93. Chapter 93

The sleigh ride through the snowy forest had been unexpectedly fun - Dean never would have thought he'd enjoy something so cliché - but the hot chocolate afterwards was by far the best part. Dean sighed as the pleasant warmth slid down his throat, heating him up from the inside out. He didn't even mind the fact that he and Charlie were drinking out of sippy cups while Anael, Castiel, and Gabriel got to use regular mugs. Gabriel was drinking hot chocolate like them, but Anael and Castiel both had hot apple cider.

Dean was also pretty sure that the angel's drinks had some whiskey added to them, but he hadn't bothered to ask for sure. At one time he would've demanded alcohol for his drink too, but right now the hot chocolate was pretty good as it was. Anael had made them from scratch rather than use angel mojo, and she'd gone through the trouble of adding whipped cream, a dash of marshmallow syrup, and chocolate shavings on top. It was deliciously sweet without being over the top, and wonderfully warm after their chilly sleigh ride.

"Can we do presents now?" Charlie asked, making an adorably begging face towards Anael.

"Hmm, I don't know," Anael said, wrapping both her hands around her mug. "What do you think, Gabriel?"

Gabriel pulled an exaggerated thinking face. "I'm not sure if it's time yet. What do you think, Cassie?"

Castiel hummed. "We might need to wait for a little while longer."

"Daddy!" Dean exclaimed in betrayal, and all three angels burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay. We can do it now," Castiel said, his smile so broad that Dean couldn't help smiling too. He loved seeing Castiel looking so content with Gabriel and Anael. It eased the sting of all the memories Dean had when Castiel had been desolate and depressed while cut off his brethren because he was helping the Winchesters during the Apocalypse. For a long time there, Castiel had been trying to come to terms with the possibility of falling and becoming human.

Gabriel snapped his fingers and the gifts that Dean had carefully wrapped for Anael and Charlie appeared on the table. Anael looked a little surprised to see that there was a gift for her too, Dean noticed. Charlie jumped up and ran into the living room, returning a moment later with a gift that she set down in front of Dean. There was nothing for Castiel and Gabriel, but that wasn't necessarily surprising. Angels didn't seem to be very into exchanging gifts, and Charlie didn't know Castiel or Gabriel well enough to buy them anything.

"Okay, go ahead," Anael said, smiling at them.

Dean looked down at the gift that Charlie had given him. He could tell that Charlie had probably wrapped it herself, because there were some wrinkles in the paper, and he could see a couple places where the paper had torn. But he didn't mind. In fact, it made him really happy that Charlie had gone through the trouble. This was the first time that Dean had ever received a Christmas gift from anyone who wasn't family, and he had to work hard to swallow the lump in his throat as he began to unwrap the gift. When he could see what it was, he started laughing.

Charlie giggled at the same time. "We got each other the same thing!" she exclaimed.

"Great minds think alike," Dean joked, gently stroking the paint set. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Charlie had clearly noticed how much Dean enjoyed working on their picture frames together, though he did think it was quite a coincidence that they had chosen the exact same paint set for each other.

"I guess so. This means we're going to have to paint some really awesome things," Charlie said, her eyes sparkling.

Dean nodded and turned to Anael. "Will you open yours now?" he asked, a little nervous. He'd been pretty sure that Charlie would like her gift, but he was less confident about Anael's gift.

"Of course. Thank you so much, Dean," Anael said, picking up the gift. She quickly tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box. Her eyes widened.

"Wow, Mommy. That's beautiful!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Dean picked it out all by himself," Castiel added.

"Thank you so much, Dean. It's beautiful," Anael said, looking at Dean and smiling. She looked a little misty around the eyes, and Dean wondered if she was thinking about the Christmases she had had before she took back her grace. Unlike Castiel and Gabriel, Anael had actually experienced Christmas a human.

“You’re welcome,” Dean murmured, feeling a little uncomfortable at all the attention. He turned to Castiel, pressing his head against Castiel’s arm, and Castiel obligingly shifted closer and let Dean hide against him.

“So, have you heard from Ezekiel lately?” Gabriel asked Anael loudly, and the conversation quickly turned towards angels that Dean didn’t know. He was grateful for that. He liked that Anael and Charlie liked their gifts, but he’d forgotten how awkward it could be when people were thanking you for things that you had done or given them.

“Hey Dean, let’s go play for a little while. I have some new Legos,” Charlie said.

Dean looked up at Castiel, who nodded down at him, and happily climbed down from the table. He ran off with Charlie to the living room, where Charlie took down a huge container of Legos and poured them out on the floor. Dean had never played with Legos before becoming a Hatchling, but he had quickly become a huge fan of them. He’d never known how much fun it could be to build something until now.

They played for a while, with both of them building a castle. Dean was a little taller than Charlie, so he was able to stand up and focus on making the castle taller while Charlie worked around the bottom of it. Charlie was spinning an elaborate tale about how their castle was home to a made-up bunch of trolls. He loved how imaginative she was whenever they played together. Her inventive stories made whatever they were doing a lot more fun.

Eventually, Dean realized that they were being watched and looked up to see that Gabriel was watching them with a fond smile. Dean set down the blocks and put his arms out, suddenly feeling like he wanted a hug. Gabriel came right over and picked him up for a cuddle. It was wonderful to get that kind of attention, and even better when Charlie acted like it was perfectly normal.

