Secret Santa for BlackScatter! (Supernatural - Castiel)

[MaiMai]

Secret Santa for BlackScatter!! I really really hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas~!

On nights like these, Castiel liked to just sit and watch.

People trudging through the thick snow, the thick drifts crackling as they broke beneath their feet. Laughing, shouting, talking. It almost made him feel human.

This night, however, Castiel was feeling…unusually human. Perhaps more so than he would have liked.

He shifted on the snow covered bench, hunched over so that his dirty trench coat covered as much of his body as possible. The bright moonlight bouncing off the drifts of snow illuminated the line of his figure, revealing the angel to be shivering. His breath came in harsh, slightly laboured puffs of mist into the sub-zero air.

“hhIih’tttschyYUUuu!”

Castiel sneezed openly onto the snow at his feet, the action jerking his slight form with impressive force. He bit back a groan and clumsily pulled the coat back around his shoulders where it had fallen into disarray.

Soft flurries were beginning to drift from the dull grey sky. Castiel turned his gaze upwards to the moon, the light briefly catching his flushed, drawn face.

Another shiver ripped through Castiel’s body, stronger this time, easily visible even in the dim light.

He closed his eyes exhaustedly. Though he knew he couldn’t stay there forever, the cold air felt pleasant against his hot face.

However, the ailment was determined not to give him any such moment of peace, and Castiel wrinkled his nose in irritation as another tickle began to worm it’s way in. It was slower this time; less sudden, yet more insistent.

“iiihh-”

There was a tantalising pause, and then-

“-sshccHuuUu!”

Castiel brought a hand to his face, rubbing absently at his unruly nose with numb fingers. It was unexpectedly sore, and he pulled his hand away as if he’d been burned.

Eventually the angel pushed himself up unsteadily from the bench and into a standing position. His weak legs buckled beneath him and Castiel only just managed to prevent his knees from hitting the ground by clinging to a nearby tree trunk. He frowned; it didn’t bode well for the flight, but he didn’t have much choice.

Within a matter of seconds Castiel was standing outside a motel room. He struggled forward, reaching out a limp arm to knock at the door.

After a minute or so a pair of eyes briefly appeared at the window, and the door was opened to reveal a distinctly sleep-rumpled Sam.

“Cas?” he asked incredulously, taking in the hunched, wilting figure that was leaning heavily against the wall just to keep himself upright.

Castiel tried to respond. Really, he did. But he seemed to have lost control of his voice, because all he succeeded in getting out was an indistinct croak followed by a volley of coughs that almost knocked him over.

“Jesus, Cas, what happened?!” Sam exclaimed as he hurried over to prevent him from collapsing.

Again, the angel didn’t answer, just hanging his head in exhaustion and allowing Sam to support his weight. He didn’t possess the energy required to hold himself up anymore.

-

Of all the things that Castiel couldn’t fathom about humans, it was the common cold that threw him most. He had witnessed on numerous occasions both Sam and Dean fighting supernatural beings with raging head colds. So how was it that such a minor human illness could bring an angel like him to his knees?

This was the question he asked himself over and over again as he was forced down onto the sofa by both Winchesters. Why was he, Castiel, unable to deal with this when hundreds of humans experienced it day to day?

“Hey, Cas? Y’ alright?”

The words seemed to take such a long time to reach him, as if they were travelling through a thick, near-impenetrable fog to reach his brain.

Castiel nodded, looking up with an unfocused gaze at Dean. Everything about him had a hazy, dream-like quality, making it difficult to concentrate. Somewhere to his left he could hear Sam’s voice.

“He almost passed out on the doorstep, Dean; don’t just ask him if he’s okay” he said, referring to Castiel’s somewhat ungainly arrival at their motel room.

“Wadda ya want me to say? I dunno about you, but I’ve never had a sick angel on my sofa” Dean snapped back.

Sometime during the conversation, Castiel had stopped listening. Or given up listening. It was all the same, really.

“iih’chhyuUuuhh!”

His head bobbed up and down behind an arm quickly, inadvertently drawing all attention back to him and making Sam and Dean forget their petty feud.

“Bless y’. C’mon, buddy, you need to lie down and get some rest” Dean said, trying to ease Castiel back into a lying position. The angel closed his eyes exhaustedly.

“Dod’t dneed to rest…” he murmured quietly. Dean rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sure ya don’t”. Finally he succeeded in lowering the resistant Castiel onto his back.

Once Castiel was lying down, he decided that he really didn’t like it. He broke into coughs and tried to fight against Dean to sit upright again.

“Easy, Cas, easy” Dean panted, trying restrain him. Eventually he fell still, tired from all the movement.

Dean exchanged a look with Sam over his shoulder. This was going to be more difficult than they had anticipated.

“Dod’t wadt…to rest…” Castiel reiterated hoarsely.

“Well tough, ‘cause you don’t exactly have a choice” Dean replied impatiently.

Sam sensed the tension and decided to intervene before Dean could lose the remainder of his patience.

“Hey, d’you reckon it’s okay to give angels cold medicine?” Sam asked quizzically, holding up the bottle to the light.

