Fic - Snowmen - Dean/Cas - PG13 - Part 2
Title: Snowmen
Author: choc_freckles
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairings: Dean/Castiel
Rating: PG-13 for language
Word Count: WIP
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Warnings: None, no spoilers
Summary: Dean gets a mysterious illness after he and Sam exorcise some peculiar demons
Author's Notes: I asked for fluffy Destiel prompts, and got "playing in the snow", which is not at all what this turned out to be, so I am so, so, so, sorry about that.
Part One is here.
Dean woke slowly, aware first of murmured voices somewhere off in the distance. Then he was aware of the warmth that was bleeding out of the front of his body, in great contrast with the warmth that was wrapped around him from behind.
"You're awake," said Cas, his voice a soft rumble in Dean's ear. Dean frowned. What the hell? He turned over on his side and realized that not only was he in bed with Cas, but he was in Cas's arms.
"Cas?" Dean asked. He could still hear the murmuring voices in the hallway - Bobby and Sam, he realized now. "What are you doing?"
"Keeping you warm, Dean. The snowmen that you and Sam exorcised were cursed. Some of that curse is affecting you."
Dean frowned. "So I'm turning into a snowman? Awesome."
Cas shifted so he was facing Dean, who tried not to think about the fact that they were lying in bed, face to face. Concentrate on anything else, Winchester. Look at his face, Winchester. "You are not going to turn into a snowman just yet, Dean." Dean tried to ignore the spark of humor in Cas's eyes. Yeah, okay, if this were happening to Sam it would be freaking hilarious, but since it's happening to him? Not funny.
"So, what then?" Dean asked, desperate to keep the conversation going. He wanted to concentrate on anything else other than the fact that he was lying in bed with his best friend. And really enjoying it. No, no, Winchester, not enjoying it. Enjoying being warm. Yes. That was it.
He was so lying to himself.
Cas sighed. "Your contact with the curse was secondary. So it won't turn you completely. However, it can still kill you."
Okay, now that was something to concentrate on. "Awesome," Dean said again. "Is there a way to reverse it, or am I gonna spend the rest of my life here in bed with you?"
This, of course, was the moment that Bobby and Sam chose to enter the room. They froze in place, and Dean lowered his head, his cheeks flaming.
Bobby cleared his throat. "Well, you can try that, Princess, but we're going to see if we can undo the curse. Unless you want..."
Dean raised his head and glared at Bobby. "Do not finish that sentence." Dean could feel Cas's exasperated sigh. Sam's face was a curious blend of bitch face number 613 (and why were there so many of those, really?) and barely contained hysterical laughter. Dean Winchester, this is your fucking life. "Do you guys have anything useful, or are you just going to stand there and laugh?"
Sam let loose with a snort. "Can we really choose?" Dean wrangled his arm out from under the covers to give Sam the finger, only to discover that he was wearing mittens. Mittens. What the fuck.
"Why the fuck am I wearing mittens?" Dean asked.
"Because they're keeping your hands warm. They're warmer than gloves, Dean," Cas explained patiently.
"How the fuck do you know that?!" Dean asked. "You're a fucking angel, you don't need mittens or gloves or any of that shit."
Cas gave Dean a look, one that could only be described as disappointed. Dean felt his stomach drop, realizing that he was being a big fucking dick, but he couldn't seem to help it. He was exhausted. He was freezing. He was huddled under fifty billion blankets and quilts, he was wearing about six layers of clothing (including the offending mittens) and he was cuddled with Cas. Cuddling was not something he did. Forget the fact that it was Cas.
Cas, about whom Dean's feelings were complex and confusing at best. Cas, who had done more for Dean than just about anyone else on the planet except maybe Sam. Cas, who had seen Dean's soul at its worse and yet he still hung around. That kind of loyalty would mess with anyone's head.
And Dean Winchester wasn't just anyone. He was a mass of self-loathing, angry, bitter, and dangerous humanity that any normal person should run the fuck away from. And yet Cas seemed to constantly be running toward Dean, or at least, moving in tandem with Dean.
But this look of sad disappointment in Cas's eyes, that nearly did Dean in. Because Dean was used to letting everyone else down. But when it came to Cas...well, Dean had yet to find Cas's threshold, Cas's final straw. Even when Cas was thoroughly angry and pissed off at Dean, he still managed to find a way to protect and support him.
Dean didn't deserve to have someone as good as Cas in his life, not really.
He mumbled an apology, and the disappointed look faded somewhat from Cas's eyes, thank fuck.
