asphaltcowgrrl | Little Miracles (Supernatural Fic)

Title: Little Miracles
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Gen – Dean+Sam+Castiel
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,111
Summary: It’s raining and the Winchesters can’t decide where to eat.
Author’s Note: Written for the weekend challenge at 1_million_words. My prompt was from Disney’s Cinderella: "Even miracles take a little time." Not really sure why I went here, but maybe because these three need a miracle in their lives? Also, I had wanted to write a fic to go with the graphic from August Rush Day 19. This is it.

Dean pulled the Impala over onto the side of the road. Putting the car into park, he gripped the steering wheel with both hands, breathing deeply. Rain pelted Baby’s perfectly waxed hood at an alarming rate, the storm seemed to be picking up speed by the second. “Can somebody please make up their damn mind before we get washed off the road?”

Cas, stuck in the back seat as per usual – or protocol, if you asked Sam – looked at his feet. Of the three of them, he was the only one who didn’t need to eat. And yet, nine times out of ten, he wound up being the one who made the decision for the brothers. He was determined to not give in to the disharmony, promised himself he’d let them work it out between them. But that had been nearly an hour ago and it hadn’t been raining then either.

“Damnit, Sam, no more health food joints,” Dean growled. “Just because we’re in a town bigger than your shoe doesn’t mean we all have to become vegan.”

“It was just a suggestion, Dean,” Sam sighed.

The younger Winchester leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes. One of these days, the two brothers would come to a conclusion quickly and easily, but it seemed like today would not be that day. It’d be a damn miracle, to be honest. Despite their closeness and their willingness to push through until the end, they were often incapable of making the simplest decisions.

Castiel could feel Dean watching him in the rear view, waiting for – for what, he wasn’t sure. He felt his insides quiver under the scrutiny and it made him uncomfortable. Half the time, Cas was afraid Dean would turn his anger on him, next. The other half of the time, he almost wished Dean would. It was an odd sort of paradox and Castiel wasn’t sure he’d ever figure it out.

“Any other suggestions then,” Dean asked, hands still strangling the steering wheel.

Sam rubbed a hand across his face before opening his eyes. “There’s a place that Charlie told me about once. It’s probably too fancy for your tastes but they have burgers and beers so…”

“What about pie,” Dean mumbled.

“What?” Sam turned his head in Dean’s direction, a half smile tugging at his mouth.

“I said,” Dean grouched, “what about pie? Between the drive, the damn demons on every corner, and the two of you, I need some pie.”

“Best in town,” Sam said. “Charlie even mentioned something about a salted caramel banana cream once and I thought –”

“Where is this place,” Dean interrupted, putting Baby in gear and pulling out onto the road.

Grinning, Sam pointed straight ahead. “Turn left at the next intersection. It’s about a mile down from there.”

“On it,” Dean said, following Sam’s directions. “Cas, this good for you?”

Looking up, Castiel could see Dean’s eyes looking back at him in the rearview mirror again. “It’s fine, Dean,” Cas said, giving a small nod for his benefit. “I do not eat anyway, so where we stop does not matter.”

“If you say so,” Dean grunted, peering out into the dark street as the rain continued to beat down on the glass and metal that made up Baby.

“I do say so,” Cas muttered, not really meaning to say the words aloud. He earned himself an amused snort out of Sam and that made Cas smile.

In the end, the only thing that did matter was that they found a place to stop so that the brothers could eat. The fighting wouldn’t ease up until they both had full bellies and, even then, it wasn’t likely to stop completely. They were exhausted and defeated, uncertain of how to tackle the job that they were working. It hurt Cas to see them so at odds, but he knew that this was how they worked, how they dealt. Teasing, joking, and sometimes outright lambasting each other was their way. Only by getting it all out could they ever find a way to get through it.

Honestly, it seemed counterproductive, but what could Castiel do? Nothing. The answer was nothing.

Well, that’s not entirely true. He could have poked at Sam’s brain, stirring up old memories of this town, but he had promised himself to stay out of it. It was just a coincidence that Sam had remembered Charlie’s suggestion at the same time Castiel had been contemplating breaching Sam’s personal space.

As an angel, he knew that, rare as they were, miracles did occasionally transpire. And, when they did, they weren’t always immediate. Sometimes, even miracles take a little while to happen. That truth was the only thing that kept him going some days, the idea that his miracle was still waiting to materialize.

“There, Dean,” Sam said, pointing. “It’s right after the light.”

“I see it,” Dean said, turning on his blinker. “And I can smell the pie from here. Love me some pie.”

“We know,” Sam chuckled, gently needling his brother. “Almost as much as you love burgers and porn.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with any of that,” Dean snorted. He pulled into the spot closest to the entrance which, in reality, wasn’t nearly close enough considering the downpour. “Alright, ready to run for the door?”

“Let’s go,” Sam shouted, throwing the door open and racing for the door.

Dean looked over the seat and smiled. “C’mon, Cas. Let’s go before it gets any worse.”
Cas nodded and Dean took off. He watched the brothers running through the rain, hands over their heads as if they’d do any good. Shaking his head, Castiel sighed.

“If they’d only waited, I could have kept us all dry,” he said to the empty car. “Impulsive little children.”

But, he thought as he transported himself from the car to the front porch of the restaurant that was what made these two so interesting. One minute they could be serious hunters and the next, they were five years old again. Dodging rain drops on their way to dinner.

Maybe that was their own kind of miracle – to be able to still enjoy the little things even after all the horror they saw daily.

“Wait,” Dean shouted, seeing Castiel dry and calm. “Why the hell didn’t you take us with you?”

Cas smiled. “You did not ask, Dean. You also did not wait.”

Sam’s laughter filled the night. “He’s got a point, Dean.”

“I hate you both,” Dean spat back, not meaning a word of it.

“Ah, but we love you, Dean,” Sam said.

Yes, we do, Cas thought. You don’t have any idea how much, either.