“Don’t ask me. Cas?” They both turned to him, but found the angel somewhat preoccupied.

“hiihh-iih-”

Castiel gave a tiny noise of discontent, eyelids fluttering shut and breath becoming erratic.

“iihiihhh’tTCHHUUuuhh!”

The outburst was forceful and uncovered. Dean shuddered as the brunt of the spray misted his bare arm, but caught his brother’s eye and didn’t say anything save for a curt ‘bless you’ from between gritted teeth.

“Okay, Cas, open up”. Castiel closed his eyes with a heavy sigh and opened his mouth obediently. Sam tipped the liquid in, chuckling at the expression of acute disgust that crossed Castiel’s face as he swallowed.

Sam leant down and pressed the back of his hand against Castiel’s forehead.

“You’re still pretty hot…” Dean did the same, raising his eyebrows at the heat that met his skin.

“That’s some cold you got there, Cas”. The angel shook his head slowly.

“Haved’t g-got a c-col-hiHh’shCHUUuuhh!”

Dean got up with a sigh and fetched a slightly squashed box of tissues, setting them down next to Castiel with a mumbled ‘here’. However, Cas made no sound other than a soft, stuffy snore.

“Well thank God for that”. Sam shot his brother a look.

“What? I don’ wanna be sneezed on again” Dean replied indignantly. Sam merely rolled his eyes and yawned.

“So, back to bed?” he suggested, smiling tiredly.

“Damn right” Dean responded as he threw himself onto his bed.

-

It was just starting to get light outside when Castiel woke. The motel room was bathed in hazy, early morning light. At first he didn’t know what had woken him. And then he realised. There were other angels in the area.

He pushed himself up from the sofa on shaky legs, having to lean against the wall to keep himself from crashing to the ground. Castiel glanced quickly over at where Sam and Dean lay, still fast asleep. That was good. He didn’t need them getting involved.

Unsteadily Castiel dragged himself wearily to the door. He fumbled at the handle for a moment, his fingers feeling odd and uncoordinated, before finally succeeding in opening it and stumbling out into the snow.

“Castiel”.

“Zachariah” he replied coldly, the effect somewhat ruined by his croaky, congested voice. The other angel looked slightly taken aback, but quickly gathered himself and gave a rueful smile.

“Got yourself a cold there, Castiel? Been spending too much time with those humans?” he said derisively.

Castiel ignored the jibe, keeping his tired eyes trained on Zachariah.

“What do you wadt?” he enquired curtly. The other angel smirked.

“I think you know what I want, Castiel” he replied.

“I abm dnot handig over the Widchesters”. His voice was husky but firm, even threatening.

Zachariah circled him, smiling.

“Don’t you think we could reach some kind of deal?” he suggested. Castiel turned quickly – too quickly, and almost lost his balance. Regardless he straightened and glared at the other angel.

“Dno deals” he said weakly, coughing hoarsely following the sentiment.

He nodded, smiling widely.

“Well, Castiel, I’d love to continue this chat, but considering…” Zachariah waved a hand vaguely in his direction, “…I’d better leave you to your rest”. Just as quickly as he’d arrived he was gone, leaving Castiel standing in the snow alone.

Castiel turned to walk back to the motel room, but his legs were suddenly feeling leaden and unresponsive. He managed a few shaky steps but a few seconds later sank down into the snow, shivering as it soaked through his clothing.

After some time he gritted his teeth and tried to stand. Castiel made it half-way before he seemed to lose all strength in his muscles and dropped to the ground again. He muffled a few coughs before slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

This was where Sam and Dean found him a few hours later, lying peacefully amongst the snow whilst the bright winter sun glinted off of his rumpled raven hair.

-

“What the hell was he doing out in the snow anyway?”

“I don’t know, Dean! Why don’t you ask him when he wakes up?”

The voices only dimly registered in Castiel’s mind. They sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place them.

He felt heavy. And hot. Much, much too hot. Someone rested a hand against his forehead and flinched away from the touch.

“Hey, Cas? Cas? Are you awake?”

Slowly, with a tremendous amount of effort, Castiel managed to open his eyes a tiny bit, just enough to see a blurred image of Dean swimming in his vision. They quickly squeezed shut again, however, as he jerked with a violent “iih’ttSCHUUuu!” sneeze. He exhaled gradually, wincing at the painful tightness of his chest.

“For fuck sake, not again…” Dean muttered, followed by a loud “OW!” as Sam pointedly stood on his foot.

Castiel carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position. It made him dizzy but he rode it out, clenching his fists around the edges of the blanket whilst he waited for it to pass.

“What h-happed…?” he croaked, glancing up groggily at Sam and Dean. Even just seeing them up and walking around was making him woozy again.

“We found you outside passed out in the snow. Care to explain exactly what you were doing out there?” Dean’s tone was a bit harsher than he had intended it to be, and he glanced down at the ground slightly guiltily.

“Adother a-hhiih-a-adgel-hihh’iihsSHUUuu!” Castiel snuffled and coughed congestedly following the outburst. He looked so pathetic that Dean couldn’t bring himself to be pissed with him any longer.

