Pinecones, Pears and Mistletoe - Part 1 (Part of the WOTR 'verse)
Title: Pinecones, Pears and Mistletoe - Part 1 ( WOTR ‘verse)
Author: skylinehorizon
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Rating: NC-17
Length: 11k
Warnings: swearing, hearing loss/deafness, sex.
Summary: Sam, Dean and Cas spend their first Christmas together in their new home. Set a few months after War Of The Regions ends.
Notes: Timestamp in the War Of The Regions ‘verse. This isn’t the Jo and Gabriel sequel I know some people are hoping for, but this is something to hopefully tide you over a little bit longer. It’s set around Christmas, so sorry it’s late, but I hope it’s still enjoyable!
PDF - Text Only (I often have formatting problems copying over from Pages to here, so that might be the best bet! If anything seems strange below, then please say and I will adjust it.)
Pinecones, Pears and Mistletoe (part of the War Of The Regions ‘verse)
by skylinehorizon
~ 19th December ~
Christmas is nearing and the first snow of the year has begun to fall in gentle flakes. The snow settles on the earth, and the farm animals are herded from the fields into shelters for the rest of the winter. Trees that have long lost their leaves stand tall and thin at the edges of the woods, and the sound of flapping wings can be heard at night as the snowy owls soar high above the villages.
Outside of the Highlands, in a Highland Region, there is a cottage with a crackling fireplace in the kitchen and a stack of logs piled neatly up against the wall. In the upstairs bedroom, Cas is lying on Dean’s chest, warm and sated after some slow, gentle love-making, with Dean’s arms wrapped around him.
“We should have Christmas,” Cas says, out of the blue, and Dean presses his nose to the top of his head, presses a kiss there. Softly, he says, “Celebrate what we have.”
“Really?” Dean asks, pulling back to look down at him. It’s only five days until Christmas and it was something he’d pushed to the back of his mind, not expecting to have one. “I mean, yeah. I get the being grateful for what we have. It seems sort of... sad, though. Celebrating Christmas.”
“How so?” Cas asks, peering up at him.
Dean tries to think of the best way of saying this, but nothing other than the image of Jo and Gabriel leaving comes to mind. There’s the sharp memory of John leaving them only a month ago, telling them he’s got business to see to, and he’ll be back. It still stings, and he tries not to dwell on it, understands it must be something important. He settles with, “Not being with your family. With your brother still missing, and with Jo missing. I mean...”
He leaves the words unsaid, but Cas, like always, understands him anyway and he smiles. “I would like to. I think it would be good to celebrate together.”
“Well... sure, then. I guess it could work. I’m sure Sammy will be happy.”
Cas presses himself closer against him, and slots one leg in-between Dean’s. Outside, the wind begins to howl and the snow storm picks up, and Dean holds Cas just that little bit tighter.
***
~ 20th December ~
The next morning they’re sat at the kitchen table, and Dean taps Sam’s forearm a couple of times before Sam looks up at him and he starts to say, What do you think about... and then his hands falter and he realizes they don’t actually have a sign for Christmas. He draws a ‘C’ in the air and then mimes giving a present, but Sam frowns at him and shrugs, pausing in eating his porridge.
He does the sign again and mouths the word Christmas, and he can see that Sam understands then, and spells it back to him to make sure. He looks confused about the new sign, so Dean continues.
We should celebrate Christmas, Dean says, and can’t help the smile that pulls at his lips at the way Sam’s eyes light up.
Sam drops his spoon and he says, Can we get a Christmas tree?
Dean rolls his eyes but it’s fond and then he nods and Sam grins at him, with dimples and bright, excited eyes. It hits him then that Sam is still young, has never really had the childhood he’d wished for him, and Christmas to a kid is an exciting thing.
It’s been years since they’ve done Christmas properly, and carried out the full tradition. Back when Mary was alive, and Sam was still a baby, they’d get the tree, decorate it with pinecones, mistletoe and freshly-picked and traded pears. In the weeks before they’d trade as much as they could for the money to buy one small gift for each other, and luxury food and meat that they wouldn’t usually have. They’d sit around the table together on Christmas Day and eat all the fresh food and exchange their gifts.
They’ve only done that a couple of years since when John could scrape the money together, and Dean is suddenly very glad and grateful that Cas brought the idea up.
Eat your breakfast, Dean says, and Sam goes back to his porridge with a smile. When Sam looks up again, he says, Can’t be late for school.
Sam rolls his eyes at him, fond in the face of Dean’s nagging, and Dean smiles at him and goes back to his own food.
***
Cas helps clear up after them because the library is closed for winter, needing repairs that came from the War that just wouldn’t be able to withstand the harsh weather. He hands Sam his coat and then Dean’s, smiling at him in that small, private way.
Dean takes the coat and kisses him, slow and soft, and pulls away to see Sam giving them an over-exaggerated look of disgust. Dean shoves him playfully and it dissolves into a smile, before Sam hits back. Cas watches them, smiling, and then goes over to the fireplace to add another log.
“Come on, kid,” Dean says, doing the buttons of his coat up. “Before we miss the train.”
Sam makes the sign for repeat, and Dean glances at his ears before saying, Put your damn ears in.
Sam pulls the hearing aids from his pocket and out of the little protective case they stay in, and puts them in his ears. Dean waits until he’s done that, looks over to make sure Sam’s got his bag on his back, and then opens the door to step into the snowy village.
“Goodbye, Cas,” Dean shouts over his shoulder, and waits until he hears Cas’ own goodbye before shutting the door behind them.
The cold hits them as soon as they step out into the cool air, the wind blowing across their cheeks. It doesn’t take long to walk to the train station, only thirty minutes even in these sorts of conditions, and they walk at a leisurely place but fast enough to keep warm. They don’t talk much, the poor visibility making it difficult to communicate, but they stick close together as they journey forwards.
Dean mentally plans the Christmas preparations, mentions them to Sam and Sam grins at him, excited.
“I’ve only got two days left,” Sam says, as the train station comes into sight.
Dean shifts his body towards Sam as they walk, and signs as he says, “That will give us three days before Christmas to do everything.”
Dean sees Sam doesn’t catch it all, but gets the general idea of three and they wait until they’re actually on the train before they continue talking again. The train journey is short in relation to how far they’re actually traveling, and it makes Dean think back to the miles they walked on foot in the summer and how different he still finds the people from the Regions and those from the Highlands.
When the train arrives in the Highlands they share their goodbyes before Sam walks off towards his school and after watching him go, Dean turns to walk to the hospital.
