of his shit and this is goodbye.No, it couldn't be that, could it? They actually talk about their feelings now, surely Cas would have said something if Dean was being a bad boyfriend. Surely he wouldn't have started this walk with kisses in the kitchen if he was just planning dump Dean out here, right?But what else could be making him so nervous?Dean tries to will his heartbeat into slowing down to a more reasonable pace, but the longer Cas stands there, silently biting his lip and- oh god- actually trembling, the more worried Dean gets. He wishes Cas would just get on with whatever he's going to say.'Dean,' Cas finally says, voice still gravelly despite that slight tremble, 'you've made me happier than I ever thought I could be. Happier than should be possible for an angel.'There's a but coming, Dean thinks. Heaven needs him back, he can't stay.'I hope I've made you happy, too,' Cas continues, oblivious to Dean's internal monologue.'Of course you have,' Dean says quickly, vehemently. 'Happier than I've ever been, Cas.' He grabs both of Cas's hands now, squeezing them tightly in the hopes that all the love he feels will pass through that shared touch and keep Cas here with him.Cas's eyes crinkle with his broad grin, and it suddenly strikes Dean that Cas has aged- has allowed his vessel to age, and that he probably did it so Dean wouldn't feel so old with his own wrinkles and sprinkling of grey hairs. Surely he wouldn't do that if he was going to leave, right?'I'm glad.' Cas reclaims one of his hands to reach into a pocket of his trenchcoat. 'And I would like to keep making you happy forever.' He takes a deep breath and drops to one knee.OK, Dean was not expecting that.The ring is gorgeous, a silver that almost luminesces. 'This ring is forged from a piece of my angel blade,' Cas explains, 'which in turn was forged from my grace. It's a part of me, and I would like to give it to you, if you'll have me.'Dean wordlessly sticks out his hand to let Cas slip the ring on before falling to his knees as well. He takes Cas's face in his hands, leans their foreheads together, and plants feathery kisses on his lips before realising that he should probably give some kind of verbal response.'Always.'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Aha!' Sam calls out. 'I knew I'd seen these somewhere.' This is the third store room he's looked, but finally it's the right one. He pulls out three old-fashioned wooden sleds and drags them out into the hall. 'What do you guys think? Cas, any sign of them being cursed or anything?'

'I don't detect any magic residue on them. They should be safe to use.'

'Great! Let's suit up and find a hill!'

Dean and Cas watch him practically bounce to his room to layer up in warm clothes, smiling at his enthusiasm. 'We didn't get to do much sledding when we were kids,' Dean explains. 'Seems like we were always in some flat midwestern hellhole in the winter, and Dad didn't exactly take the time to do fun stuff with us.'

Cas puts his hand on Dean's shoulder. 'Then we should make the most of this opportunity. Come on, let's get you some warm clothes.' Dean adds some sweatpants over his jeans, and a grey hoodie and green coat over his usual layers, plus the blue mittens that Cas had knit for him to keep his hands warm. Cas was just going to go out in his usual clothes, but Dean insists that he at least has to wear something wintery in case anyone sees them, and tosses a scarf, mittens and earmuffs for him to put on.

Sam is waiting in the war room with the sleds, bulked up with some actual snow pants, a purple coat, ski gloves, a scarf and a pom-pom hat that Dean kindly refrains from making a joke about because Sam just looks so damn excited.

'I thought we could just go up the hill behind the power station,' Sam says as they climb the stairs to go outside. I bet we can build up some good speed there.' He and Dean do a couple of test runs, whooping and laughing as they go sliding down the steep hill, while Cas watches on with a smile on his face. He loves seeing them so happy, briefly free from their responsibilities as constant saviours of the world.

'Come on, Cas, it's not a spectator sport,' Dean shouts, pointing at the third sled. 'Get your feathery ass over here.'

'I don't have feathers on my ass, Dean,' Cas says with a raised eyebrow as he walks over, 'as you are

well

aware.'

'Dork,' Dean replies, pulling Cas in by his scarf for a kiss. 'Now let's go, it's racin' time!'

'I'm not sure I understand the point of this. Sleds have of course been used for centuries as means of transport in snowy locations, but this isn't-'

Sam cuts him off. 'It's just fun, Cas. Try it, you'll like it.' Cas shrugs and picks up the sled, positioning himself between Sam and Dean at the imaginary start line. 'Ready… set… go!' Sam shouts, and he and Dean make a running start before throwing the sleds down and sitting on them for the trip down the hill.

It takes Cas a moment to mimic them, but then he's also flying down the hill and oh! The last time he felt like this he really was flying. The grin on his face gets wider and wider as he gains in speed, boosting it just a little with his grace to send him past Sam and Dean. He hears Dean whooping behind him as he passes, and then it's all over as he reaches the finish line bottom of the hill.

Dean skids up next to him a few seconds later, followed by Sam a moment after that, and both of them laugh and pat him on the back in congratulations for his victory.

Cas hasn’t felt so free since he had wings- he has to do it again. Picking up his sled, he smiles brightly at the brothers. ‘Race you to the top!’

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Dean woke up on Christmas Day in the best possible way- with Cas in his arms, unruly mop of hair tickling his nose and morning wood prodding insistently at his thigh. He brought one hand down between them so he could start stroking Cas's erection. He kept his touch light and teasing, but it was enough to make Cas stir.

'Dean, I'm sleeping,' came the gravelly grumble, but he began to rock his hips against Dean's hand anyway.

'It's Christmas morning, Cas,' Dean replied, wrapping his fingers around the shaft as he nuzzled against Cas's ear. 'Time to get up and unwrap your presents.'

One of Cas's hands began to wander now, running up and down Dean's bare torso, tracing his fingers over the tattoos there. 'I unwrapped it last night, and it was very satisfactory, thank you.'

'I did get you some other presents besides my dick, you know,' Dean joked.

'That was unnecessary, but thank you,' Cas replied, planting kisses on Dean's chest and thrusting into his fist. Dean waited until he got close to the edge and then took his hand away. 'Hey, I was using that,' Cas complained.

'You have to get up to open your presents, and then we can come back and cuddle in bed all day.'

'Promise?' Cas squints suspiciously.

'Cross my heart. I'll even make you coffee.'

'And bacon?'

'And bacon.'

'And what about this?' Cas asked, pointing to his recently-abandoned dick.

'I'll blow you under the mistletoe. Come on.' That seemed to be enough for Cas, who stood up with a groan and put on a pair of sweats, fuzzy socks, and a long-sleeved t-shirt. Dean just slipped on his fluffy robe and they went out into the living room.

Since it was their first Christmas living together, Dean had insisted they go all out on the decorations, so the entire apartment was covered in tinsel, lights, and whatever else Dean had taken a fancy to. The tree only just fit in the room, with the tree-topper angel (of course) grazing the ceiling with the top of its head. With the weak winter light filtering in through the blinds, it all looked quite magical, and even Cas had to smile at the sight.

While Dean set about making coffee and frying bacon, Cas sorted out the presents, which various friends and family had sent or dropped off for them, into stacks for each of them, and started opening Gabriel's gift when Dean returned with mugs and plates.

'Oh, delightful,' Cas said sarcastically as he pulled out the Tidy Tush enema and anal bleach kit. 'How very thoughtful of Gabe.'

'Hell yeah it was!' Dean grin
ned
as he pull
ed
out a mega size bottle of liquorice-flavoured lube from his gift. 'Freakin' sweet!'

'I am not using that. I agree with Sam about liquorice tasting like dirt.'

'That's OK, more for me.'

They continue
d
to open packages, finding hand-knitted scarves, amusing t-shirts, books and DVDs they had both been wanting, and a wide variety of chocolates. Finally they got to their own gifts for each other.