“We have to go, kiddo,” Gabriel said, running a hand through Dean’s hair. “You wanted to give your gift to Balthazar today, remember?”

Dean nodded. “He’s not busy today?”

“Not when Cassie is the one who asks,” Gabriel said, laughter in his voice. “Say goodbye to Charlie.”

“Bye Charlie!” Dean said, leaning back to look down at her.

Charlie looked back up at him and beamed. “Bye Dean! Thanks again for the Christmas present. We’ll paint together again soon, okay?”

“Okay!” Dean said happily. Gabriel carried him back through the kitchen to the front door, where Castiel and Anael were standing and talking.

“Thank you again for my gift, Dean. It was lovely,” Anael said, touching her necklace. She was wearing it, Dean realized, and smiled. The purple stones looked surprisingly good against her red hair, and against the cream color of her sweater.

“You’re welcome,” Dean said, a little shyly. “Bye.”

“Bye.” Anael waved at them; her smile was the last thing Dean saw before her house was gone, and then suddenly Dean, Castiel, and Gabriel were back outside the cabin.

“Well, that was a fun morning, huh baby?” Gabriel said, carrying Dean up the steps and inside.

“Uh huh,” Dean said, fighting back a yawn and resting his head on Gabriel’s shoulder. He didn’t want to have to take a nap, even though he was beginning to feel sleepy. He wanted to stay awake so that he could give Balthazar his Christmas gift – and wasn’t that a weird thought? Not too long ago, Balthazar had just been that weird angel friend of Castiel’s. Now Dean was looking forward to giving him a Christmas gift.

“Are you tired?” Gabriel asked.

“No,” Dean lied, resisting the urge to rub at his eyes. “When is Balthazar going to be here?”

“Cassie’s calling him now. Let’s sit down on the couch until he gets here.” Gabriel walked across the living room. Warm fur brushed against Dean’s hand as Gabriel sat down, and Dean heard a quiet meep. He smiled and moved his face so that he could see Sparks. She began to purr when she noticed Dean looking at her and stood up, nuzzling her head pointedly against Dean’s hand.

He started petting her, loving the feel of her silky fur against his hand. All those times Sammy had begged for a dog when they were kids, Dean had never really understood why. But now he thought he did, and he felt a little bad for how harshly he had always turned Sam down in the past. Sparks never failed to make him smile. Her very presence was a reminder that Dean was loved.

And of course, it helped that petting her was keeping Dean awake.

There was a knock at the door, and Dean listened as Castiel went to answer it – he wasn’t alarmed, since the numerous wards piled on this place meant that very few angels would be able to find it. Plus, Gabriel was totally relaxed underneath him. Sure enough, the sound of Balthazar’s voice could be heard moments later. Dawn muffled another yawn and reluctantly slid off of Gabriel’s lap to go get his present.

“Hello all,” Balthazar said as he sauntered into the room. “Long time, no see.”

“Hi,” Dean said, walking over to him. “Here, this is for you. Merry Christmas.” Somehow, he felt less shy about giving Balthazar his gift than he had felt over Anael. So he was able to confidently place the gift in Balthazar’s lap.

Balthazar looked very surprised. “For me? Seriously?”

“Yup,” Dean said simply. He was no more comfortable with expressing his feelings now than he’d been before, so he didn’t think he could say that the gift was also a thank you for everything that Balthazar had done to help them. He just had to hope that Balthazar would understand.

“Open it,” Castiel said, coming up behind Dean and putting his hands on Dean’s shoulders.

Balthazar did as directed, his eyes widening when he saw what was inside. “I have to say, you have much better taste than I thought you did, Dean. It must be the grace in you.”

“It must be,” Dean said dryly, pleased with Balthazar’s reaction.

“Anyone for some whiskey?” Balthazar said, plucking one of the bottles out. Castiel shook his head, but Gabriel nodded and got up to get two glasses. Balthazar poured some of the whiskey into both glasses. Dean snuck a look at the bottle and saw that it was caramel flavored.

“Can I try?” he asked Gabriel.

“It’s up to your daddy,” Gabriel said, glancing at Castiel.

“Pleaaaaase?” Dean said, using the puppy eyes to full effect.

“I think it will be okay,” said Gabriel. He and Castiel shared a long look, doing that thing where they spoke without words, before Castiel sighed and nodded.

“Just a sip, that’s it,” he said.

Gabriel tipped his glass for Dean, who leaned forward and took a sip. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but a distinctly unpleasant burn wasn’t it. Dean recoiled and made a face, realizing that he couldn’t taste any flavoring at all. Just the burn of alcohol, and he didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as he used to.

“Not what you thought, huh?” Gabriel said with a sly grin.

Dean stuck his tongue out. “It was okay,” he lied. He didn’t know if it was the fact that he hadn’t had anything to drink for months or if it was because of the grace he’d been consuming, but yeah. That was gross.

“Sure it was,” Balthazar said, also grinning.

Castiel just shook his head. “Don’t tease,” he scolded the both of them, pulling Dean down onto the couch beside him and wrapping his wings around Dean. His feathers were tantalizing close to Dean’s mouth, and the urge to get the taste of the whiskey out of his mouth was pretty strong. With a quick glance to be sure all three angels were occupied in chatting, Dean latched onto a feather and sucked.