***
It’s busy at the hospital, unsurprisingly, and Dean signs himself in before getting changed and heading towards the pediatric wing. It’s small, and children are always crying and throwing up on him, but he finds it’s the place he likes to work best. It’s the brightest, cheeriest part of the hospital, the walls painted in small cartoons and hanging mobiles above the hospital cribs. It’s been decorated for Christmas, with some tinsel at the end of each bed, and quiet Christmas music can be heard from the nurse’s station.
He heads towards the nurse’s station and Nurse Mills hands over some files as soon as she sees him.
“Kids in two, three and baby in six. I’ll be around to give them meds, but read their notes, go sit with them, sing them some Christmas carols - just keep them happy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dean says, taking the files. He’s just a trainee at the moment, doesn’t get much responsibility, but it also gives him the freedom to just sit and chat with the kids and their parents, get to know them and cheer them up.
He heads to the kid in two first, and he reads from the file that he’s a seven year old named Jack, and he’s in for a broken leg. He’s up and awake, sat against a pile of pillows behind him, and is flicking through a book.
“Hey, Jack,” Dean says, with a grin.
The kid looks up at him, curious. “Hi.”
“I’m Nurse Dean,” he says, pulling the seat over and sitting beside his bed. “How’s your leg?”
Jack flicks his eyes down to it and Dean can see as his bottom lip juts out and he pouts. “Hurts,” is all he says, and drops the book to cross his arms over his chest.
“How’d you do it?” Dean asks, catching the book, just before it falls to the floor.
“Fell off my bike. It was new, for Christmas.”
He pouts just that little bit more, and Dean is startled once again by the difference of kids in the Regions and kids in the Highlands. Sometimes a kid will come in that’s really sick, and all he can see is Sam lying there, in a too-cold room, wrapped up in scratchy blankets while Dean tries to take care of him and it was never good enough, never would have been, and it hurts to think that if he’d been taken here he wouldn’t have lost his hearing at all.
He clears his throat, pushing past the memories, and pulls a pen out from his pocket. “Well you know what’s cool about having a broken leg?” he asks, taking the lid off the pen.
“What?” Jack asks, sounding more curious now than upset.
“Now you can draw awesome things on your cast,” Dean says, and he leans forward to press his pen against the cast, draws a dinosaur wearing a crown that’s breathing fire just for kicks, and when he looks back up Jack is grinning at him, and makes outstretched hands for the pen. Dean gives it to him and places the book on his lap in case he wants to continue reading it.
“I’m going to go check on the other kids now, but you just shout if you need me, alright?”
“Yeah,” Jack says, distracted, as he leans down and scribbles on his cast.
Dean walks over to three where a little girl who looks a little bit older than Jack is sitting. Her notes say she’s called Angela.
“Hey, Angela,” Dean says, sitting beside her. “I’m Nurse Dean.”
She looks up from the book she has in her lap and smiles just slightly at him. “Angie.”
“How’s... your tummy?” Dean asks, glancing back down at the notes. She came in with a stomach bug, fever, but it’s gone down and looking at her Dean can see she’s looking healthy, and a lot better than she must have when she came in.
“Better,” she says, and looks back down at her book before looking back up.
“What are you reading?” he asks, glancing at the pages.
“Fairy tales,” she says.
Dean smiles at her and says, “Is The King of the Golden River in there?”
She flicks through the pages and says, “I think so.”
“That was my little brother’s favorite when he was young,” Dean says. “You should try it.”
Just then he starts to hear a cry, and looks over at the crib behind him and realizes it’s the baby in six he’s got to check on.
“I’m gonna go check on her, okay? You just shout if you need anything.”
“Okay,” Angie says, absently, as she flicks through the pages.
Dean walks towards the crib and looks at her notes quickly, seeing she’s called Elizabeth, and notices when she was last fed. He heads into the hallway to find a nurse to bring him some warm milk, before heading back to Elizabeth and lifting her up into his arms. He holds her tight against his chest and she calms, with just the slight occasional sniffle as Dean gently rocks her.
It’s not long before the nurse comes back and hands over the bottle and Dean takes it gratefully, checking it’s not too hot.
“Where are your parents, huh?” Dean says, quiet, looking down at Elizabeth’s tiny nose and blue eyes as he positions the warm bottle of milk at her lips and she takes it, greedily. He’s rocking Elizabeth in his arms as she devours it, careful of the tiny IV drip, when Becky walks over to him, her high heels clacking against the linoleum floor.
“Dean,” she says, and looks down at her notebook before he has a chance to ask why she’s here, “We just got a call from Highlands Institute of Education--”
“What?” Dean asks, gently removing the bottle from Elizabeth’s mouth, and placing her in the crib. “Is this about Sam? What’s happened?”
“The Institute has closed early because of the heavy snowfall, and due to some train cancellations, all students have been sent home early for winter break.”
“Thanks,” Dean says, glancing towards the clock. “Can you - uh.”
He runs a hand through his hair and blows out a deep breath.
“Is there a number you’d like me to call?” she asks, flipping through her notebook to an empty page.
“No, he doesn’t have a phone. It’s okay, I’ll sort this out. Thanks.”
The Institute is one of the smaller schools in the Highlands, and coincidentally one of the closest to the hospital, even in the opposite direction from the train station. Despite its small size, it’s also the one that Jess goes to, and for that Sam doesn’t complain. Jess lives on the outskirts of the Highlands, actually in the city, and Dean can bet on him going there or to the hospital to come and find Dean.
He brushes past her and enters the nurse’s station, where Nurse Mills is sorting out the medicines.
“What is it?” she asks before he even has a chance to say anything.
“I just got a call from Sammy’s school. It’s shut, something to do with the snow and the trains.”
She looks up at him, towards the clock, back towards him and sighs. “Go on then,” she says.
It takes a moment for him to process her response and he frowns. “I - what?”
“What are you waiting for? Go get him. I’ve got two nurses coming in at twelve so I’ll manage. I’ll see you next week.”
“Thanks, Jody,” Dean says with a grin, and leans forward to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and puts the files down on the desk.
“Elizabeth is fed and sleeping but she might need burping, Jack and Angie both have books to read. They should be fine for a little while.”
He turns to walk away, when she says, “Oh, Dean?”
Dean turns, one foot out the door.
“Check the top drawer and tell your brother to have a good Christmas.”
Dean doesn’t understand what she’s talking about until he opens it and sees a small plastic box full of tiny, circular batteries.
“You got them,” he states, feeling like an idiot. “You - thank you. I didn’t think you’d be able to.”