Dean went first, and his eyes grew wide when he pulled away the wrapping paper to reveal a perfect scale model of the Impala, and sitting inside, a little angel Christmas ornament. 'Aww, thanks Cas, this is awesome!' Dean said, leaning over to give Cas a kiss before getting up to put the car on the mantle. 'Now open yours.'

Carefully peeling back the paper, Cas couldn't help but laugh. 'Clone-A-Willy Custom Dildo? I thought you said you got me

other

presents besides your dick.'

'It's the gift that keeps on giving,' Dean replied with a grin. 'But I did get you one more thing.' He passed Cas another parcel.

This time the reveal came with a gasp. 'A first edition of Cat's Cradle? Dean, this is amazing, thank you!'

'Anything for you, sweetheart. Speaking of which…' Dean stood up and offered Cas a hand to pull him up as well. He led them over to the mistletoe and waggled his eyebrows before dropping to his knees and taking Cas's sweatpants with him to the ground. Cas's cock quickly grew hard again with the ministrations of Dean's tongue and lips, licking, touching, and sucking Cas down into his throat.

'Oh, fuck, Dean!' Cas moaned, thrusting his hips wantonly into Dean's willing mouth. 'Won't take long.' Dean responded by intensifying his efforts, and soon Cas was coming down his throat.

'Promises one, two and three kept: coffee, bacon and blowjob,' Dean said when he stood up. 'Now for promise four: let's go back to bed.'

'Yes, please,' Cas said, letting Dean pull him by the hand towards the bedroom. 'Oh, hold on just a second.' He popped back over to the pile of gifts and plucked out the lube and dildo.

'Got any special plans there, sunshine?' Dean smirked.

'Well I didn’t say we

only

had to cuddle.'

After a very satisfying exploration of Dean’s dicks and the ensuing clean-up, Cas pushed Dean onto his back and flopped into his arms again.

‘Sleep now,’ Cas grumbled, and the early start combined with the recent satisfying orgasms sent him right back to sleep.

Dean snuggled against Cas, holding him tightly in his arms. As much as sex was the origin and defining feature of their relationship, it was quiet moments like this that really made Dean happiest. Cas was warm and soft-skinned against him, snoring softly, and Dean’s heart was overwhelmed contentment and love.

‘Best Christmas ever,’ he whispered, nuzzling against Cas’s nose. ‘Love you so much, sweetheart.’

‘Love you too. Now shh, go to sleep.’

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'I'm not sure I understand, Dean,' Cas said with the usual squint and head tilt that indicated confusion with weird human ways. 'We already built a snow person, and I think you'll find the wings very difficult to construct.'

'Not that kind of snow angel, Cas,' Dean explained with an eye roll. 'We lie in the snow and spread our arms and legs so it looks like wings. Here, I'll show ya.' He got on the ground and demonstrated how to make a snow angel, then stood back up to inspect his handiwork. 'See what I mean?'

Cas gave a dry little chuckle. 'Yes, I see. It is somewhat reminiscent of Afriel's true form. Very amusing.'

'Who's- you know what, doesn't matter. Come on, let's do another one.' They picked an undisturbed bit of snow and lay down next to each other. 'Ready, set, go,' Dean announced, and moved his arms and legs as widely as he could to make his second angel more impressive. Cas didn't seem to have really understood the concept, because he just moved his legs, but hey, Dean was happy to spend as long as it took helping him out.

'Is this OK?' Cas asked as he sat up.

Dean was about to explain that he should have moved his arms when he saw what Cas had done- the cheater had used his

actual

angel wings to make his snow angel wings. He opened his mouth to complain, but Cas looked so proud of his snow angel that Dean didn't have the heart to burst his bubble.

'It's awesome, Cas. It's nice to see your wings again.'

Cas's face fell, and Dean felt like a complete dick for bringing up a touchy subject. 'They're… not in very good condition. But by sweeping them out in the snow like that, it makes it look like I have full wings again. Thank you, Dean.'

Dean stood up and brushed the snow off his ass before extending a hand to help Cas up. 'Anything for you, angel,' he answered with a kiss.

'Does making snow angels also have the tradition of hot chocolate afterwards?' Cas asked innocently.

'Definitely. And because we got all our clothes all wet lying in the snow, it also has the tradition of taking them off.'

'And putting on something warm and cosy instead?' Cas asked.

Dean pulled him closer and kissed his way along Cas's jaw to murmur in his ear, 'Or some other way to get warm.'

They had their hot chocolate quite a while later.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Ho ho ho, merry Christmas!' Dean called out as he came down the bunker stairs with bulky shopping bags in his hands.
‘Come and get your Christmas sweaters!’

‘Christmas sweaters? Are you serious?’ Sam asked when he reached the war room.

‘Hell yeah, I’m serious! Can’t have Christmas without ugly Christmas sweaters!’

Ever since Dean had decided that they would celebrate Jack’s first Christmas ‘properly,’ the phrase, ‘Can’t have Christmas without’ had come out of Dean’s mouth more times than Sam could count. ‘Can’t have Christmas without egg nog,’ and ‘Can’t have Christmas without a huge tree,’ and ‘Can’t have Christmas without mistletoe.’ That one had turned out to have an ulterior motive, as Sam had discovered when he accidentally walked in on Dean and Cas making full and proper use of the mistletoe Dean had hung in the library doorway.

With a warning for Sam not to touch the bags, Dean went to find the other inhabitants of the bunker, and returned with Cas, Jack, Mary and Bobby following him.

‘OK then!’ he said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. ‘First we got Jack. Since you’re a Christmas baby, you get a Christmas baby sweater.’ He pulled a gold sweater out of the first bag, which had a weird naked baby Santa sitting in a manger.

Jack put it on very happily. ‘Thanks, Dean! It’s wonderful!’

‘You’re welcome, kid. OK, Mom, you’re next. We got Baby Jesus in a baby carrier, cause, you know, you’re Mary and all.’

Mary was not quite as enthusiastic as Jack, but she was amused. Bobby looked at it sceptically and turned to Dean with a frown. ‘There best not be anything in there for me, boy,’ he warned gruffly.

‘Not to worry, old man, for you it’s just some red and green flannel,’ Dean assures him, tossing over a standard hunter shirt. Bobby nodded in thanks, and Dean moved on to Sam. ‘Moose for a Moose.’

Sam supposed it could have been a lot worse. The Moose looked a bit dumb, but at least it wasn’t taking a shit or something.

‘Cas, here’s yours, he continued, but unlike for the others, he actually walked over to Cas, pulled off his trenchcoat and jacket, and put the sweater on him to try out. ‘I got this one cause it matches your eyes,’ he whispered in Cas’s ear. ‘And also because...’ He pushed one of the holly berries at Cas’s shoulder and the sweater started flashing with lights.

Dean suspected that Cas had been receiving bitchface training with Sam.

‘What about you, Dean?’ Mary asked. ‘You can’t leave us all stuck with these hideous things and not have one yourself.’

‘You’re damn right, mine’s the best one!’ he declared, and turned his back to them to put it on. They all groaned at his reveal. From the back it had just looked like it would be a Santa coat, but the front looked as if it were open to reveal a muscled, hairy chest almost worthy of Burt Reynolds. Dean went up to Cas and put his arms around his waist. ‘Sexy, right?’ he asked with an eyebrow waggle.

‘I very much look forward to removing it,’ Cas replied diplomatically.

‘Awesome. Let’s get a picture first. Bring it in everybody! Sammy, can your phone do like a timer thing?’

‘I’ll take it,’ Bobby offered. ‘I ain’t no supermodel.’