Dean sat down on the sofa next to Castiel, gently lowering him down onto his back. The angel coughed and protested, but didn’t possess enough strength to fight him off.

They coaxed Castiel into downing some more meds, which he did decidedly reluctantly but otherwise obediently. Eventually he fell into a restless sleep, partly owing to the virus and partly the perhaps overly high dosage they had given him. Sam retreated to his bed along with his laptop to search for cases whilst Dean remained with him on the sofa.

*

When Sam next opened his eyes the dank motel room was lit only by the light from his screen and the dull glare of streetlights streaming through the windows. He must have fallen asleep; the last thing he remembered was reading through an article on cattle deaths. With a yawn he stood up and stretched, stiff from falling asleep in such an awkward position.

Sam smiled as he caught sight of the scene on the sofa. Castiel was – thankfully, because if he woke up it would be a hell of a job to get him to rest again – asleep, snoring stuffily through open mouth. Next to him Dean had nodded off, kneeling on the floor whilst his head was pillowed at the other man’s feet.

With a smile Sam shut down his laptop and headed to his own bed, not wanting to disturb the two slumbering forms.

Not before he had snapped a quick photo on his phone, of course.

[SterlingSilver]

WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!

MaiMai!!! YOU'RE my secret santa?! I had no idea! Ahahahahaha!! I'm so surprised! Haha, omgh! I'm almost embarrassed that I contacted you for a trade now, since you were already writing me a fantastic story~!

“Got yourself a cold there, Castiel? Been spending too much time with those humans?” he said derisively.

For some reason, this is one of the best lines~ It's just so snarkily issued, and I especially like, "Got yourself a cold there, Castiel~?" I can just hear it in my mind >w<~ GAH! Well done~!

Slowly, with a tremendous amount of effort, Castiel managed to open his eyes a tiny bit, just enough to see a blurred image of Dean swimming in his vision. They quickly squeezed shut again, however, as he jerked with a violent “iih’ttSCHUUuu!” sneeze. He exhaled gradually, wincing at the painful tightness of his chest.

“For fuck sake, not again…” Dean muttered, followed by a loud “OW!” as Sam pointedly stood on his foot.

Ahahahaha! I laughed out loud~! Poor Dean~~ That's so adorable >w<~

With a smile Sam shut down his laptop and headed to his own bed, not wanting to disturb the two slumbering forms.

Not before he had snapped a quick photo on his phone, of course.

OH SAM~ YOU AND YOUR BLACKMAIL <3

MaiMaiiiiiiii~ Seriouslllyyyy~~ You're the best <3

QwQ This is the best Christmas present ever <3 It really made my day~ And my season >w<~ The characterization is really well-executed, Castiel is ADORABLE, and the dialogue is also pretty much on par! And it's nicely paced too <3 OH YOU ARE THE BEST <3

THANK YOU~!!! <3

ps. Dem sneeze spellings <3

Edited December 21, 2013 by BlackScatter

[PuddinPop]

^^ See, MaiMai, I told you BlackScatter would love it

And I do too!

It's so wonderfully written, poor Cas is so ill!

Slowly, with a tremendous amount of effort, Castiel managed to open his eyes a tiny bit, just enough to see a blurred image of Dean swimming in his vision. They quickly squeezed shut again, however, as he jerked with a violent “iih’ttSCHUUuu!” sneeze. He exhaled gradually, wincing at the painful tightness of his chest.

“For fuck sake, not again…” Dean muttered, followed by a loud “OW!” as Sam pointedly stood on his foot.

Ahahahaha! I laughed out loud~! Poor Dean~~ That's so adorable >w<~

As you already know, this is one of my favourite parts of the fic too I also laughed out loud!

You did a great job, MaiMai!

[Sophie<3]

Ooohh... MaiMai! i don't think I've ever read one of your stories before, but this is brilliant! It's funny cuz I mostly know Supernatural through fics (I've only watched like 2 to 3 episodes, but Castiel was in them, though!) and I like this one the most! You captured the characters really well. Sam and Dean were awesome and really funny! Cas was adorable!

I love this whole Secret Santa thing, because not only am I going to get an awesome fic at some point, I can also read amazing ones that were written for other people, like this one! This story made me so happy, haha...

Merry Christmas, Sophie

[Sawyer]

You're so good!! I love Cas doing business with Zachariah while he has a stuffy nose, and getting sick from spending time outside! Aww! And Dean and Sam taking care of him like that toooo! Love it.

[LeapYearKisses]

Oh my God, the spellings. Cas sneezing on Dean. Your story is really cute regardless, but those are definitely the highlights. XD Great job!

[AngelEyes]

People trudging through the thick snow, the thick drifts crackling as they broke beneath their feet. Laughing, shouting, talking. It almost made him feel human.

This night, however, Castiel was feeling…unusually human. Perhaps more so than he would have liked.

Love this line at the beginning. I can just see him with that contemplative look staring up into the snow. Very gracefully written.