She rolls her eyes with a smile and nods to the open door. “Merry Christmas, Dean.”
He grins and leaves, heading towards his locker. He doesn’t bother changing back into his clothes, just puts his coat over his uniform ready to brave the chill outside.
***
Dean leaves the hospital and steps out into the falling snow. He’s about to walk towards the gate, and leave to enter the city when he hears a high voice call his name.
“Dean!”
He turns and feels all the tension run out of him and he huffs out a laugh as he starts to walk towards her. Jess is standing in the snow next to Sam, next to the low brick wall that runs along the ambulance bay. Sam has his back to him but turns as Dean approaches and offers a smile. His cheeks are red and his floppy hair is covered in white snowflakes and Dean smiles back, not letting any of the anxiety he had felt show at the idea of having to find Sam in this city, even if they are near the outskirts of it.
School closed? Dean says, stopping beside him. Jess gives a little wave.
“Snow,” Sam says.
Dean smirks. Yeah, I think I got that. How come you here?
Coming to hang out here until you finish work, Sam replies, hands slightly shaking from the cold air.
“I’m finished for the day,” Dean says, signing while he speaks, for both their benefit. “We should probably head back before the trains are completely cancelled. They can make these insane machines but they can’t make them work in the freaking snow.”
Jess laughs and Sam nods, but there’s regret in his eyes as he glances over at Jess. Sam’s a lovesick puppy most of the time she’s around, and Dean barely manages to contain the taunting.
“You’re welcome to come back with us,” Dean says, looking towards Jess, but still signing. “Although you might get stranded.”
“Oh! No, I should be getting back,” she says, her voice sweet like honey. She turns to Sam, and says, “I’ll, uh. I’ll see you after Christmas, Sam?”
He nods, cheeks still red, and Dean doesn’t know whether that’s from the cold or from talking to Jess but he nods and gives her a smile. She stands on tip-toes, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and then walks away with a wave, and Sam is left standing there, mouth parted and eyes wide.
Dean waits until Jess is out of earshot before he bursts out laughing, and Sam turns to glare at him, but it’s weak, and after that he smiles and Dean ruffles his hair, shaking the white snowflakes out of it.
“Come on, you big girl,” he says. “Lets go home.”
***
~ 21st December ~
The next morning Sam is still asleep, longer than he usually is, and Dean leaves him to enjoy the lie-in that he doesn’t usually get. He’s standing in the kitchen, and Cas is sat at the table behind him.
“What am I gonna get him?” Dean asks, slicing the freshly baked bread from the local bakery. “I got some of those little battery things for his hearing aids, sure. But I would have got them for him anyway, so... what?”
Cas looks up at him from where he’s scanning through papers and smiles at him. It’s small and soft, and catches Dean off guard.
“What?” he asks, and can feel the blush as it spreads across his cheeks.
“Nothing,” Cas says gently. “I just love you.”
Dean swallows hard, feeling embarrassed, and then he smiles. “You’re a sap.”
“Are you complaining?”
“No,” Dean says adamantly. “Don’t even think about changing.”
They fall into a comfortable silence, with Cas softly smiling to himself as he reads through the papers in front of him.
A few minutes later, Dean breaks the silence. “Hey, Cas?” Dean says, and clears his throat.
Cas looks up at him, with that calm, serene expression on his face that Dean often notices when he spots Cas watching him.
“Yes, Dean?”
Dean looks back down at the loaf of bread and clears his throat again. “I love you too.”
When he looks back over at Cas he’s grinning and then he nods, just slightly, and says, “I know.”
Dean goes back to the bread and finishes slicing it before placing it in its wooden bread box and putting the lid on top to keep it fresh. He’s got to find a present for Sam and a present for Cas, and today he’s planning to leave Cas to the markets and go hunting for some meat.
He leaves soon after telling Cas his plans for the day, his bow and arrow in hand and a knife safe in the pouch of arrows. They share a lingering kiss, and Dean kisses him once more on the forehead, before he pulls back and heads into the wintery morning.
He passes a few other people on his way but nobody looks like they’re heading to the forests, and he relaxes into the isolation, and the peace he finds at walking alone with a job to do.
Dean takes some time appreciating the beauty of the woods, and spares a moment to feel grateful that when they were fleeing their home Region it was in the height of summer. He’s not sure they would have survived so well in the bitter cold. He’s walked through this forest with Cas a number of times, and they’ve often stopped, pushed one another against a tree and fucked each other against the hard ground. It’s reminiscent of the Outerlands each time they do it, and it’s always tinged with the need and the urgency they felt back then.
Some of the lakes he walks past are frozen, and wildlife is much more sparse than other times of the year. His best bet is on deer, but squirrel will also be good if he can kill a few for a stew.
He heads to the parts of the woods he knows he’s had good kills in before, and once he’s found a place to settle down, he decides he’s best bet is to sit and wait for the animals to walk upon him. It doesn’t take long.
A deer walks out from behind a tree and everything is silent. Dean feels almost sad to break the silence, but the arrow leaves his bow with just a whistle of wind and strikes the deer in the neck, killing it easy, just like that.
As he walks over to collect his kill, a sudden thought enters his mind, and he smiles. He’s got an idea about what to get Sam, and finds that sometimes hunting lets himself mull over ideas subconsciously, and he’s grateful for the peace of the forest, and the time it’s given him to think over Sam’s present. He takes the deer back to their home, letting Cas deal with the preparations, and then heads to Mr Robertson in the village to see if he can help him with Sam’s gift.
***
When Dean returns some time later, confident with the presents he’s chosen for Cas, he walks into the kitchen to find the two of them laughing together as Sam enthusiastically says something with his hands.
They look over as he enters and Dean cocks an eyebrow at them.
“Not laughing at my expense, are you?”
Sam’s grin spreads, his cheeks dimpling, and Dean rolls his eyes. “Thought so.”
Dean’s happy with how close Sam and Cas are now, even if they do spend their time teasing Dean behind his back. He may grumble but it secretly makes him feel glad that they get on so well, and he doesn’t want to think about what would have happened if the guy he loves didn’t care so much for his little brother.
They sit down together and eat lunch, and Sam and Cas head out to the village together afterwards to get their own presents. Dean uses the time to clean up the house and keeps an eye out for the return of the other two. An hour or so later they come back, cheeks red and presents hidden in paper bags.
They head to their respective rooms to wrap them or hide them and then they all meet up in the kitchen again to make dinner together. Sam tells him about Jessica, and Dean and Cas listen with knowing smiles on their faces, and Dean tells him again to just be a man and ask her out.