After a few minutes of Sam teaching him how to use the camera phone, (during which Dean served up his special eggnog that only Sam agreed to join him in drinking) they lined up in the war room for the picture: Dean with his arm around Cas’s shoulders, Sam with his arm around Mary’s, and Jack in the middle. Eventually Bobby managed to get a picture where everyone’s eyes were open and nobody looked ridiculous.

Dean raised his glass in a toast. ‘Here’s to ugly Christmas sweaters!’ Sam raised his glass and they both chugged their egg nog. ‘Right,’ Dean continued, slamming the empty glass on the table and grabbing Cas by the hand, ‘this thing is itchy as hell. Come on, Cas.’

The second Dean was out of sight, everyone but Jack took their sweaters off. ‘Do you think we should lose these?’ Mary asked.

‘I think you should salt and burn ‘em,’ Bobby replied, ‘cause if you lose ‘em, you might find ‘em again.’

‘I like mine,’ Jack said brightly. ‘Can I keep all of yours if you don’t want them?’

‘Why would you want these?’ Sam asked incredulously.

‘Dean bought them for my first Christmas. They’re special.’

When Dean and Cas came back from whatever they had been doing in Dean’s room for an hour, everyone was sitting around the table drinking eggnog and wearing their hideous Christmas sweaters.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It never occurred to them that, sure, maybe they never really had a roof and four walls, but they were never, in fact, homeless.

'You'd think God would have made himself a better writer,' Dean says, tossing Sam's Kindle aside with an eyeroll. 'What a hack.'

'Come on, Dean, it's a nice sentiment. Baby really has been our home in a way nowhere else has been. Even the bunker,' Sam argues.

'I'm not sayin' it's not true. It just sounds so cheesy written like that. And I hear it in Chuck's voice, which is just kinda… weird. Did I ever tell you that when I called him before the big showdown in Stull, he was waiting on a call from somebody called Mistress Magda?'

Sam chokes on his coffee. 'Mistress Magda?'

'Oh yeah. No wonder he liked my porn,' Dean smirks, then realises that it's maybe not a brag and schools his face back to seriousness. 'Anyway, why did you make me read that crap? It's not like I needed a refresher on one of the worst times of my life.'

'Well, it's just… Jack wanted to make a gingerbread house, but most of the houses I've lived in have been burned down by demons. So I thought it might be nice to make a gingerbread version of our actual

home

, you know?'

Dean nods in understanding. 'Jack wanted to make the whole bunker and you panicked?'

'So hard. It's huge! We wouldn't have it finished by next Christmas, never mind this one!'

'Good call. OK, first of all, we need Cas. He's awesome at finding shit like this on Pinterest.'

Sure enough, Cas manages to find instructions for making a gingerbread car, and when Jack joins them, they get to baking. Well, Dean gets to baking, because he's not about to let these ham-fisted idiots make a mess of

his

kitchen. The others are tasked with finding edible parts for things like mirrors, wheels, and headlights. By the time Dean is pulling the shaped pieced of gingerbread out of the oven, there's a pile of cookies and candy on the table.

First the body of the Impala is constructed with icing by Jack and Sam while Dean makes sugar glass for the windshield and windows and royal icing with black food colouring to make black panels. By the time those are ready to go, Cas has also stuck on Oreo wheels and M&M headlights, while Jack has the bright idea to cut little pieces of red liquorice laces for the windshield wipers and jelly beans for side mirrors. The glass and panels get added on, and even a little sugar licence plate with BABY scrawled on it, but there's something still missing.

It's Sam who realises it, and takes out the smallest paring knife he can find to scratch his initials on the back before handing it to Dean to do the same. To Sam's surprise, he then hands it to Jack, who puts JK on the other side before passing it to Cas. He just puts a simple C and sets the knife down, but Dean isn’t happy with that. He takes the knife and adds a W after it. Sam pretends not to notice the soft smile Dean and Cas share afterwards.

They take a bunch of pictures from every angle, and Jack is beaming in every single one, but then his face falls. 'Do we have to eat it?' he asks sadly.

'Course we're not eating it,' Dean declares. 'It's a work of art.

This

is what we're eating.' He produces another baking tray full of chunks of gingerbread. 'I thought about making little dudes, but I figured we probably wouldn't end up eating those either, and I'm freakin' starving.' They dive in to the sweet treats, and Jack declares that he likes it almost as much as nougat.

Of course they never eat the car. Cas finds out how to preserve gingerbread houses on Pinterest, and they buy a little display box for it to sit in pride of place smack in the middle of the war room table. She deserves nothing less- after all, she is home.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

This was definitely going to be the most awesome Christmas yet, Dean was sure of it. He and Cas had moved in together just after Halloween, which had been awesome, and they were going to spend their first proper Christmas together just the two of them. Dean had gone all out with decorations and holiday traditions, and even had them doing a Christmas countdown calendar of activities, making everything from eggnog to Christmas tree ornaments. There had obviously been ugly sweaters and lurid socks, but Dean was most pleased with his Christmas Eve idea: silly Santa hats.

The idea was that they would try to outdo each other with just how silly their Santa hat could be. Dean was not too proud to say that he had come up with this challenge because he already knew that he had a winner. The fur-lined red cowboy hat with belt buckle was so clearly superior to anything Cas could possibly come up with, and combined with the outfit Dean had found- well, he was certain to win the blow job that had been set as the terms of their wager.

OK, they were probably both going to get blow jobs anyway, but the bragging rights were the important thing.

It was now time for the big reveal, and Dean had retreated into the guest room to get ready while Cas had used their bedroom. Dean couldn't even choose his favourite part of the red, fur-lined outfit- the open vest was sweet, but the tiny briefs accentuated Dean's favourite asset pretty nicely. Of course, the chaps also framed that asset pretty well, and the cowboy boots rounded off the ensemble perfectly. He tied a kerchief around his neck and declared himself ready to collect his winnings.

'Come in,' Cas called out when Dean knocked on the door. He swaggered in, finger guns blazing, feeling pretty damn confident, but his jaw dropped when he saw Cas.

Who was lying on the bed completely naked except for a tiny Santa hat perched at a jaunty angle at the top of his very erect dick.

'Holy shit. Where did you get that?' Dean asked.

'I actually knit it myself,' Cas replied. 'Where did you get yours?'

'Seasonalstripper.com. It's pretty cool, you should see what they do for Arbor Day,' Dean joked.

'Mmm. It's very appealing,' Cas said, his hand moving down to start jacking his cock as he looked at Dean. 'Is the back open as well?' Dean turned around to show that it was indeed open at the back. 'Good. You won't even have to take your boots off then. Get over here.'

Dean got over there as Cas stood up carefully to make sure the hat stayed in place. Dean pulled his briefs down just enough to give Cas access and leaned over the bed. 'Open me up so I can ride you.'

Cas hummed happily and reached into the drawer for the lube. He soon had Dean writhing on three slick fingers, and they were both ready for more. Cas pulled out his fingers and lay on his back on the bed. 'Hop on, cowboy.'

Dean raised an eyebrow before pulling off the little dick hat and putting a bit more lube on the dick that had been wearing it. 'Not that we use them anymore, but it's too bad they don't make Santa hat condoms,' he mused as he slid down Cas's cock. 'You would definitely have won then.'

'Oh really?' Cas asked, thrusting his hips up to get deeper. 'I think I won anyway.'

'Seriously? You think that little hat beats all of this?' Dean argued, indicating his whole outfit with his hands.

'It wasn't an outfit competition, Dean, it was a silly hat competition. And while I agree that your hat is very silly, I knitted a hat for my

dick

.'

