Ugly Sweaters for Cute Faces

It was Christmas Eve night, and Castiel's home was enclosed by four feet of packed, glacial snow. The house was already filled with guests, some Cas's friends, some strangers of friends that had tagged along for the festivities. Voices hummed over the quiet thrum of Christmas tunes playing on a vinyl, and in the corner, a few couples danced by the twinkling lights above head. Cas walked over to a swaying pair, two cups of his legendary nutmeg eggnog in hand. "Merry Christmas, Gabe!" he said, handing his brother a mug. "Hey, Cas. Is that supposed to be-" Gabriel paused and looked at Castiel with a smug look on his face. "-a cat wearing a Santa hat? Really? How original." he sarcastically rolled his eyes and swung his arm around Kali, his girlfriend, as a puzzled Castiel glanced down at his sweater.

"Er, I thought this was an ugly sweater themed party?" Cas said and looked around the living room at everyone else's sweaters. "Damn you, Cas, you look fine." Gabe said with a chuckle, and grabbed Kali's waist as Feliz Navidad began to play over the stereo. A group of people flooded the living room, all belting the lyrics at the top of their lungs, Cas included. "FELIZ NAVIDAAAAAAD! PROSPERO ANO Y FELICIDAD!" he sang, eggnog splashing from the brim of his cup onto the hardwood floor below. Jody bumped into his side, singing so loud that her voice could be heard over the song itself. "Cas!" she yelled, clearly drunk as she awkwardly danced beside him. "This party is great!" "Thanks!" he smiled, and reached for one of Jody's antlers, attempting to snatch them off her head and place them on his own. "Your sweater is atrocious!" he giggled, shaking his hips in sync with hers.

The pair of friends shook and shimmied until the song ended, each wearing stupidly huge grins on their flushed faces. "So," Jody leaned over so her mouth was next to Cas's ear. "did you hear about the Winchesters?" Castiel gasped. The Winchesters were legendary car racers from Kansas, and just so happened to be friends with Cas' close friend, Bobby. And if Bobby was there-. "Jody, oh my, they're here, aren't they?" She nodded and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I passed the one named Dean in the kitchen earlier, and my my, what the catch!" she giggled and took another sip of her drink. "You should go meet him, and introduce me to him!" she winked, and nudged Cas towards the hallway. "Go!" she said, but by the time Castiel turned to argue it, she was dancing with Bobby.

Oh well, Cas thought, I'll just go prepare the desserts. He pushed past the crowds of guests into the kitchen, which smelled of juniper and balsam firs due to the plethora of candles he'd lit. Mmm, smells like Christmas, he smiled to himself and pulled several pumpkin pies out of the fridge. The hum of people surrounding him only grew as Cas sliced the pies into slivers, his back to the rest of the room. "Dude, this is an ugly sweater party. Did you not get the memo?" someone laughed from behind Cas, and he turned to see a tall, robust man leaning against the counter opposite him; this was the Winchester Jody had seen, Dean. Castiel blushed and stared at his legs. Woah, Jody was right, he's- he's pretty cute. "Um.. uh can I help you?" he stuttered, still avoiding Dean's eyes.

"The only way you can help me, is by taking that ridiculously cute sweater off and putting on a hideous one like the rest of us." he gestured towards the ugly-sweater-clad partiers, wearing everything from ornaments to gold garland strands. He extended his hand out to Castiel. "I'm Dean, by the way, although it seems like you already know that." Cas, slightly offended, crossed his arms over his sweater, refusing Deans outstretched hand. "I'm Castiel, and I have to disagree with you, I think this is as ugly as ugly sweaters get. I even made it myself." Dean gave a hearty chuckle and rolled his eyes dramatically. "That sweater is adorable, seriously, what human being thinks that a kitten wearing a Santa hat is ugly?" "I DO!" Cas yelled, and turned beet-red as the room hushed to turn their eyes towards the bickering pair. Dean stood up and backed away with his hands raised in surrender. "Okay, alright Mr. DIYs-a-cute-sweater-because-he-doesn't-know-what-ugly-means."

By this point, the guests had returned to their conversations, and music began playing from the speakers, Mariah Carey this time. Castiel growled under his breath and stepped towards Dean. "Sounds good, Mr. I'm-going-to-wear-an-ugly-sweater-even-though-i-make-it-look-good-on-me. What even is that on yours? Felt snowflakes and reindeer? Soooo cliché." The tall man took a step towards Castiel so that they were less than a foot apart.

"Look who's talking, you have FAUX FUR ON YOUR SWEATER! THAT'S CUTE, NOT UGLY!"

Dean yelled, his excessive eggnog intake becoming obvious through his dialogue.

"YEAH, WELL WEARING A GREEN SWEATER TO COMPLIMENT YOUR GREEN EYES DOESN'T EXACTLY STRIKE ME AS REVOLTING."

Cas retorted, with each sentence inching closer to Dean, who was now fuming as well.

"DID I MENTION THAT YOU HAVE A CUTE FACE TO COMPLIMENT THAT INCREDIBLY CUTE SWEATER OF YOURS?"

"HAVING TINSEL IN YOUR HAIR IS HOT, NOT HIDEOUS"

"YOUR SMILE IS AS WHITE AS THE SNOW OUTSIDE"

"FUCK YOU, AND YOUR PERFECT JAWLINE TOO"

"WHY DON'T YOU TWO JUST KISS ALREADY?"

This time, the shouting came from the back of the room, where Gabriel was helping himself to frosted cookies and milk, and attempting to smother fits of laughter. Cas turned to shoot his brother a death glare, but before he could manage, someone shoved Dean forward, and their lips crashed together.

They broke apart, shocked looks on both of the men's faces. Sam Winchester stood beside them, raising a branch of pungent weeds above their heads. Dean pursed his lips. "Really, Sam, those are chives?!" Cas cackled, embarrassed, as he noticed the many faces of friends and family that had witnessed the kiss. "We just kissed, and you're worried about chives?" he yelled. He turned towards the guests, waving his arms and trying to laugh it off, but none of them were buying it. Bobby, Jody, Sam, and Gabe all wore the same devious smirk on their alcohol-flushed faces, and Meg winked at Cas, who was finally putting the pieces together. "Did you... set us up?" he asked them. The house erupted in giggles as everyone nodded and whistled at the pair, who were now facing each other. "Well, um, Cas. Did you..." Dean scratched the back of his neck, flustered and drunk. "-like it?" Cas finished. "Yeah, I actually kind of did." He smiled and looked into Dean's green eyes, which sparkled with the reflection of Christmas tree lights.

"Merry Christmas Dean," he said and grabbed Dean by the collar of his sweater. They kissed under Sam's fistful of chives, moving in a rhythm that suggested previous experience, though the couple had only just met. Dean and Cas began to dance together, and the guests laughed and sang to carols, and the snow fell up to five feet, forcing everyone to stay the night in Cas' house. Luckily for them, Cas and Dean had already planned their own sleeping arrangements.