You crossed your arms in a huff, glaring at Dean. Your best friend sighed, looking at the ceiling. "Don't look at me like that, Y/N."
"But you're leaving me behind again!" you yelled, throwing your arms up.
"Because you're still healing," he replied.
"It's just a sprain!" you cried, pointing down at your ankle. "I can walk around just fine!"
"No, you can't," Sam replied, walking into the library, his bag over his shoulder. "You still limp slightly, and you don't even put your full weight on it."
"Oh, shut up!" you yelled, wishing in that instant that he wasn't right. Because if he was wrong, you would have stormed out of the room. But Sam, like usual, was correct, and your ankle still hurt.
"Just stay here, okay?" Dean asked.
You sighed, your voice instantly lowering, "I'm just tired of being left alone."
Dean smiled softly, resting his hand on your shoulder. "I know. And I've solved that issue."
"What?" you asked, not wanting to hear his last suggestion again. He had told you to just watch Netflix, which had thrown you into a half hour long rant about how none of the shows you hadn't already seen were good and all of the movies you hadn't already seen were crap, and you had already rewatched everything good, and there was no way in hell you were going to rewatch them again.
But then he had bought Hulu Plus.
Dean just smiled, looking up as the bunker door opened. You gasped, an instant beam growing on your face as Castiel stepped into the bunker. "Cas!" you yelled, moving to stand, only to have Dean shove you right back into the chair.
Cas's smile was wide as he walked down the stairs, smiling at Sam and Dean before sitting next to you. His bright blue eyes ran up and down your figure, and the smile vanished as he saw the wrap on your left ankle. "What happened?" he asked.
"Dean and Sam didn't tell you?" you inquired in return.
Castiel shook his head as Dean slapped your shoulder. "Alright, well, you two have fun," he stated.
"Cas, don't let her work too hard, okay?" Sam pushed.
The angel nodded, and you both waved as the Winchester brothers left for their newest hunt.
As soon as they left the room, Castiel's eyes were back on you. "What happened?"
You launched into the story, telling him about the ghost, how you had gotten thrown over and through most of the forest. But surprisingly, you only had bruises and cuts from the trees and bushes. Sadly, though, you had landed wrong on your ankle, hence the sprain. You still weren't exactly sure how you had landed on it in the first place.
"You need to be more careful," Castiel advised, his voice gentle. You watched as he leaned down, taking your ankle in his hand. You winched slightly as he held it, his eyes flashing to yours before you felt a warmth traveling through his hands. You watched as his hands glowed slightly, the pain fading in your ankle.
You smiled as a small grin appeared on his face, and the angel started to unwrap the bandage. "Thank you," you said softly.
Castiel looked up, his smile growing as he met your eyes. "You are welcome, Y/N."
"You need to be careful."
You laughed, looking back at Castiel, a box in your arms. "I am, I promise," you told him. "The moment it starts to hurt I'll sit down, okay?"
He sighed, but nodded, following you back to the library. He carried a box in his arms as well.
"What are these boxes for?" he asked for the fourth time, setting his box beside yours.
You just grinned, opening the flaps to reveal Christmas decorations. "Now that I can walk, we can decorate!"
Castiel stared at the garland and tinsel in the box, furrowing his eyebrows. "I did not know you celebrated Christmas," he commented.
You nodded, grabbing multiple table cloths, unfurling them and placing them on the tables. "My parents were Christians, and we went to church every Sunday," you explained. You could feel his eyes follow you as you moved through the room, trying not to blush under the intensity of his gaze. "I guess I was forced to believe as a child, but Christmas...I loved Christmas time. The songs, the decorations, the presents, the...the spirit everyone had." You stopped, staring at the cloth that was your mother's favorite, the one she always placed on the kitchen table, but took off when it was time to eat. She hated getting it dirty. "It was...is...special...."
"Did you help your mother decorate?" he asked. Castiel's voice was a lot of different things. Many people could say it was flat, boring, or monotone. But with his friends, the people he cared for, you could hear the kindness and the love in his words. The angel had a voice that could go from demanding and ordering to soft and gentle in less than a second. It was special to you, something you couldn't help but love about him.
You nodded, moving back to him as your smile grew. "When I turned 16, we moved to a new state. That Christmas, she let me help her decide where everything would go for the Christmas decorations," you reminisced. "She said that I had a knack for it; that I had placed things where she never would have thought to put them."
Castiel's smile grew as he opened the second box for you. "Why have you not decorated with Dean and Sam?"
You shrugged, biting your lip as you thought it over. "I don't know. It just seemed like something they would...complain about," you told him. "Plus...it seemed like something we should do, just us."
The moment the words left your mouth you regretted them.
"Why?" Castiel pushed.
You blushed, meeting his eyes. "Because...you're part of the family. You matter to me and to Dean and Sam. Christmas is a time for us all to...remember that."
His eyes searched yours for a moment, before a smile grew on his face. "Thank you, Y/N."
You smiled, feeling relieved he understood. "You are welcome, Castiel."
"So, what is next?" he asked.
"Well, next we put up the tinsel," you said, pulling it out of the box. "Then we make a list of what we want for Christmas dinner, and maybe even go Christmas tree shopping."
"Christmas tree shopping?" he repeated.
You nodded quickly, beaming. "Yep. No Christmas is a real Christmas without a real tree!"