Dean stroked his stubble thoughtfully while rolling his hips, making Cas moan. 'Good point. I think it's a tie. Blow jobs for everybody!'

'I'll start,' Cas announced, and curled himself inward to get his mouth around Dean's cock as he bounced on Cas's lap. Dean threw his head back and moaned, grateful as always for his man's super flexibility. With Cas's mouth doing incredible things while his cock simultaneously hit his prostate, Dean couldn't hold out for long. Cas swallowed down every drop, and when he'd finished with that, he lay back and bent his knees so he could thrust vigorously into Dean until he reached his own peak.

After taking a moment to catch their breath, Cas stood to get a warm washcloth to clean them up. He first pulled off the cowboy boots, then undressed Dean reverently, kissing every inch of skin that was revealed as he slowly removed each item of clothing.

'What're you doing, sweetheart?' Dean asked sleepily.

'Unwrapping my present, of course.'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

There had been nothing fun about a wendigo hunt in Minnesota in the middle of December, but for once, the person they rescued showed an appropriate amount of gratitude: she had absolutely insisted that Sam, Dean and Castiel stay in her cosy vacation cabin for a week, and even stocked it with tons of delicious food and drink.

'You guys saved my

life

,' she had said when she'd delivered it all. 'I have a little girl who would be motherless now. You prevented anyone else from getting eaten by that thing. The least I can do is feed you.'

There had been no further argument, and they were now on the second day of their impromptu vacation. There had been another fall of snow overnight, and after a hearty breakfast and a bit of lounging around, Dean had prodded Cas with his elbow and tilted his head at the window.

'Snowball fight?' he asked with a wink. Cas had rolled his eyes, but of course had gone along with it. They hadn't even bothered asking Sam, which was just fine with him. He knew that a snowball fight with Dean was never just a snowball fight- it was war. He'd much rather stay warm and cosy in front of the fire, drinking hot chocolate and reading a book.

The sounds of shouting and laughter eventually pulled his attention from a fascinating treatise on the molecular changes in vampire blood, and he decided to take a little break to watch the battle going on outside. Cas threw a snowball that hit Dean smack in the face, and Dean swore retaliation.

‘Oh my god, Dean, are you ten that you have to do your flirting with playground violence? Pull on his pigtails why don’t you?’ Sam thought as he watched Dean put a snowball down the back of Cas’s shirt. He wished, not for the first time, that the two of them would just get on with getting it on; the sexual tension and ridiculous flirting antics were getting pretty old after a decade. What could possibly be holding them back? Surely they both realised that they were crazy about each other?

It occurred to Sam, as he now watched Dean and Cas completely give up on throwing snowballs and instead just wrestle in the snow, that maybe they just needed a little push- an indication that everyone wanted them to hook up and a romantic environment to set the mood. He looked around and figured that it didn't get much more romantic than a log cabin with a blazing fire in a winter wonderland. He grinned to himself as he tossed another couple of logs on the fire, lit the candles on the mantlepiece, put some romantic music on the stereo, and made up two hot chocolates on the side table next to the bearskin rug.

Finally, he wrote them a suggestive note:

Gone to town for some whiskey, should be out for a couple of hours. Have fun you two, and use protection (no Cas, I don’t mean your angel blade)! -Sam

Sam felt smug as he brushed snow off the Impala and drove off. He felt smug as drove the half-hour to the nearest town, and as he very slowly shopped for whisky and salad (inexplicably forgotten by their hostess). He felt smug as he drank a hot chocolate in the coffee shop and even flirted a bit with the waitress, and really smug when he remembered to buy a pie for Dean.

His smugness lasted until he walked into the cabin to see Dean and Cas buck naked on the bearskin rug, Dean's legs wrapped around Cas's waist as Cas fucked into him, apparently very skilfully if Dean's moans were anything to go by. Sam calmly set down his shopping bags, left the pie on the counter, and walked right back out the door. That little plan had really come back to bite him in the ass. Not that it was the first time he'd seen Dean

in flagrante delicto

, but he definitely hadn't needed the added trauma of seeing Cas's bare, thrusting ass. He shuddered as he started the car again and drove off to give them a bit more alone time.

He still felt pretty damn smug, though.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It's been a long day of opening presents and bingeing on food and Christmas movies. Sam, Dean, Cas and Jack are piled onto the new couch that Dean acquired for the Dean Cave (or Fortress of Deanitude, he still hasn't quite decided) when Dean announces that it's time for the old stop-motion classics. To everyone's surprise, he produces a stack of old film reels.

'Where did you get those?' Sam asks incredulously.

'Right here in the bunker. These things are from the forties, and they didn't exactly have Blu-Ray back then.' Dean pulls out the projector and screen and gets the first movie set up: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He's just settled back down with his arm around Cas when the projector starts making a strange noise. 'Oh sh-'

'-it.' The end of the word comes out in a much higher pitch than Dean's usual voice, and that's not the only thing that feels weird. 'What the fudge?' he squeaks as he looks down at four hooved legs.

'Dean, is that you?' comes Cas's voice, still somehow grumbly even at an octave above its usual level. He's still Cas, trenchcoat and everything, but he's all… puppety.

'Yeah, it's me,' Dean replies. 'What the heck is going on? And why can't I fudging swear?'

'We seem to be in the stop-motion animation film you put on the projector,' Cas explains, 'much like we were drawn into the cartoon with the talking dog. Except instead of just being ourselves, you seem to have taken on the characteristics of the main character.'

Dean crosses his eyes to see the glowing red orb at the tip of his nose. 'Great. Now all of the other reindeer get to laugh and call me names,' he says dryly. 'Why are you yourself?'

'Perhaps my angelic nature provided some protection. I assume I have taken the part of Hermey the elf.'

'This is a weird-ass spell. Wait, why can I say ass?'

'I suppose it was more commonly used as a word for donkey back in the forties rather than as an insult,' Cas speculates.

'Whatever. We need to find Sam and Jack.' They look around and see two figures making their way towards them. The smaller one waves excitedly and starts running towards them.

'Cas! Dean!' says Yukon Cornelius, who Dean presumes is Sam. 'It's me, Jack!'

'Jack? Then who has Sam turned into?' They look at the huge, hairy, plodding figure behind Jack, and Dean starts laughing so gleefully that he actually jumps around like a fawn.

'Yeah, yeah, very funny,' Abominable Snowman Sam grumbles. 'What the fudge is going on?'

'Looks like Scooby all over again, except way less awesome,' Dean replies.

Sam tries to frown, which looks ridiculous on the face of a toothless yeti. 'Do you think the film reel was haunted?'

'Guess again, Samsquatch,' comes a familiar voice from behind them. He's dressed like Santa, and with a waggle of his eyebrows, he pulls off the fake white beard to reveal-

'Gabriel!' Cas cries. 'We thought you were dead!'

'Please, haven't you learned by now?' Gabriel scoffs. 'I sent a double to that poopy apocalypse world and hid in here.'

'Why haven't you come out before now?' Sam asks.

'Uuh, yeah, little snag there,' Gabriel explains. 'I set up the spell, but I didn't count on all the wards in that little bunker of yours. I don't have the juice to get out by myself.'

'Oh, great, so now we're stuck in here with you? Fan-fudging-tastic,' Dean complains.

'Calm down, Rudy. With you guys here, I'll have enough mojo to get us all out.'

'What do you mean?' Sam asks suspiciously.

'Your souls, kiddo. I just need a little bit of soul power and boom, we're all back in the bunker safe and sound.'

'And how will you get the soul power?'

'He needs to touch it,' Cas interjects.

'Touch it?' Dean asks with as horrified an expression as he can make on his adorable reindeer face. 'Like, show me on the doll where the bad archangel touched you, touch it?'

