May Your Days - Supernatural, Dean Winchester x Castiel
There was no knowing how or why or where Castiel had acquired a violin; the point was he'd just shown up with it one day, a battered case in hand. The instrument inside, though, was far from battered-full size, steel strings and finely polished spruce and maple woods, which the angel assured were completely original. It was at this point that Sam had complimented the instrument's craftsmanship and its previous owners care if the wood was original and "in that good of shape."
Dean had simply made a face. Violins had never been his instrument of choice.
•
"So you can actually play that thing?"
Dean's question came a few days after the violin had first appeared in their collective lives, and after watching Castiel tune the strings for the last ten minutes.
From his seat on the edge of the bed on which Dean lounged, the angel looked up from the instrument's strings. "Of course," he replied, turning his attention to the last tuning peg on the pegbox and tightening it.
"Where do you pick up that skill?" Dean queried.
"I taught myself," Castiel replied simply. "I had time."
Dean elected to not touch the fact that Castiel so casually mentioned having so much time on his hands to teach himself to play, given the latter's celestial status. Instead, he suggested, "You should play something."
"Your style of music isn’t suited to the violin," Castiel noted. Coming from anyone else, it might have been a comment of derision, but the slight, almost imperceptible grin on the angel's face made it clear he was teasing.
"Okay then-" Dean shifted to grab a copy of the local newspaper from the nightstand and sat up to hold the paper out for Castiel to see. He tapped the dateline twice. "It's Christmas, so play something festive."
"Fine," Castiel agreed. The angel stood, balanced the lower bout of the instrument on his collarbone and settled his chin in the chinrest. "Any requests?" He lifted the bow.
"Nothing about front teeth or hippopotamuses," the other replied. Castiel blinked once, twice-"Just play the damn violin, Cas."
Castiel nodded once and drew his bow back and forth across the strings. The sound the instrument produced was, Dean was surprised to find himself admitting, almost pretty, not to mention vaguely familiar. It wasn't until he heard Sam, half singing half humming from the next room over that he was finally able to place a name with the tune-Cas was playing "White Christmas."
Dean leaned back against the wall behind him, eyes sliding shut. Flickers of Christmas specials, half-watched while on the road, passed through his memory-Bing Crosby dressed as Santa and a pretty lady in red and snow, mostly-before his mind shut down and he let his mind focus solely on the angel's playing. He wouldn't call himself an expert, but it was good. When he opened his eyes next, Castiel was just finishing playing; if Dean was perfectly honest with himself (which he allowed himself just this once), Castiel looked quite handsome.
The angel lowered the bow, but kept the violin in place as he looked at Dean. "What did you think?"
It was a damn shame that singing and playing violin wasn't possible, Dean wanted to say. Instead, he settled for shifting his weight slightly and sitting crossed legged on the bed. "That was really nice, Cas," he replied sincerely. "You play really well."
"Thank you, Dean," Castiel answered, lowering the violin and preparing to put it back in its case.
"You can, uh… You can play something else if you want," Dean commented.
Castiel paused, the instrument halfway to its case, and looked up at Dean, who was watching him rather intently. Their eyes met, and a few unspoken words passed between them. Dean's eyes said everything his voice didn't, an unspoken request for another piece; Castiel smiled slightly and lifted the violin to his shoulder once more. "Of course, Dean. What would you like to hear next?"
-.-.-.-
Title: May Your Days
Author: TheCrazyAlaskan
Fandom / Setting: Supernatural - undisclosed time and location, Christmastime
Characters / Pairings: Dean Winchester x Castiel, passing mention of Sam Winchester
Rating: T
Word Count: 668
Warnings / Notes: Written for the FsndomSecrets Fandom Secret Santa Exchange for spacebabie
Recommended Listening: "White Christmas - originally by Bing Crosby, performed by Vitamin String Quartet
Summary: In which Dean forgoes his usual musical tastes for something a little more season apropos, courtesy of Castiel.
Behold, my first foray into writing Supernatural fanfic! I have a headcanon that Castiel taught himself to play violin, so I thought that would be nice for this. Not bad considering that I haven't seen him yet.
Dean, Sam, Castiel, Supernatural © Eric Kripke
"White Christmas" © Irving Berlin