Rather than continue to open his mouth and shove his enormous foot inside, Dean opted to go silent. Not that he was giving anyone the silent treatment, but more that he felt that, in this case, discretion was probably the better part of valor.
Having made the decision, however, it was almost excruciating to lie there, cuddled - *no* - huddled against Cas for warmth while Cas, Bobby, and Sam discussed what to do about the curse as if Dean were not there.
Maddening. It was all he could do not to leap into the conversation and offer his thoughts on the matter. Until Cas returned his attention to Dean, a steely look in his eye.
"Dean."
"Yeah Cas?" Dean said, trying to be as nonchalant and relaxed as he could.
"Why are you twitching?" Cas asked, a note of puzzlement in his voice.
"I'm not -- what? I'm not twitching." Oh, this was painful. He wished that a chasm would open up beneath the bed and swallow him whole. This entire thing was absurd, and yet there they all were, discussing the problem like Dean and Cas were John Lennon and Yoko Ono having a bed-in for peace.
Dean was totally John Lennon.
But. Wait. That would make Cas Yoko, and...
Dean groaned, wishing that he'd never allowed his brain to stray at all. It must be the cold, his brain was just shutting down all semblance of normal thought, and Dean was of course just going to think of all kinds of crazy shit.
Awesome.
But Cas was looking at him like he was growing another head, and that had to be handled. He was pretty sure that Cas had said something while Dean was having this weird Yoko Ono moment, and... "Uh, what was that, Cas?"
Cas huffed an exasperated sigh. "I asked why you were twitching. You have been jerking around under the covers and it's very distracting."
Dean knew he was blushing, he just fucking knew it, because of all the unfortunate ways to describe what Dean was doing, Cas had to go and pick the one that was the most laden with sexual innuendo, didn't he? But that brought Dean back around to the fact that while he knew that he was blushing, that there was a spread of red washing across his cheeks - he couldn't tell at all. Normally, his face grew warm and then hot as the blush chased his embarrassment into view, but there was no sensation of warmth on his face.
He must have had a peculiar expression on his face, because Cas tilted his head suddenly and looked at Dean even more intently, if such a thing were possible. "Are you all right, Dean?"
Dean swallowed, willing his panicked heart to stop its stuttering. "Uh, no, Cas, I don't think so." He hesitated. "Is my face red?"
Cas frowned. "It was, but now it's...well, you're very pale, Dean."
"Oh," Dean said in a tight voice. "Then no, I don't think I'm okay, Cas."
Sam and Bobby moved closer to the bed, Sam sitting on the edge of it, practically shoving Cas aside in his attempts to get closer to Dean. He, too, looked worriedly into Dean's face and brought his hand up to feel Dean's temperature. As before, Sam's touch was frigid to the point of painful, and Dean jolted away. Sam frowned too. "Dean?" he asked.
"Sammy, sorry. But you're just so damn cold, it hurts, man."
"Huh," Bobby said.
Sam whipped his head around to look at the older hunter. "What do you mean, huh?"
Bobby reached out, but stopped before cupping Dean's face in the palm of his hand. He looked at Dean expectantly, waiting for permission. Dean nodded warily, and Bobby rested a tentative hand on Dean's cheek. Dean yanked away, just as he had with Sam. "The same, Bobby."
Bobby nodded, as if this was information that was useful. "And Cas?" he pointed his chin at the angel.
Cas too reached out to touch Dean's face, and Dean once again found himself leaning into the touch, the furnace that was Castiel's hand. He raised his own hand, still mittened, and held Cas's hand against his face. "Very, very warm." He closed his eyes for a moment, not giving a damn what this looked like, because he was really, really fucking cold, and this felt like heaven. This was a double bacon cheeseburger with crispy, salted fries and a cold beer on a hot summer day.
"Hm," murmured Cas after a moment. Dean wrenched his eyes open with great difficulty, but refused to look at either his brother or Bobby, because the whole situation was embarrassing enough as it was. Should Dean live through this -- WHEN -- Dean corrected in his head -- he would never, ever live this down. Sam was going to have a field day with it.
"I think that I might have some ideas," Bobby said. His voice was even more gruff than usual, which made Dean finally look up. The expression on Bobby's face was one that Dean wasn't used to seeing - Bobby looked worried. "Come on, Sam, let's see what we can find." They trudged out of the room, Sam throwing one more concerned glance over his shoulder before they shut the door behind them.
Dean relaxed back down under the covers and moved closer to Cas. He closed his eyes, his exhaustion finally catching up to him. It didn't even occur to him to muster up a complaint when he felt Cas begin to card his fingers through Dean's hair.
"'S' nice, Cas," he mumbled.
Part 3