Please Don't Hunt Me Down, Brother (Sabriel/Destiel)

Chapter 11: All In The Family.

-- Dean --

The days after Dean and Sam had helped the Shurleys clear out that vampire nest for good, were days like Dean had never experienced before. The sheer elation coursing through the house, passing between every hunter under the roof, was so incredible, so uplifting, that it almost made him forget the horrors of what they did for a living. Dean had lost count of how many days or weeks he'd known Cas now- for in how little time they may have known each other, he'd never seen someone so- no, not happy, that wasn't the right word. Cas' family were gone and they weren't ever coming back, and the blue-eyed boy had accepted that. No- what he was feeling was relief- relief and satisfaction. Dean had seen few hunters get their revenge, and fewer still feel satisfied and their minds at rest after they had- in fact, Castiel was the first one.

The Winchesters had been sleeping in the Impala, not wanting to intrude on the Shurleys despite having formed such close bonds with them- but both Chuck and Amara insisted that they sleep under a proper roof, in proper beds- Gabriel's aunt had dug up two disassembled beds from somewhere in the basement and built them back up herself for them- and since there were no spare rooms, one went in Gabriel's room, and one in Castiel's, for Sam and Dean respectively. Though they barely knew the Winchesters, despite how famous they were, they trusted them so wholeheartedly- they had become a second family to the orphaned young men.

On this particular day, the winter was still in full swing, and it had snowed overnight, leaving everything outside covered in a blanket of white- when Dean got up that morning, he was suddenly glad that they hadn't slept in the Impala overnight, because even with heating they'd probably have become Winchester popsicles by sunrise. He thought he was the first awake, but the smell of wood smoke from the dining/sitting room told him otherwise. He wasn't sure who to expect, but when he trudged into the room bleary-eyed, trying to clear the sleep away, the belt of his dressing-gown trailing on the floor- he saw a head of messy black hair and knew it was Cas. He'd been so tired when he awoke that he hadn't noticed that Cas wasn't in his bed.

"Hey, Cas." Dean's voice cracked, and he couldn't help but wince. Loudly clearing his throat, he tried again, "Cas-"

"Have you caught a cold, Dean?" the young hunter finally turned to him, and the smile on his face was warm enough to melt the snow outside. "You sound terrible."

"Yeah, I guess so. There must be a draft in our- your room." Dean caught himself, sniffling, and clamped his lips together to avoid saying anything else. Castiel gave him a strange look, but shook it off and embraced his boyfriend. "Is it early in the morning? No one else is awake yet."

"I don't think it's that early, but the previous weeks have exhausted us all and Chuck hasn't been passed any jobs. Can you cook at all? I wanted to make pancakes for everyone, but I'm hopeless at it." Castiel drew back, gazing at Dean, for so long he almost felt uncomfortable.

"Um, I think so. I might not look like that kind of person, but I've developed a skill for cooking over the years while our dad was still alive- he was always out on hunts and never had time to prepare us anything, so I taught myself to cook so that I could feed myself and Sammy. A necessity for survival." Dean shrugged, turning away from Castiel, venturing towards the stove.

Castiel began rummaging around the cupboards behind, while Dean picked up a frying pan that had been left on the draining board, squirting olive oil from a plastic bottle that had been left at the side of the stove. A bag of flour was dumped next to the stove, and puffs of the white powder settled on the kitchen surface.

"Careful, Cas. You'll get flour everywhere. Why don't you help me with this- pass me the ingredients while I put them all together? You can help me mix it, if you want." Dean reached to take the bag of sugar in Castiel's hands before he almost dropped it, and set it carefully next to the bag of flour. Castiel handed him a spoon, and Dean began scooping out generous amounts of flour and sugar into a large glass mixing bowl that was covered in scratches. Without being asked to, Cas padded to the fridge and sought out the eggs- there was a full dozen box, just enough. He took out one of the eggs, tapping on the edge of the mixing bowl, and cracked it smoothly in half, the egg yolk landing in the mass of flour and sugar, the white dripping after it. The edges of the eggshell were sharp, and Cas almost cut his finger on it, but he carefully scooped up the small shards that had scattered, and dumped them in the food waste bin that sat next to the sink.