The fact that Jess survived the War is another thing Dean is grateful for. So many of the people they once knew - Andy, Ellen, Jo, Gabriel, John, Bobby, Ash, Missouri - are either dead or missing or they don’t know what came of them or where they currently are, and it’s a happy relief when someone from their old life shows up again.
It’s also a happy coincidence that Jess and her family live so close, in relation to where they could have turned up when the survivors of the Regions and Outerlands moved closer to the Highlands to live. It is believed there are some people still in the Outerlands, some perhaps in the Regions, but nobody is keen to find out.
After dinner they head to their respective rooms, leaving the fire to burn out in the kitchen fireplace. Dean and Cas collapse into bed together and Dean relaxes into the warmth beneath the covers. It’s still a novelty after all this time to be able to sleep together in a bed big enough for both of them, and Dean is more than grateful for it.
Cas leans over him and traces his tongue over Dean’s lower lip, before sucking it into his mouth, and Dean lets out a small breathy moan. He brings his hands up to wrap around Cas’ body and brings him closer.
Cas pulls back and takes off his shirt, and Dean sits up to do the same. One of Cas’ favorite things is to lie against Dean when they’re both naked and sharing body heat, and Dean is more than happy to indulge him in it. They both strip down and throw their sleep clothes to the floor and then press against each other, both groaning as their already leaking dicks are pushed between them.
Dean slips his hand between their bodies and wraps his hand around both their cocks and slowly brings them to the edge, Cas making him shiver as he licks and sucks along his neck. Dean speeds up, Cas spreading his legs and then he stills, spilling hot over Dean’s hand and Dean pulls his hand away, using Cas’ come to slick the way, and finishes himself off in three quick tugs. He comes all over Cas’ chest and Cas doesn’t stop kissing him as Dean’s breathing evens out and he pulls his hand away.
Cas murmurs, “I love you,” into Dean’s ear, before getting up and coming back with a damp cloth. It’s cold against his skin and Dean washes himself down quickly before handing it to Cas, and afterwards they huddle together beneath the covers in the darkness, sharing light, short kisses.
“I love you, too, Cas,” Dean says, feeling sated and sleepy. Cas brings him forward, wrapping him up in his arms, and they fall asleep that way, bodies slotted together.
***
~ 22nd December ~
The next morning they wake up early, because the 22nd of December marks the beginning of Christmas tradition. They walk out the door as it begins to get brighter, but the sun is obscured by the thick grey clouds and falling snow. It’s gentle, and the wind is almost non-existent, but it is still cold. The tip of Sam’s nose is pink, and all their hands feel freezing and are raw and red.
They’re lucky to be living in a Region which, like their old home, is dense with forest. It’s not as wild as their home Region was, at least not on the outskirts of the village, but it’s still feels miles away from the Highlands, even if they’re technically in the Highland Regions now. There are others in the Region who have the same idea as them, as they walk through the snow towards the trees, saws in hand.
Dean and Cas hang back and let Sam choose the perfect tree, and it turns out to be one just taller than Cas, a healthy green with a thick layer of snow on its branches. Dean grabs a branch and shakes it, watching the snow fall to the ground.
“This one?” Cas asks and Sam grins at him, nodding.
“Alright then,” Dean says, kneeling down. “Lets get this tree.”
It takes a good hour to saw the trunk of the tree and start pulling it along the ground back to their home. They’ve all got red cheeks, stinging hands and are breathing heavily when they finally pull it through their front door and rest it against the bare wall. Dean pulls the wooden pail over that he’s already filled with hard, frosty soil, and as a team, they lift the tree up and stick it in. Slowly, they start walking backwards, letting go of it and it wobbles, just a touch, before balancing out. It stands tall, a little tilted to one side, but they’re all smiling and Dean sees that as a job well done.
After taking a break to rest and eat some food, they head back out to get the mistletoe and pinecones to decorate the tree, as well as buy pears from the village square. Finding mistletoe is the more difficult of the two jobs, because it’s a case of finding it within the forests.
Dean leads them in and out of the trees, knowing the land best out of the three of them, and they take it at a gentle pace as they try and find some, as well as picking up frozen pinecones along the way. Dean takes a moment to revel in the fact they don’t have to fence hop anymore, and never have to worry about being electrocuted. Since the fall of Dick Roman, the government in the Highlands has begun to switch around. It’s been a slow process, but in this lull between leaders the people of the Regions and Highland Regions, as well as in the Highlands, have been left much to their own devices. Officials still exist but they hold little power until the new rules and guidelines are in place, and they all breathe free in the freedom.
They approach a frozen pond and Dean skirts around it, making sure they don’t get too close. They enter a patch of forest that’s less dense, with more light filtering through, when Dean spots it.
“There, on that silver birch,” Dean says, stopping. Sam looks over, noticing he’s spotted something, and raises his eyebrows.
Dean points to it, and Sam grins back at him when he sees the mistletoe that is high up in the branches.
There’s a moment where they all stand there, staring at it, and then Cas sighs, and says, “One of us has to climb and get it.”
Dean grins and nods. “Yep.”
Sam turns around to look back at Dean and raises his eyebrows. With his hands, he says, Give me a leg up.
Dean and Cas move forward and kneel on the snowy ground, interlinking their hands to give Sam a step up. He steps onto their hands and they lift him, and he stretches his hands out to try and reach it. He’s still a few inches away, and Dean pushes him higher, straining under the weight.
“Got it!” Sam says, once his hands have clasped around some of the mistletoe. Dean starts to lower him far enough for Sam to jump down and Sam holds it out, his cheeks pink and lips red, flushed from climbing the tree.
Dean and Cas catch their breath and both put their thumbs up.
“I think... one piece will be enough,” Dean says.
Sam laughs, reading Dean’s lips, and starts to lead the way back by their footprints in the snow. Once they reach the village again, and they’re out into open air, they notice the snow and wind have stopped, and it’s incredibly peaceful. People walk past them and smile, and the three of them smile back and wish them a happy Christmas.
They head into the village square and purchase both milk and pears with the money Dean has been saving from working at the hospital. As soon as they get home, Sam places the mistletoe on the tree, and Dean keeps the milk cold by placing the glass bottle in the snow in their garden. Their Christmas tree looks strange, wonky and bare, but it marks the fact it’s Christmas, and it will make good firewood for the weeks that follow, so Dean’s happy with it. They start to place the presents beneath it, and spend the rest of the evening relaxing beside the fire.
