Chapter Text
Castiel shuddered as he entered the morning air of the first day of December. This would be the day that every single person and their dog would start decorating for Christmas. Of course Gabriel was one of those people, and had gone out at daybreak to get the best tree there was, even if it wouldn’t fit well in their small home. Castiel himself was going to go and grade papers, as this weekend would be busy with just that. He gripped his briefcase closer to him and took the keys from his pocket as he unlocked his car, taking the wheel and starting it up before driving away from his house.
Since everyone was out shopping, and not using the local café, Castiel used this to his advantage, that and the café had been opened only a month ago and he still hadn’t gone. Gabriel had told him that a pair of brothers worked and owned it with their father and mother, and that it was more of a diner than a cafe but Castiel didn’t care. He parked in the small parking lot, turning the car off before wrapping his coat tighter around himself and opening the door to step out into the cold air.
The cafe wasn’t large, but neither was it small, and Castiel quite liked how it looked within. It seemed more like a home, with mismatched couches around tables, and some with regular chairs, also looking old and worn, but comfortable nonetheless. The walls were filled with pictures of old cars and bands and movies, and Castiel found himself blocking the door, only to be pushed aside by the largest man he had ever seen.
“Sorry about that! I didn’t see you,” the man had turned back around, the tip of his nose pink along with his cheeks as he took his beanie off. “It’s quite fine. I was just staring.” The man nodded, and held out his hand, “I’m Sam. I work here with my brother.” Castiel took the hand, smiling back and shaking it. “I’m Castiel. I’ve never been here before, but it’s rather nice.” “Thanks. My folks couldn’t think of what to decorate the place as, and well, it was cheap. I should probably get around to helping my brother with the drinks. It was nice meeting you.” Sam smiled and walked off to the farther end of the shop, and Castiel found a table in some corner, placing his things there before snatching his wallet up and heading to the counter.
The man organizing the money and seeming to do stock was breathtaking, and Cas found himself staring. “Do you want anything? Hey, you alright?” Castiel blinked and nodded his head. “Sorry... uhm,” he looked from the man to the menu, and found that it was in handwriting almost as horrible as his own. “Uh, what’s the third one down?” The man, with hair Castiel couldn’t decide was blonde or light brown, turned to look up at the menu. “Dammit... sorry. I’ll rewrite it, but that’s just the house specialty. My secret blend of coffee.” When he looked back around, Castiel was looking at his face again, and decided that he must have killed someone to get eyes as natural green as they were. “That will be fine.”
Castiel waited as Dean moved behind the counter, seeming to know everything he was doing, and going from one machine to another so gracefully Castiel could have thought it a dance. While he was waiting for the beans to blend though, he went behind into the kitchen, and Castiel could hear the distinct yelling, “Sammy! I thought I told you not to write the menu! I have to go and redo it now. Thanks a lot Big Foot.” He then walked back out to the counter and continued with the drink until he had a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He took the money from his wallet, and paid the man.
“Thank you,” Castiel finally spotted the name-tag on his apron, “Dean.” He smiled, and Dean smiled back. “No problem. Thank you, uh.” “Castiel.” “Thank you, Castiel, for coming and buying our shit coffee.” As soon as Dean had said that, someone stormed out of the kitchen, a man about as tall, if quite a bit older, with hair faded on his head, but still very black. “Don’t be going around and talking bad about our drinks. He’ll never come back.” Castiel smiled, this must have been Dean’s father. “It’s alright. I’m certain I’ll find it delightful.” With that, he retreated back to his table and watched as more and more people came in, and how Sam and Dean danced through the machines and made the different drinks. Halfway through his grading he found he was out of coffee, and asked for another. It was quite possibly the best coffee he’d ever had.
When Castiel returned home, just about an hour after lunch, he saw Gabriel’s brown mustang in the driveway, and sighed. When he walked inside, he saw a rather spectacular and already decorated tree, in their living room. His brother popped out from the kitchen, a spoon covered in something in his hand. “Hey bro! You weren’t here when I got home, so I went ahead and decorated it. We’ll need to put up the lights tomorrow, okay?” With that, Gabriel was back in the kitchen.
Walking into his room, Castiel placed his briefcase on his desk and changed into his lounge clothes, which consisted of an old shirt he’d gotten while studying abroad in Europe, an old cardigan, and some old sweats. Castiel seemed to only own old clothing. He walked into the kitchen to see Gabriel making cookies, a batch already finished, and one in the oven, with another waiting to be put in. All were different shapes. Christmas trees, reindeer, Snowmen, and gingerbread men were the choices. “You’ll at least help me frost these?” Gabriel looked to Castiel as he finished making the frosting, smiling. “Sure.”
They frosted cookies the whole afternoon, and Castiel seemed to just be humming some of the music that had been playing in the cafe earlier. “So, how’d you like the cafe?” Castiel thought back, and remembered the coffee, the way it just felt so cozy there, and couldn’t help but smile. Dean was also one of these thoughts. “It was nice. The brothers, Sam and Dean, they seem good.” “Good? Did you see them? Or was there mud in your eyes? They’re fucking beautiful is what they are. I got my sights on the tall one,” Gabriel winked and laughed, and Castiel smiled, his face heating up a bit at the thought that Gabriel was going to try and win over Sam. “I guess that leaves Dean to me?” “You bet your ass it does. I bet you can land him in less than a week.” Castiel didn’t know how he felt about this.