'Relax, it shouldn't hurt

that

much,' Gabriel says not very convincingly.

'He may be right, in this environment perhaps it won't be as excruciatingly painful as it is in our world,' Cas agrees.

'Oh, well, that's

very

comforting,' Dean says sarcastically.

'The other option is to go save Christmas with your shiny nose, Dean-o, so unless you want to be stuck here getting excluded from reindeer games for the rest of your life, you'll let me stick my hand where the sun don't shine,' Gabriel warns.

There's a bit more grumbling between them, but in the end it's agreed that Sam and Dean will give Gabriel a bit of soul power to work his escape spell. It doesn't hurt that much after all, and before they know it, they're all huddled together in a pile on the floor of the Dean Cave.

'See, all out safe and sound!' Gabriel says, smiling broadly as he stands and dusts himself off. He looks a little pale when he makes eye contact with Dean. 'Uh, anyway, gotta dash, thanks again for your help!' he says hurriedly, and disappears in a whoosh of wings.

Dean is about to wonder out loud why he disappeared so quickly when he realises that the faint red light in the room is coming from the end of his nose. 'Son of a bitch! Gabriel!'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Hey Cas?' Dean says, knocking softly at Cas's open door and popping his head around it. This thing between them is new and a bit fragile, so Cas still has his own room, though already he spends precious few nights in it. 'Um, I thought maybe we could exchange our gifts now? If you want.'

'Of course, Dean,' Cas replies with a soft smile, and picks up a pristinely wrapped parcel from his desk.

'Do you wanna come to my room? I left yours in there.' Cas nods in agreement, aware that this is the official invitation to spend the night without Dean having to state openly what he hopes is going to happen. Though his shyness has been adorable, Cas is hoping his gift will make his desires clear. He follows Dean to his room, and Dean locks the door behind them. 'So, um, here you go. Merry Christmas.' He hands Cas a rectangular parcel very badly wrapped in pages of Conspirator Daily! (the exclamation point being an essential part of the title), a terrible newspaper that took on the mantle of insane pseudo-news after the Weekly World News closed its doors; like its predecessor, it sometimes gets things right by complete accident, though from what Cas can see, the news about Elvis and Bigfoot is not likely to be accurate.

'Thank you, Dean,' he says warmly as he passes over Dean's gift.

'You go first,' Dean insists, sound a bit nervous. Cas pulls apart the paper and opens the box to find a small statue of a guinea pig, looking quite realistic and very cute. 'I felt really bad that I promised you one and then turned out to be allergic, so I thought this was the next best thing.'

Cas is overwhelmed with a number of emotions. Gratitude at Dean's thoughtfulness, and of course love for Dean himself, a surge of it that takes him by surprise even after so many years of loving Dean. But mostly embarrassment, because Dean has bought him a very sweet, romantic,

innocent

gift, and what Cas got Dean…

'Uh, wow, OK,' Dean says with a slightly nervous chuckle as he opens his present to find a butt plug and bottle of lube. 'That wasn't what I was expecting.'

'Dean, I'm so sorry, I completely misread the situation. When you said you wanted to exchange gifts in private, I assumed that your gift would be risqué, and didn't want you to think that I still had the "stick up my butt" about such things,' Cas explains frantically, air quotes and all.

'It's definitely not a stick,' Dean muses. 'Whose butt did you think it would be up?'

'I, um, well, I didn't-'

Dean puts a hand on his shoulder. 'Cas. Chill. I'm not mad.'

'You're not?'

'I'm pretty much the opposite of mad. I mean, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind- I just didn't want Sam to know that I'm such a sap. But, ya know, if you want to take things to the next level…'

'I do. I really do,' Cas replies eagerly.

Dean holds up the butt plug and lube and waggles his eyebrows. 'Then how about we put Mr Guinea Pig back in his box and take this bad boy for a spin?'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Excuse me, mister,' comes a voice from somewhere around Dean's elbow. He looks down to see a boy no older than ten staring up at him in awe. 'Are you Dean Winchester?'

Dean smiles. 'Sure am. What's your name?'

'Sam.'

'Hey, my brother's name is Sam. What a coincidence.' The kid smiles shyly, and Dean can't help but grin back. 'Are you a hockey fan?'

'Yeah, I love hockey! And I love figure skating too,' Sam adds hastily. 'My brother tried to tell me I couldn't like both, but I told him if Dean Winchester can like both then I can like both!'

'Darn right, kiddo,' Dean agrees enthusiastically, offering Sam a fist to bump. 'Hey, the show's about to start. You want a selfie or something before you go back to your seat?'

'Yes please!' Dean poses with the kid for a few pictures and sends him back to his seat just as the intro music starts to play. Dean whoops and claps as the troupe of figures skaters come out onto the ice.

'Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Stars on Ice: Superhero Special Edition!' the announcer's voice booms, sending the crowd into another frenzy. Dean looks around for Charlie and Balthazar, and sees them coming down the stairs with their drinks and a big bag of candy.

'Sorry, sorry, the line was huge!' Charlie explains, taking her seat. 'Did I miss anything?'

'Nope, just getting started,' Dean assures her.

'I still can't believe you managed to talk Cassie into doing this,' Balthazar says with a shake of his head. 'He always swore up and down that he would never participate in something like this.'

'Yeah, well, you get a lot of leverage when you're carrying his spawn,' Charlie replies, rubbing her baby bump with one hand and pouring M&Ms straight from the bag into her mouth with the other.

'Hey, that's my spawn too,' Dean interjects.

'I know, but you don't normally need any extra convincing to join in any of my hare-brained schemes,' Charlie argues, and Dean can't disagree. 'Ooh! That's the Avengers theme! Shh, time to geek out!'

The skaters come out, each dressed like one of Marvel's Avengers. Dean sees Cas right away in his teal costume with red skates to represent Vision. Although there are a number of other people on the ice, Dean can't take his eyes off of Cas's mesmerising performance.

Once the opening piece is finished, individual and pair performers do their routines. Cas is on just before intermission, and Dean is excited for Charlie to see it. He and Cas had come up with it as a surprise for her, and the expression on her face when Cas skates out in a leotard that looks like a shirt and tie with a sparkling trenchcoat on top makes Dean grin from ear to ear.

'Constantine!' Charlie squeals when the music starts. 'Was this your idea?' Dean just shrugs and smiles, not willing to take his eyes off Cas for another second. The program is short, only two minutes, but Cas had put in lots of difficult technical elements, including three huge jumps that he pulls off in spectacular style. The delighted gasps and cheers of the audience when he lands the quadruple Lutz are music to Dean's ears.

Cas skates into his final position with the last chime, arms extended and head bowed, and the lights go out. When they come back up a moment later, Dean is cheering and applauding as if Cas had just won ten gold medals. He dashes down to the side of the ice in time to greet a tired but satisfied-looking Cas and sweep him up into a kiss.

'You were amazing, Cas,' Dean gushes. 'You hit all of those quads, it was awesome!'

Cas laughs. 'I could hear you shouting at the end. It's very sweet that you're so enthusiastic, but it's not like this is the Olympics.'

'Well, it feels like it for me every time I watch you skate, sweetheart.'

'I'm not sure whether to kiss you or throw up a bit in my mouth,' Cas teases.

'You can kiss him, I've thrown up a bit in my mouth for all of us,' Balthazar says from behind Dean. 'I really hope you have better lines than that, Winchester.'

Cas wraps his arms around Dean's neck and gives him another peck on the lips. 'Oh, he definitely does. Remind me to tell you the one about the glittery leotard.'