Part 2 | 'Verse Masterpost
Author: skylinehorizon
Pairing: Dean/Castiel
Rating: NC-17
Length: 11k
Warnings: swearing, hearing loss/deafness, sex.
Summary: Sam, Dean and Cas spend their first Christmas together in their new home. Set a few months after War Of The Regions ends.
Notes: Timestamp in the War Of The Regions ‘verse. This isn’t the Jo and Gabriel sequel I know some people are hoping for, but this is something to hopefully tide you over a little bit longer. It’s set around Christmas, so sorry it’s late, but I hope it’s still enjoyable!
PDF - Text Only (I often have formatting problems copying over from Pages to here, so that might be the best bet! If anything seems strange below, then please say and I will adjust it.)
Pinecones, Pears and Mistletoe (part of the War Of The Regions ‘verse)
by skylinehorizon
~ 19th December ~
Christmas is nearing and the first snow of the year has begun to fall in gentle flakes. The snow settles on the earth, and the farm animals are herded from the fields into shelters for the rest of the winter. Trees that have long lost their leaves stand tall and thin at the edges of the woods, and the sound of flapping wings can be heard at night as the snowy owls soar high above the villages.
Outside of the Highlands, in a Highland Region, there is a cottage with a crackling fireplace in the kitchen and a stack of logs piled neatly up against the wall. In the upstairs bedroom, Cas is lying on Dean’s chest, warm and sated after some slow, gentle love-making, with Dean’s arms wrapped around him.
“We should have Christmas,” Cas says, out of the blue, and Dean presses his nose to the top of his head, presses a kiss there. Softly, he says, “Celebrate what we have.”
“Really?” Dean asks, pulling back to look down at him. It’s only five days until Christmas and it was something he’d pushed to the back of his mind, not expecting to have one. “I mean, yeah. I get the being grateful for what we have. It seems sort of... sad, though. Celebrating Christmas.”
“How so?” Cas asks, peering up at him.
Dean tries to think of the best way of saying this, but nothing other than the image of Jo and Gabriel leaving comes to mind. There’s the sharp memory of John leaving them only a month ago, telling them he’s got business to see to, and he’ll be back. It still stings, and he tries not to dwell on it, understands it must be something important. He settles with, “Not being with your family. With your brother still missing, and with Jo missing. I mean...”
He leaves the words unsaid, but Cas, like always, understands him anyway and he smiles. “I would like to. I think it would be good to celebrate together.”
“Well... sure, then. I guess it could work. I’m sure Sammy will be happy.”
Cas presses himself closer against him, and slots one leg in-between Dean’s. Outside, the wind begins to howl and the snow storm picks up, and Dean holds Cas just that little bit tighter.
***
~ 20th December ~
The next morning they’re sat at the kitchen table, and Dean taps Sam’s forearm a couple of times before Sam looks up at him and he starts to say, What do you think about... and then his hands falter and he realizes they don’t actually have a sign for Christmas. He draws a ‘C’ in the air and then mimes giving a present, but Sam frowns at him and shrugs, pausing in eating his porridge.
He does the sign again and mouths the word Christmas, and he can see that Sam understands then, and spells it back to him to make sure. He looks confused about the new sign, so Dean continues.
We should celebrate Christmas, Dean says, and can’t help the smile that pulls at his lips at the way Sam’s eyes light up.
Sam drops his spoon and he says, Can we get a Christmas tree?
Dean rolls his eyes but it’s fond and then he nods and Sam grins at him, with dimples and bright, excited eyes. It hits him then that Sam is still young, has never really had the childhood he’d wished for him, and Christmas to a kid is an exciting thing.
It’s been years since they’ve done Christmas properly, and carried out the full tradition. Back when Mary was alive, and Sam was still a baby, they’d get the tree, decorate it with pinecones, mistletoe and freshly-picked and traded pears. In the weeks before they’d trade as much as they could for the money to buy one small gift for each other, and luxury food and meat that they wouldn’t usually have. They’d sit around the table together on Christmas Day and eat all the fresh food and exchange their gifts.
They’ve only done that a couple of years since when John could scrape the money together, and Dean is suddenly very glad and grateful that Cas brought the idea up.
Eat your breakfast, Dean says, and Sam goes back to his porridge with a smile. When Sam looks up again, he says, Can’t be late for school.
Sam rolls his eyes at him, fond in the face of Dean’s nagging, and Dean smiles at him and goes back to his own food.
***
Cas helps clear up after them because the library is closed for winter, needing repairs that came from the War that just wouldn’t be able to withstand the harsh weather. He hands Sam his coat and then Dean’s, smiling at him in that small, private way.
Dean takes the coat and kisses him, slow and soft, and pulls away to see Sam giving them an over-exaggerated look of disgust. Dean shoves him playfully and it dissolves into a smile, before Sam hits back. Cas watches them, smiling, and then goes over to the fireplace to add another log.
“Come on, kid,” Dean says, doing the buttons of his coat up. “Before we miss the train.”
Sam makes the sign for repeat, and Dean glances at his ears before saying, Put your damn ears in.
Sam pulls the hearing aids from his pocket and out of the little protective case they stay in, and puts them in his ears. Dean waits until he’s done that, looks over to make sure Sam’s got his bag on his back, and then opens the door to step into the snowy village.
“Goodbye, Cas,” Dean shouts over his shoulder, and waits until he hears Cas’ own goodbye before shutting the door behind them.
The cold hits them as soon as they step out into the cool air, the wind blowing across their cheeks. It doesn’t take long to walk to the train station, only thirty minutes even in these sorts of conditions, and they walk at a leisurely place but fast enough to keep warm. They don’t talk much, the poor visibility making it difficult to communicate, but they stick close together as they journey forwards.
Dean mentally plans the Christmas preparations, mentions them to Sam and Sam grins at him, excited.
“I’ve only got two days left,” Sam says, as the train station comes into sight.
Dean shifts his body towards Sam as they walk, and signs as he says, “That will give us three days before Christmas to do everything.”
Dean sees Sam doesn’t catch it all, but gets the general idea of three and they wait until they’re actually on the train before they continue talking again. The train journey is short in relation to how far they’re actually traveling, and it makes Dean think back to the miles they walked on foot in the summer and how different he still finds the people from the Regions and those from the Highlands.
When the train arrives in the Highlands they share their goodbyes before Sam walks off towards his school and after watching him go, Dean turns to walk to the hospital.
