The Lord loveth a cheerful giver;

[to_rebel]

Who: albinoidiot and to_rebel
What: Dante's still giving out his gifts; Castiel is just trying to get some quiet time.
Where: Dante's place
When: February 15, evening
Warning: Uh. Yeah, I can't think of much. Really.
Status: Closed, ongoing

Comments

[albinoidiot]

After giving off all his presents, Dante was done. He had come back to his room and lazed around thinking about just how satisfying his first time giving out gifts was. To be perfectly honest, he had never expected it to feel this good. Most of the times it was him stealing crap for himself, you know, all that selfishness that came with being raised alone and forgotten. He liked this humanistic edge. It felt right.

The only gift that had remained pending was Castiel's but Dante figured the guy wouldn't come. He had been looking like crap lately and the devil was certain the guy needed a lot more than just a nap. He had lost track of time when he heard that knock on the door.

It couldn't have been Dean, Dean never knocked. Then again, Dean didn't always come for a visit in the first place. It probably wasn't Willow because, although the girl knocked, she always warned. His mother was included in this list. It obviously wasn't Vergil because doors didn't exist for the guy. He was that much of a dick.

"Cas, that you?" Was the only other guess he held. When he opened the door, he was pretty glad he guessed right. "Come in, man. How was your rest?"

[to_rebel]

Knocking must have been the right thing to do; Dante answered the door within moments and looked genuinely pleased. He nodded once and slipped inside, finding his way to a bare wall and leaning against it. He was still tired but he felt infinitely more like himself. A combination of landing in Cydonia, the time travel, and not actually resting had laid him low -- not to mention that drinking binge. That probably hadn't helped in the least. In fact, he knew it hadn't helped.

He waved off the question about rest, answering with a half-shrug and a nod. Castiel certainly did not like admitting when he was less than one hundred percent and that included being asked after.

"I am well."

[albinoidiot]

It didn't take a genius much to realize that Castiel wasn't exactly all that good. He looked like shit and he seemed tired. Dante couldn't even begin to imagine how much strain his vessel went through to leave him like this. Or maybe it was part of the effects of falling? Whatever the case, the albino devil knew it wasn't an issue he should press. He respected the overgrown pigeon and therefore, he shrugged it off and moved to hand his new friend his gifts.

"Now, before you start commenting on how crappy my gifts are, I'll have you know that this is my first time giving gifts out so you just appreciate it. Okay?" He handed him over a small basket. "Happy Valentine's day, Cas."

The basket was ordinary, something for carrying what was inside. There was a teddy bear with angel wings beside a big clear bag of what appeared t be Jolly Rancher's and cheeseburger decal ping pong paddle that Dante found fitting. He was grinning.

"You like it?"

[to_rebel]

Valentine's Day. Usually reserved for love, but apparently -- if the list of people Dante had gifts for -- could be used as an excuse to simply give gifts. He took the basket, cradling it in one arm while he picked out the bear and gave it a curious look. Asking Dante what use it would be would be beyond tactless; even he knew that. He set it down, fingers running over the wings once before he pulled out the plastic bag of... What was it?

He held it up. "I do not know what this is."

[albinoidiot]

The gentle brush of the wings on that stuffed bear gave Dante the impression he had done something right. He figured the guy had never had one of these so he made sure to pick something appropriate. What was better than a winged bear? He was a fluffy guy, he would enjoy it.

"Those are candies, man. Jolly Rancher's if you want an exact name." He commented, taking the back and opening it up for him, "You've never had one I'm guessin'. What you do is, you take one out, take it out of the wrapping and just pop it in your mouth. Here, have one." He offered him the open end of the bag.

[to_rebel]

Dante had indeed done something right. In much the same way Dante had never given a gift, Castiel had never received one. At first, the bear seemed like it could be a mockery but after a moment, Castiel had realized it was intended as a simple gift. Just something that had reminded Dante of him and therefore given.

Though, he was hardly... soft and cuddly.

Carefully, he set the basket down and reached into the bag. The candy was small and hard and Castiel rolled it between his fingers before doing as Dante suggested.

If it made him need to hug someone again...

"It's..." Hmmm. What was the word? He didn't have much experience describing food, of all things. "It's more sour than I expected."

[albinoidiot]

When Castiel actually tried out the candy, Dante felt accomplished. This was bonding right here, getting an angel to accept and actually like presents from a devil...Eva would be proud.

"You ate the grape flavored one, those are pretty sour, I guess. They're good, aren't they?" Hell, he was going to steal one from him now to taste himself. "The cherry ones are pretty good. I like 'em."

[to_rebel]

"Good." That was a new one. Castiel rarely ate, and so rarely labeled any sort of flavor as good or bad. "I suppose so."

He angled the bag toward Dante, offering without word for him to take what he wanted. Castiel appreciated that Dante would give him something he liked -- perhaps an effort to share what he thought was good? -- but that didn't mean he had to hoard it.

Gift giving was a little beyond him, especially when the one giving the gift was a devil -- and the one receiving was an angel.

[albinoidiot]

Dante didn't take many, perhaps two or three before he started pointing at the basket again. He was grinning at the last gift, and in his opinion, the best of the three. It had the most sentimental value if they wanted to talk about feelings like that. Hopefully they weren't going to. That wasn't his style.

"You're missing one more gift, don't leave it out. Hope you like it too." Because a bear and candies were good but a ping pong paddle was just awesome.

[to_rebel]

Ah, yes. The ping pong paddle nestled there next to the bear. Castiel picked it up, eyebrows rising at the design. A hamburger, was it? Interesting. He held it up, catching Dante's eye.

"Am I to take this as an open invitation, then?"

[albinoidiot]

The devil boy chuckled in excitement. Another good reaction from the overgrown pigeon! He was on a roll all of a sudden!

"It's a gift, I figured putting the two things you like the most would be kind of cool. You know that I'm always up for a game of pong when you want." Because it's the best bonding time ever, apparently.

"You like it? It's just for you, like, you're weapon for the game."

[to_rebel]

Castiel tested the paddle's weight -- much like he would a knife's -- and then nodded before he put it back in the basket.

"It's appreciated." And it was, as well as surprising. How strange that a demon would give him anything and not ask for something in return.

Yet, at least.

[albinoidiot]

Dante felt accomplished. He figured that if he had given good presents to an angel, he could imagine what the guy would give him in the future. Hopefully it was a miracle in a bottle. He could use those. Heck, a six pack of those wouldn't hurt.

"I'm glad you like it, I'm pretty proud of how this turned out. For a minute there, I thought you didn't want my presents."