'On second thought, I really don't want to know. Come Charles, let's leave the sickening duo to their shenanigans.' Balthazar offers his arm to Charlie with an exaggerated bow, and she takes it with her nose and the pinkie of her other hand in the air.

'Yes, let's do,' she agrees in a snooty voice, and they saunter away to find more candy for Charlie before the second half begins.

'I meant it, though,' Dean says once he and Cas are backstage for Cas to put on his costume for the final group choreography. 'Every time I see you skate, it still takes my breath away.'

'Then we're almost even, because you always take my breath away,' Cas replies. 'Now get out, I need to change for the finale.'

'Nothing I haven't seen before,' Dean pouts, but Cas is adamant that it has to be a surprise. He hadn't even allowed Dean to watch the rehearsals for the finale, and had sworn the rest of the skaters to secrecy, regardless of how much Dean tried to bribe them. 'It'll be worth it, I promise.'

Dean retakes his seat as the last of the pairs finish their routine, a Superman/Lois Lane combo that apparently went down really well with the crowd. As they wouldn't have time to change, Dean assumes that means the finale will be DC Comics heroes. The skaters come on one-by-one, from Aquaman to Wonder Woman, but it's only when the last skater comes on that Dean really begins to cheer and holler through his laughter at Cas's perfect choice to surprise Dean.

After all, nobody is cooler than Batman.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Dean suppresses a sigh as Cas stops at yet another handmade ornament stall. Since becoming human again, Cas has been obsessed with holidays, and Christmas has been the most involved celebration yet. They've gone to every Christmas market and craft fair within a 200-mile radius of the bunker, and now that they've finished a case in Nebraska, Cas has made him stop at yet another one. Dean grumbles, but really he loves watching Cas's face light up every time he looks at some tacky Santa statue or handwoven gift basket- or as is the case now, hand-felted Christmas ornaments.Dean's face softens into a smile as he watches Cas touch each one, asking the vendor questions and grinning widely at some joke she makes. He turns to Dean and waves him over to look at some ornaments. Dean walks over and puts his arm around Cas's shoulder in a totally bro kind of way. Human Cas is a hugger, he likes physical affection, so Dean lets himself indulge in these friendly little touches. He knows they don't mean as much to Cas as they do to him, but he just can't help himself.'Whatchya got there, buddy?''Look at these guitars, Dean. They're so beautifully detailed.' He hands one to Dean to observe more closely. 'I'd like to get these for our tree.' He pays the vendor for two guitars, a red one and a blue one, and puts them in his bag with all the other stuff he's bought today. 'OK, I'm ready to go.'They drive back to the bunker listening to a tape of actual Christmas songs, because Cas found it in the Goodwill and made puppy-dog eyes at Dean until he'd agreed to let shotgun pick the music for once. Dean's definitely going to have to talk to Sam about teaching his unholy skills to other people. When they get back home, Cas immediately takes his purchases to add to the plethora of other decorations that have been carefully placed around the bunker.'Dean, come help me with the tree,' he calls out. Dean brings through a couple of beers, and they clink their bottles in a toast. Cas puts on a tape and hands Dean one of the guitars. 'This is for you.''Thanks, buddy,' Dean says with a grin. Cas's smile seems to fade a little for a moment, but he perks up again and hangs up the other guitar ornament while the music plays. He's chosen wisely- it's 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' by Brenda Lee. They each place their respective ornaments on the tree, and Cas switches on the lights. His smiling face is bathed in a golden glow, and Dean's heart swells with affection. It must show on his face, because Cas tilts his head in question.'Are you all right, Dean?''Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. You just look really happy.''I am happy,' Cas says simply.'Good. That's good. I'm glad. You deserve it,' Dean stutters.Cas looks down. 'I don't. But I'm grateful for it anyway.'Dean puts a hand on Cas's shoulder. 'Hey man, you do deserve it. You deserve everything you want.''Do I?' Cas asked, hope lighting his eyes.'Course, Cas.''I wouldn't even know how to ask for what I want.''Maybe if you ask Santa nicely, he'll put it in your stocking,' Dean jokes. Cas takes a step closer, head tilted down as he looks at Dean through his eyelashes.'What I want wouldn't fit in my stocking.''You want a TV or something?'Cas takes another step, and another, and then he's right in Dean's personal space, just like old times. 'Not exactly. Would you like to dance?'That isn't what Dean expected him to say. 'What?''Rock around the Christmas tree with me,' Cas says, offering his hand. Slightly dumbfounded, Dean takes it, and to his surprise, Cas pulls him into a ballroom dancing hold and starts some basic swing moves. Dean's a bit rusty, but he still remembers some from when he took classes with Lisa what feels like a million lifetimes ago, and they quickly fall into a decent rhythm. 'I didn't realise you could dance so well.''Yeah, uh, I did some lessons with Lisa back in the day,' Dean explains. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Cas's face drops and he begins to pull away. Dean tugs him back in, but Cas doesn't resist as much as he expected, so they end up almost nose-to-nose. Cas's eyes are wide, and this close up, Dean can see his pupils dilate. That's about as good a sign as Dean can think of, so he tilts his head like he would when going in for a kiss. 'Cas,' he whispers, so close their breaths intermingle, 'what do you want for Christmas?'Cas doesn't exactly answer, but Dean gets the gist from the press of Cas's lips against his. It's pretty damn awesome, and to avoid Cas having any doubt about his enthusiasm for this turn of events, he reciprocates very actively, adding in some wandering hands and a press of the hips for good measure. Cas seems to get the message loud and clear judging by the increasing desperation in his movements as well.Eventually they pull back for air, just as the song finishes. Dean leans his forehead against Cas's and starts to chuckle. 'I can't believe our first kiss was to goddamn Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.''What would you have chosen?' Cas asks, nuzzling against his cheek.'Something by Zep, probably. Or maybe some Barry White kinda shit, I don't know. Not Christmas music, anyway.''I don't mind. I'm just happy I got to kiss you.'Dean smiles and plants another peck on his lips. 'Well, next time we'll pick something better. Um, if you want a next time, I guess.''Of course I do. In fact, I would like to start next time right now.'Dean smiles, pulling Cas close again, their lips meeting as the jingling bells at the start of the next song begin. The room is mostly lit by the Christmas tree lights, and Dean can't help but think that's it's pretty damn romantic; he hopes whatever the next song is will add to the mood even more.
Grandma got run over by a reindeer

Walking home from our house Christmas Eve…

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The wendigo hunt hadn't been fun, but the sweet cottage they'd been offered for a week had more than made up for the discomfort. Dean was in (better than the real) heaven: there was a roaring fireplace, tons of food, and Cas. And Sam of course. Both of them. He was really happy that both of them were there.

Sam hadn't been interested in joining in the snowball fight, but as much as Cas rolled his eyes and grumbled, he still went along with it. Dean bumped their shoulders together as they walked out the backyard, both of them smiling without a care in the world. Cas actually got the first hit in, but Dean managed to get an unanswered barrage of four snowballs before Cas caught up again. Their shouting and laughter would have disturbed the neighbours if they'd had any, but since the only person around to get annoyed was Sam, Dean wasn't particularly caring about whether they were too loud. They were having a damn good time, and they deserved it.

Just as he finished that emphatic thought, he got whacked right in the face by a particularly large snowball. Luckily, Cas was so busy laughing at his surprise that he managed to get a large handful of snow right down the back of Cas's shirt. The snowball fight degenerated into a wrestling match right there in the snow, and they ended up calling it a tie when they were both completely soaked to the skin. Cas stood up first and helped Dean up, and Dean threw his arm around Cas's shoulder and laughed, reminding them both of another time he had done that so many years earlier. Cas hadn't really understood what was funny back then, but he got these human things better now.