***
It’s busy at the hospital, unsurprisingly, and Dean signs himself in before getting changed and heading towards the pediatric wing. It’s small, and children are always crying and throwing up on him, but he finds it’s the place he likes to work best. It’s the brightest, cheeriest part of the hospital, the walls painted in small cartoons and hanging mobiles above the hospital cribs. It’s been decorated for Christmas, with some tinsel at the end of each bed, and quiet Christmas music can be heard from the nurse’s station.
He heads towards the nurse’s station and Nurse Mills hands over some files as soon as she sees him.
“Kids in two, three and baby in six. I’ll be around to give them meds, but read their notes, go sit with them, sing them some Christmas carols - just keep them happy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dean says, taking the files. He’s just a trainee at the moment, doesn’t get much responsibility, but it also gives him the freedom to just sit and chat with the kids and their parents, get to know them and cheer them up.
He heads to the kid in two first, and he reads from the file that he’s a seven year old named Jack, and he’s in for a broken leg. He’s up and awake, sat against a pile of pillows behind him, and is flicking through a book.
“Hey, Jack,” Dean says, with a grin.
The kid looks up at him, curious. “Hi.”
“I’m Nurse Dean,” he says, pulling the seat over and sitting beside his bed. “How’s your leg?”
Jack flicks his eyes down to it and Dean can see as his bottom lip juts out and he pouts. “Hurts,” is all he says, and drops the book to cross his arms over his chest.
“How’d you do it?” Dean asks, catching the book, just before it falls to the floor.
“Fell off my bike. It was new, for Christmas.”
He pouts just that little bit more, and Dean is startled once again by the difference of kids in the Regions and kids in the Highlands. Sometimes a kid will come in that’s really sick, and all he can see is Sam lying there, in a too-cold room, wrapped up in scratchy blankets while Dean tries to take care of him and it was never good enough, never would have been, and it hurts to think that if he’d been taken here he wouldn’t have lost his hearing at all.
He clears his throat, pushing past the memories, and pulls a pen out from his pocket. “Well you know what’s cool about having a broken leg?” he asks, taking the lid off the pen.
“What?” Jack asks, sounding more curious now than upset.
“Now you can draw awesome things on your cast,” Dean says, and he leans forward to press his pen against the cast, draws a dinosaur wearing a crown that’s breathing fire just for kicks, and when he looks back up Jack is grinning at him, and makes outstretched hands for the pen. Dean gives it to him and places the book on his lap in case he wants to continue reading it.
“I’m going to go check on the other kids now, but you just shout if you need me, alright?”
“Yeah,” Jack says, distracted, as he leans down and scribbles on his cast.
Dean walks over to three where a little girl who looks a little bit older than Jack is sitting. Her notes say she’s called Angela.
“Hey, Angela,” Dean says, sitting beside her. “I’m Nurse Dean.”
She looks up from the book she has in her lap and smiles just slightly at him. “Angie.”
“How’s... your tummy?” Dean asks, glancing back down at the notes. She came in with a stomach bug, fever, but it’s gone down and looking at her Dean can see she’s looking healthy, and a lot better than she must have when she came in.
“Better,” she says, and looks back down at her book before looking back up.
“What are you reading?” he asks, glancing at the pages.
“Fairy tales,” she says.
Dean smiles at her and says, “Is The King of the Golden River in there?”
She flicks through the pages and says, “I think so.”
“That was my little brother’s favorite when he was young,” Dean says. “You should try it.”
Just then he starts to hear a cry, and looks over at the crib behind him and realizes it’s the baby in six he’s got to check on.
“I’m gonna go check on her, okay? You just shout if you need anything.”
“Okay,” Angie says, absently, as she flicks through the pages.
Dean walks towards the crib and looks at her notes quickly, seeing she’s called Elizabeth, and notices when she was last fed. He heads into the hallway to find a nurse to bring him some warm milk, before heading back to Elizabeth and lifting her up into his arms. He holds her tight against his chest and she calms, with just the slight occasional sniffle as Dean gently rocks her.
It’s not long before the nurse comes back and hands over the bottle and Dean takes it gratefully, checking it’s not too hot.
“Where are your parents, huh?” Dean says, quiet, looking down at Elizabeth’s tiny nose and blue eyes as he positions the warm bottle of milk at her lips and she takes it, greedily. He’s rocking Elizabeth in his arms as she devours it, careful of the tiny IV drip, when Becky walks over to him, her high heels clacking against the linoleum floor.
“Dean,” she says, and looks down at her notebook before he has a chance to ask why she’s here, “We just got a call from Highlands Institute of Education--”
“What?” Dean asks, gently removing the bottle from Elizabeth’s mouth, and placing her in the crib. “Is this about Sam? What’s happened?”
“The Institute has closed early because of the heavy snowfall, and due to some train cancellations, all students have been sent home early for winter break.”
“Thanks,” Dean says, glancing towards the clock. “Can you - uh.”
He runs a hand through his hair and blows out a deep breath.
“Is there a number you’d like me to call?” she asks, flipping through her notebook to an empty page.
“No, he doesn’t have a phone. It’s okay, I’ll sort this out. Thanks.”
The Institute is one of the smaller schools in the Highlands, and coincidentally one of the closest to the hospital, even in the opposite direction from the train station. Despite its small size, it’s also the one that Jess goes to, and for that Sam doesn’t complain. Jess lives on the outskirts of the Highlands, actually in the city, and Dean can bet on him going there or to the hospital to come and find Dean.
He brushes past her and enters the nurse’s station, where Nurse Mills is sorting out the medicines.
“What is it?” she asks before he even has a chance to say anything.
“I just got a call from Sammy’s school. It’s shut, something to do with the snow and the trains.”
She looks up at him, towards the clock, back towards him and sighs. “Go on then,” she says.
It takes a moment for him to process her response and he frowns. “I - what?”
“What are you waiting for? Go get him. I’ve got two nurses coming in at twelve so I’ll manage. I’ll see you next week.”
“Thanks, Jody,” Dean says with a grin, and leans forward to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and puts the files down on the desk.
“Elizabeth is fed and sleeping but she might need burping, Jack and Angie both have books to read. They should be fine for a little while.”
He turns to walk away, when she says, “Oh, Dean?”
Dean turns, one foot out the door.
“Check the top drawer and tell your brother to have a good Christmas.”
Dean doesn’t understand what she’s talking about until he opens it and sees a small plastic box full of tiny, circular batteries.
“You got them,” he states, feeling like an idiot. “You - thank you. I didn’t think you’d be able to.”
She rolls her eyes with a smile and nods to the open door. “Merry Christmas, Dean.”
He grins and leaves, heading towards his locker. He doesn’t bother changing back into his clothes, just puts his coat over his uniform ready to brave the chill outside.
***
Dean leaves the hospital and steps out into the falling snow. He’s about to walk towards the gate, and leave to enter the city when he hears a high voice call his name.
“Dean!”
He turns and feels all the tension run out of him and he huffs out a laugh as he starts to walk towards her. Jess is standing in the snow next to Sam, next to the low brick wall that runs along the ambulance bay. Sam has his back to him but turns as Dean approaches and offers a smile. His cheeks are red and his floppy hair is covered in white snowflakes and Dean smiles back, not letting any of the anxiety he had felt show at the idea of having to find Sam in this city, even if they are near the outskirts of it.
School closed? Dean says, stopping beside him. Jess gives a little wave.
“Snow,” Sam says.
Dean smirks. Yeah, I think I got that. How come you here?
Coming to hang out here until you finish work, Sam replies, hands slightly shaking from the cold air.
“I’m finished for the day,” Dean says, signing while he speaks, for both their benefit. “We should probably head back before the trains are completely cancelled. They can make these insane machines but they can’t make them work in the freaking snow.”
Jess laughs and Sam nods, but there’s regret in his eyes as he glances over at Jess. Sam’s a lovesick puppy most of the time she’s around, and Dean barely manages to contain the taunting.
“You’re welcome to come back with us,” Dean says, looking towards Jess, but still signing. “Although you might get stranded.”
“Oh! No, I should be getting back,” she says, her voice sweet like honey. She turns to Sam, and says, “I’ll, uh. I’ll see you after Christmas, Sam?”
He nods, cheeks still red, and Dean doesn’t know whether that’s from the cold or from talking to Jess but he nods and gives her a smile. She stands on tip-toes, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and then walks away with a wave, and Sam is left standing there, mouth parted and eyes wide.
Dean waits until Jess is out of earshot before he bursts out laughing, and Sam turns to glare at him, but it’s weak, and after that he smiles and Dean ruffles his hair, shaking the white snowflakes out of it.
“Come on, you big girl,” he says. “Lets go home.”
***
~ 21st December ~
The next morning Sam is still asleep, longer than he usually is, and Dean leaves him to enjoy the lie-in that he doesn’t usually get. He’s standing in the kitchen, and Cas is sat at the table behind him.
“What am I gonna get him?” Dean asks, slicing the freshly baked bread from the local bakery. “I got some of those little battery things for his hearing aids, sure. But I would have got them for him anyway, so... what?”
Cas looks up at him from where he’s scanning through papers and smiles at him. It’s small and soft, and catches Dean off guard.
“What?” he asks, and can feel the blush as it spreads across his cheeks.
“Nothing,” Cas says gently. “I just love you.”
Dean swallows hard, feeling embarrassed, and then he smiles. “You’re a sap.”
“Are you complaining?”
“No,” Dean says adamantly. “Don’t even think about changing.”
They fall into a comfortable silence, with Cas softly smiling to himself as he reads through the papers in front of him.
A few minutes later, Dean breaks the silence. “Hey, Cas?” Dean says, and clears his throat.
Cas looks up at him, with that calm, serene expression on his face that Dean often notices when he spots Cas watching him.
“Yes, Dean?”
Dean looks back down at the loaf of bread and clears his throat again. “I love you too.”
When he looks back over at Cas he’s grinning and then he nods, just slightly, and says, “I know.”
Dean goes back to the bread and finishes slicing it before placing it in its wooden bread box and putting the lid on top to keep it fresh. He’s got to find a present for Sam and a present for Cas, and today he’s planning to leave Cas to the markets and go hunting for some meat.
He leaves soon after telling Cas his plans for the day, his bow and arrow in hand and a knife safe in the pouch of arrows. They share a lingering kiss, and Dean kisses him once more on the forehead, before he pulls back and heads into the wintery morning.
He passes a few other people on his way but nobody looks like they’re heading to the forests, and he relaxes into the isolation, and the peace he finds at walking alone with a job to do.
Dean takes some time appreciating the beauty of the woods, and spares a moment to feel grateful that when they were fleeing their home Region it was in the height of summer. He’s not sure they would have survived so well in the bitter cold. He’s walked through this forest with Cas a number of times, and they’ve often stopped, pushed one another against a tree and fucked each other against the hard ground. It’s reminiscent of the Outerlands each time they do it, and it’s always tinged with the need and the urgency they felt back then.
Some of the lakes he walks past are frozen, and wildlife is much more sparse than other times of the year. His best bet is on deer, but squirrel will also be good if he can kill a few for a stew.
He heads to the parts of the woods he knows he’s had good kills in before, and once he’s found a place to settle down, he decides he’s best bet is to sit and wait for the animals to walk upon him. It doesn’t take long.
A deer walks out from behind a tree and everything is silent. Dean feels almost sad to break the silence, but the arrow leaves his bow with just a whistle of wind and strikes the deer in the neck, killing it easy, just like that.
As he walks over to collect his kill, a sudden thought enters his mind, and he smiles. He’s got an idea about what to get Sam, and finds that sometimes hunting lets himself mull over ideas subconsciously, and he’s grateful for the peace of the forest, and the time it’s given him to think over Sam’s present. He takes the deer back to their home, letting Cas deal with the preparations, and then heads to Mr Robertson in the village to see if he can help him with Sam’s gift.
***
When Dean returns some time later, confident with the presents he’s chosen for Cas, he walks into the kitchen to find the two of them laughing together as Sam enthusiastically says something with his hands.
They look over as he enters and Dean cocks an eyebrow at them.
“Not laughing at my expense, are you?”
Sam’s grin spreads, his cheeks dimpling, and Dean rolls his eyes. “Thought so.”
Dean’s happy with how close Sam and Cas are now, even if they do spend their time teasing Dean behind his back. He may grumble but it secretly makes him feel glad that they get on so well, and he doesn’t want to think about what would have happened if the guy he loves didn’t care so much for his little brother.
They sit down together and eat lunch, and Sam and Cas head out to the village together afterwards to get their own presents. Dean uses the time to clean up the house and keeps an eye out for the return of the other two. An hour or so later they come back, cheeks red and presents hidden in paper bags.
They head to their respective rooms to wrap them or hide them and then they all meet up in the kitchen again to make dinner together. Sam tells him about Jessica, and Dean and Cas listen with knowing smiles on their faces, and Dean tells him again to just be a man and ask her out.