They knocked the snow off their shoes at the back door and peeled off their wet outer layers to hang up by the fire. Sam was nowhere to be seen, but he had kindly left them two steaming hot chocolates on the table by the fire. Dean sat as close as he could to the warming flames and put both hands on the mug to warm up. It was Cas who discovered the note.

'What's that?' Dean asked.

'It's a note from Sam. He says: "Gone to town for some whiskey, should be out for a couple of hours. Have fun you two, and use protection (no Cas, I don’t mean your angel blade)!" What does he- oh,' Cas stopped himself, realising what Sam had been implying. 'Um.'

Dean's cheeks were pink, and not just from the fire. 'Nice and subtle, there, Sammy,' Dean muttered, noticing the candles on the mantlepiece and soft crooning music for the first time.

'I'm sorry, Dean. I hadn't realised that Sam was aware of-' Cas bit his lip to cut himself off.

Dean's heart pounded in his chest. Did Cas know about Dean's feelings for him? 'Aware of what?' he asked, voice shaking.

'Of my… desires,' Cas replied, the last word barely above a whisper. 'I didn't think he would make light of it like this, knowing it would make you uncomfortable and umph!' Dean cut him off with a kiss. Cas melted into it, enthusiastic and surprisingly good at it for someone whose main kissing experience was from a demon and a reaper. 'Dean,' Cas sighed when Dean pulled back for air, 'what are you doing?'

'Thought that was pretty obvious,' Dean murmured, moving his kisses to Cas's neck.

'Yes, but… why?'

Dean cupped Cas's cheek with his hand and looked him in the eyes. 'Thought that was obvious too.'

Cas didn't need any further inducement to surge forward and capture Dean's lips again. Before long they were lying on the bearskin rug, Dean on his back with Cas above him. 'Dean,' Cas panted as he sat up to pull off his tie. 'I know you've said many times that you think angels are "junkless," but I feel I should warn you that this is very much not the case.'

Dean rubbed his hand over the bulge in Cas's trousers with a smirk. 'Yeah, kinda got that impression.'

Cas started unbuttoning his shirt, but his fingers were trembling too much from the excitement. 'This is taking too long,' he growled, and with a snap of his fingers, he and Dean were both naked.

'Handy,' Dean smirked, taking advantage of where his hand had been when the two layers of fabric had disappeared to wrap his hand around Cas's erection. 'Cutting right to the chase.'

'I think we've waited long enough,' Cas explained with a shuddering breath as Dean slowly stroked him.

'I thought it was me that Sam was trying to embarrass,' Dean admitted. 'Didn't think you'd… you know.'

Cas pushed Dean's hand away so he could lie flat on top of him and kiss him. 'What?' he asked between feather-light kisses. 'Want you? Love you?'

'I guess.'

'I understand your confusion. I frequently die for and then fight against the natural order to return to plenty of other people besides you,' Cas says with more sarcasm than even Dean could ever manage.

'Yeah, OK, shut up and fuck me already.' Dean's eyes widened when he realised what he'd said- he'd meant to say kiss, he was pretty sure about that, but actually, now that he'd said…

that

, he realised it was true as well.

'Are you sure?' Cas asked with breathless awe.

'Well, I don't know if Sam left us any lube, but, yeah, I'm definitely interested in- oh!' Dean gasped as he felt a familiar warm tendril in an unfamiliar place. 'Shit, is that your grace?'

'It's not just useful for healing,' Cas murmured as he managed to hold himself up, jack both their cocks together, and work Dean open all at the same time.

'Need you, Cas,' Dean moaned when he felt ready. 'Please.'

Cas lined himself up and entered Dean slowly,

too

slowly for Dean's taste, and he wrapped his legs around Cas's waist to hurry him along. As usual, Cas succumbed to Dean's attempt to overpower him, though Dean knew from experience that Cas could be a brick wall if he really wanted to be. The realisation caused another rush of affection in Dean's heart. He ran his hands through Cas's hair, turning it into an even worse mess than it had been in an Illinois barn over a decade earlier, while Cas began to thrust faster and faster inside him.

At one point, Dean thought he might have heard the door open, and a bit later close again, but he couldn't bring himself to care if Sam or anyone else had gotten an eyeful. He was too blissed out over having Cas above him, inside him, hell- it felt like Cas was all

around

him. He opened his eyes to see Cas with his head thrown back in ecstasy, shadows of his wings stretching out from his back and curling around Dean in a protective- or possibly possessive- way. It was enough to send Dean over the edge, throbbing hot between them as Cas came inside him.

Some instinct had Dean taking his hands away from Cas's glistening skin and instead running them through the shimmering silhouettes still just visible out of the corner of his eye. Cas gasped at the touch, moaning Dean's name as his cock pulsed once more. 'Can you see them?' he asked with a panting breath.

'Just the shadows,' Dean replied. 'Does it feel good?'

'Yes,' Cas sighed. Dean ran his hands down them again, and they flared out as Cas arched his back with pleasure. 'Too much, too sensitive,' he gasped, and the shadows disappeared.

Dean rubbed his hands along Cas's back in soothing circular motions. 'Was it good, Cas?'

'This was the best thing that has ever happened in my life, Dean. I can't imagine anything better ever happening,' Cas replied with a wide smile.

Dean grinned, pulling Cas closer so they could lean their foreheads together. 'I love you.'

Cas's smile broadened even more. 'I was wrong, it

could

get better. I love you as well, Dean.'

Dean grinned as he landed a cheeky slap on Cas's ass. 'Oh, sweetheart, it's gonna get a whole lot better.'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'It's possible to go off a person, you know,' Castiel said dryly as he held up the hideous angel tree-topper sweater-vest that Dean had given him.

'Pfft, you love me,' Dean replied dismissively, putting on his own ugly red knitwear topped by a green button-down left open. 'Tacky Christmas sweaters are practically required at the Roadhouse Christmas party, Cas. You just never experienced it because you always went back to Wichita every year.'

'It's not even Christmas yet,' Castiel grumbled. 'It's only mid-December.'

'Yeah, well, Ellen decided to have it early this year,' Dean shrugged.

Castiel pouted, throwing the sweater on the bed and putting his arms around Dean's waist. 'It's our anniversary. Wouldn't you rather stay home and "celebrate" privately?'

After over three years of knowing Castiel, Dean still found the air quotes adorable. 'There'll be plenty of time to "celebrate" afterwards, sweetheart,' Dean promised. 'Now come on, get sweatered up and let's go.'

Castiel grumbled, but he put on the damn sweater and followed Dean out to the Impala. Sam had promised to play designated driver tonight in exchange for either Dean or Castiel returning the favour on New Year's Eve. Dean parked in his usual spot in the furthest corner of the parking lot, and they walked into the bar holding hands.

'HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!' came the shout of a couple dozen of their friends and family. A giant banner with the same message hung over the bar, and streamers and balloons were hanging up everywhere. Everyone came over to greet them with hugs and claps on the back before returning to their seats and resuming their conversations. Castiel turned to Dean, who had what could only be called a shit-eating grin on his face.

'Surprise!' he said, kissing the look of astonishment off Castiel's face. 'Happy anniversary, Cas.'

'Happy anniversary,' Castiel replied, still a bit stunned. 'So this isn't the Roadhouse Christmas party?'

'Nope. Hired out the bar,' Dean said proudly. 'Got a big screen to watch

Brokeback Mountain

, and then it's Christmas karaoke.'

'You do remember that

Brokeback Mountain

is sad, right?' Castiel asked. 'Not exactly party material.'

'I thought you might say that, so I also have a back-up.'

'Is it

Dirty Dancing

?'