The fact that Jess survived the War is another thing Dean is grateful for. So many of the people they once knew - Andy, Ellen, Jo, Gabriel, John, Bobby, Ash, Missouri - are either dead or missing or they don’t know what came of them or where they currently are, and it’s a happy relief when someone from their old life shows up again.
It’s also a happy coincidence that Jess and her family live so close, in relation to where they could have turned up when the survivors of the Regions and Outerlands moved closer to the Highlands to live. It is believed there are some people still in the Outerlands, some perhaps in the Regions, but nobody is keen to find out.
After dinner they head to their respective rooms, leaving the fire to burn out in the kitchen fireplace. Dean and Cas collapse into bed together and Dean relaxes into the warmth beneath the covers. It’s still a novelty after all this time to be able to sleep together in a bed big enough for both of them, and Dean is more than grateful for it.
Cas leans over him and traces his tongue over Dean’s lower lip, before sucking it into his mouth, and Dean lets out a small breathy moan. He brings his hands up to wrap around Cas’ body and brings him closer.
Cas pulls back and takes off his shirt, and Dean sits up to do the same. One of Cas’ favorite things is to lie against Dean when they’re both naked and sharing body heat, and Dean is more than happy to indulge him in it. They both strip down and throw their sleep clothes to the floor and then press against each other, both groaning as their already leaking dicks are pushed between them.
Dean slips his hand between their bodies and wraps his hand around both their cocks and slowly brings them to the edge, Cas making him shiver as he licks and sucks along his neck. Dean speeds up, Cas spreading his legs and then he stills, spilling hot over Dean’s hand and Dean pulls his hand away, using Cas’ come to slick the way, and finishes himself off in three quick tugs. He comes all over Cas’ chest and Cas doesn’t stop kissing him as Dean’s breathing evens out and he pulls his hand away.
Cas murmurs, “I love you,” into Dean’s ear, before getting up and coming back with a damp cloth. It’s cold against his skin and Dean washes himself down quickly before handing it to Cas, and afterwards they huddle together beneath the covers in the darkness, sharing light, short kisses.
“I love you, too, Cas,” Dean says, feeling sated and sleepy. Cas brings him forward, wrapping him up in his arms, and they fall asleep that way, bodies slotted together.
***
~ 22nd December ~
The next morning they wake up early, because the 22nd of December marks the beginning of Christmas tradition. They walk out the door as it begins to get brighter, but the sun is obscured by the thick grey clouds and falling snow. It’s gentle, and the wind is almost non-existent, but it is still cold. The tip of Sam’s nose is pink, and all their hands feel freezing and are raw and red.
They’re lucky to be living in a Region which, like their old home, is dense with forest. It’s not as wild as their home Region was, at least not on the outskirts of the village, but it’s still feels miles away from the Highlands, even if they’re technically in the Highland Regions now. There are others in the Region who have the same idea as them, as they walk through the snow towards the trees, saws in hand.
Dean and Cas hang back and let Sam choose the perfect tree, and it turns out to be one just taller than Cas, a healthy green with a thick layer of snow on its branches. Dean grabs a branch and shakes it, watching the snow fall to the ground.
“This one?” Cas asks and Sam grins at him, nodding.
“Alright then,” Dean says, kneeling down. “Lets get this tree.”
It takes a good hour to saw the trunk of the tree and start pulling it along the ground back to their home. They’ve all got red cheeks, stinging hands and are breathing heavily when they finally pull it through their front door and rest it against the bare wall. Dean pulls the wooden pail over that he’s already filled with hard, frosty soil, and as a team, they lift the tree up and stick it in. Slowly, they start walking backwards, letting go of it and it wobbles, just a touch, before balancing out. It stands tall, a little tilted to one side, but they’re all smiling and Dean sees that as a job well done.
After taking a break to rest and eat some food, they head back out to get the mistletoe and pinecones to decorate the tree, as well as buy pears from the village square. Finding mistletoe is the more difficult of the two jobs, because it’s a case of finding it within the forests.
Dean leads them in and out of the trees, knowing the land best out of the three of them, and they take it at a gentle pace as they try and find some, as well as picking up frozen pinecones along the way. Dean takes a moment to revel in the fact they don’t have to fence hop anymore, and never have to worry about being electrocuted. Since the fall of Dick Roman, the government in the Highlands has begun to switch around. It’s been a slow process, but in this lull between leaders the people of the Regions and Highland Regions, as well as in the Highlands, have been left much to their own devices. Officials still exist but they hold little power until the new rules and guidelines are in place, and they all breathe free in the freedom.
They approach a frozen pond and Dean skirts around it, making sure they don’t get too close. They enter a patch of forest that’s less dense, with more light filtering through, when Dean spots it.
“There, on that silver birch,” Dean says, stopping. Sam looks over, noticing he’s spotted something, and raises his eyebrows.
Dean points to it, and Sam grins back at him when he sees the mistletoe that is high up in the branches.
There’s a moment where they all stand there, staring at it, and then Cas sighs, and says, “One of us has to climb and get it.”
Dean grins and nods. “Yep.”
Sam turns around to look back at Dean and raises his eyebrows. With his hands, he says, Give me a leg up.
Dean and Cas move forward and kneel on the snowy ground, interlinking their hands to give Sam a step up. He steps onto their hands and they lift him, and he stretches his hands out to try and reach it. He’s still a few inches away, and Dean pushes him higher, straining under the weight.
“Got it!” Sam says, once his hands have clasped around some of the mistletoe. Dean starts to lower him far enough for Sam to jump down and Sam holds it out, his cheeks pink and lips red, flushed from climbing the tree.
Dean and Cas catch their breath and both put their thumbs up.
“I think... one piece will be enough,” Dean says.
Sam laughs, reading Dean’s lips, and starts to lead the way back by their footprints in the snow. Once they reach the village again, and they’re out into open air, they notice the snow and wind have stopped, and it’s incredibly peaceful. People walk past them and smile, and the three of them smile back and wish them a happy Christmas.
They head into the village square and purchase both milk and pears with the money Dean has been saving from working at the hospital. As soon as they get home, Sam places the mistletoe on the tree, and Dean keeps the milk cold by placing the glass bottle in the snow in their garden. Their Christmas tree looks strange, wonky and bare, but it marks the fact it’s Christmas, and it will make good firewood for the weeks that follow, so Dean’s happy with it. They start to place the presents beneath it, and spend the rest of the evening relaxing beside the fire.
Part 2 | 'Verse Masterpost