'Don't be ridiculous, Cas,

Dirty Dancing

is a summer movie.'

'Is it

Die Hard

?'

'Nope,' Dean replied smugly.

'Is it

Die Hard 2

?'

Dean pulled Castiel close. 'Of course it's

Die Hard 2

. We had our first kiss to the dulcet tones of John McClane jumping out of a helicopter.'

'First something else as well,' Castiel murmured into Dean's ear. At normal volume, he added, 'You're such a romantic.'

Ellen took their orders for food and drinks, and everyone settled in to watch the movie after Dean explained the change of plan. Someone shouted out a demand for a re-enactment of the first kiss, and Sam shouted back begging them not to.

After the movie, the screen was rolled away and the karaoke stage set up. Instead of the usual selections, the list was all made up of Christmas songs. Crowley opened proceedings with a disturbingly sensual rendition of 'Santa Baby' that had Dean almost rolling on the floor with laughter. Sam and Sarah's duet of 'Baby It's Cold Outside' was sickeningly cute, and even Ben, who had been given special dispensation to attend now that he was nearly twelve, got into the spirit by singing 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.'

Dean and Castiel took their turn after they were a few drinks in, clambering up on stage still holding their whiskey and beer respectively. The second microphone had disappeared, so their slightly off-key and rather loud rendition of 'A Holly Jolly Christmas' was spent with the two of them fighting over who got to sing into it. When they accidentally banged their heads together and dissolved into a fit of giggles, Sam declared that they'd clearly had enough holiday cheer and would be taking them home to sleep it off.

They stumbled out of the Impala with their arms around each other for support and waved Sam off cheerfully before heading inside. As soon as they were in the door, Dean pushed Castiel against it. 'I'm not actually drunk,' he admitted, rolling his hips against Castiel's.

'Neither am I. I just wanted to get you home,' Castiel replied before capturing Dean's lips. They stumbled their way through the house to their bedroom with minimal interruption to their kissing. When they got to the foot of the bed, Castiel reached down to remove his sweater, but Dean grabbed his wrist to stop him.

'Hold on. There's one more thing about your sweater.' Castiel gave him a questioning look, but Dean just smirked and squeezed the angel's halo. Much to Castiel's dismay, both the sweater and Dean started singing at top volume. 'Hark the herald angels sing…'

'Dean,' Castiel interrupted, 'if you want to get laid tonight, or indeed ever again, this sweater is coming off now and getting taken to Goodwill in the morning.'

'Yep, copy that,' Dean relented, pulling the still-singing sweater-vest off Cas and throwing it to the furthest corner of the room. 'But you looked pretty damn cute in it, angel.'

'Sweet talker. Now get over here and let's celebrate this anniversary properly.'

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Sam and Dean had first found the Men of Letters bunker, she hadn't been particularly convinced by them. She'd always heard the Men of Letters refer to hunters disparagingly, as little better than apes who were only good for doing the dirty work of monster hunting, and the Winchesters were clearly hunters. But as they began to settle in, she paid closer attention and realised that her first impression may have been a bit harsh. Sam was clearly a natural Man of Letters, and for all his roughness, Dean had appreciated all that the bunker had to offer almost right away. He treated her like a

home

, which was the first time that had ever happened. In time, she came to like Sam and Dean, not just as colleagues, but as friends- family, even.

OK, that time Dean had used a grenade launcher on her wall had been pretty annoying, but to be fair to him, he couldn't have known that she was only forty-seven seconds away from reactivating all the systems that Ketch had shut down. Sometimes it was annoying being a sentient magical bunker with no way of communicating with
most
of her occupants.
Baby was a great conversationalist, regaling her with stories of the boys when they were younger, and warmly telling her of the tender loving care with which Dean in particular (almost) always treated her, like a lady deserved to be treated.

C
huck had
also b
een able to talk to her properly, and they'd had some very interesting discussions about a variety of topics, from music to Dean's extensive and eclectic porn collection. And of course, they had gossiped about the will-they-won't-they couple of the century, Dean and Castiel. (Chuck favoured CasDean as a ship name, but the bunker was with the majority who preferred Destiel.)

She hoped that wherever Chuck was now, he could see what had happened on this most magical of Christmas mornings. Jack had woken up first, sneaking a bowl of the sugary cereal of which Sam didn't approve, again too late to get the decoder ring that Castiel had dug out a couple of days earlier. Mary was next, and between them they made a huge stack of pancakes and what seemed like half a pig's worth of bacon, finishing just in time for Sam and Castiel to be able to sit down to breakfast right away. Dean was last, because he was grumpy in the mornings, and the longer he'd spent in the bunker's protective walls, the better he'd gotten at sleeping through the night.

It was a convivial breakfast, and the bunker made sure the furnace was roaring nicely to keep them all toasty and comfortable on Christmas day. Once the food had all been decimated, they adjourned to the library where the tree had been set up and presents piled underneath. Dean declared himself the gift distributor and began to hand out the presents.

'All right, we got a bunch here for Jack from Sam, Cas, Mary and me,' he said, passing over package after package. Jack tore into them eagerly and was delighted to find a book of Nephilim lore from Sam, a nice scarf from Mary, a bunch of comic books and candy bars from Dean, and the full set of Krunch Cookie Crunch decoder rings from Cas. The bunker was happy to see Jack smiling so happily; she had been very sad when he had died, though she had long since learned that death didn't mean the same thing to a Winchester.

'Next up, Mom.' Mary's gifts included earrings, books, a new journal, and a knife with a beautifully carved handle. Sam got his next, and his were all books, except for his gift from Dean, which was a pair of huge fluffy Bigfoot slippers with the word Samsquatch embroidered on them. Sam wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or impressed that Dean had been organised enough to order a custom gift. Castiel had requested new clothes, as he was trying to branch out from the old suit and trenchcoat look, and the family had replied with jeans, new t-shirts, a nice black jacket, and even some novelty socks (the latter from Dean, of course). There was also a bonus gift from Dean- a new mixtape, which Dean handed him with pink cheeks while Sam and Mary both raised their eyebrows. If the bunker had eyebrows, she would have raised them too.

'And finally, my turn!' Dean grinned, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. A couple of new flannel shirts, a generous gift certificate for Perfect Pies bakery in Lebanon, a nice bottle of whisky, and a new set of Vonnegut books all made Dean happy, but the bunker noticed that he saved Castiel's present for last. He opened the small box to find- a mixtape. Sam and Mary exchanged a look, and Sam whispered something to Jack before the three of them quietly left the room. Dean barely noticed, as he was too busy gaping at the tape in his hands. If the bunker had breath to hold, she would have been doing so.

'I spoke to Other Charlie a couple of weeks ago,' Castiel said. 'She asked about the tape you gave me, made a very interesting squealing noise, and proceeded to spend the next twenty-five minutes explaining the romantic connotations of mixtapes to humans who came of age in the 1980s and 90s, as well as the overt sexual messages of the Led Zeppelin songs you selected.'

'Oh. Uh. Right.' Dean blushed right to the tips of his ears.

'I'm sorry for not understanding sooner. Charlie helped me make a mixtape for you to express

my

feelings.'

Dean picked up the box and looked at the tracks. There was a combination of extremely schmoopy love songs and ridiculously suggestive 90s R&B that definitely got the message across loud and clear. 'So, uh, how about we go listen to our new tapes in my room?'

'I'd like that very much,' Castiel replied eagerly, and they walked to Dean's room hand-in-hand.

Finally!

the bunker thought with a sigh of relief in the form of a surge in the furnace. She was so happy and thankful that Destiel was finally canon that she didn't even mind when the headboard of Dean's bed cracked the wall. It was a small price to pay for the happiness of her boys.