#but obviously you can't really justify it like that when you're standing in a shop

[littlehen]

For Christmas, a family member got me a hideous and expensive mug with the word 'Love' on it and they'd left the price tag on, so I took it back to the shop and asked if I could maybe exchange it. (In my old shop, if there was no receipt then we would exchange it or put the same amount on a giftcard, so I thought it was worth a try.) The sales assistant said no, their policy was no refund without proof of sale. I said, okay never mind. The sales assistant looked at me sadly and said, haltingly, 'it's just... the mug... it says 'Love' on it... and you want to return it?' I didn't know what to reply so I said, 'oh I just don't like things with words on' and she looked at my sweatshirt which said 'the dogtor is in: I prescribe walkies' and said 'oh...'

[genericpuff]

This is stupid, but you know those new LO hoodies the Webtoon shop has? I know the font they're using. It's Eckmannpsych which is an Adobe font.

That's not the stupid part though. The dumb part is the capital H and G in the Eckmannpsych font do not match what is on the hoodies, which would obviously be on the hoodies that have Hera or Goddess on them. So, Rachel looks to have taken the time to hand draw her own H and G to match the font style for those hoodies but did not take any time to make new, better art for the merch, but instead reused ugly panels from the comic. Talk about a strange look into her priorities. She doesn't like how the G and H look on a font? She will remake those to fit what she wants. Rachel when the assignment gives her the chance to make specialized, better designs for those same merch? She can't be bothered to even try. WTF!

for the love of god-

I'm assuming and hoping they had the commercial rights to that font LMAOO But it did kind of make me go 🤨 because while I didn't know the font EXACTLY off the top of my head it still felt... weirdly out of place for something like LO? Why are these hoodies being stylized like they're from Austin Powers LOL

On another note tho, the LO merch is just like... disappointing in how bad it is for what's supposed to be WT's #1 series, which is, btw, a series with so much unique stylization that it shouldn't even be this hard to make merch for it! it just feels very "first attempt at redbubble merch", but unlike genuine first attempts at making merch (which is obviously a learning curve that I wouldn't judge anyone for being new to) this is a company that's sunk shitloads of money into LO so I don't know why they can't get better merch made?? so much of it is just the default drawings taken and slapped onto a tote bag or t-shirt, which like, yeah cool fine you're using art that's recognizable and considering the art is already made, it stands to reason that they should use it for more than just the comic. It's just disappointing to see how lazy it often is and how little effort is put into translating it onto a t-shirt/tote bag/etc. like we can't even have ONE exclusive t-shirt with a unique design that isn't just poorly copy pasted from the comic?

Case in point, those t-shirts that Rachel was advertising a while ago that were actually straight up falsely advertised. I can't find the post about it on my Tumblr (I'm pretty sure I talked about it here) so here's the IG story rundown I did on it ages ago:

Again I'd really like to have benefit of the doubt here that Rachel isn't the one making these designs, usually that's not how the merchandising process goes in these types of deals, so I'm not gonna point the finger at her. But it's just so odd to me that it happened in the first place. And this goes for a lot of LO's merch, so much of it feels cheaply made and rushed off a conveyor belt for the point of making money without much expense. Which yeah, that's a business model for sure, the goal is to profit, but like this?

You can't even argue that it's like people criticizing LO the comic because like, as much as I'll justify what I spend my time doing here in my free time, it's true that at the end of the day I don't have to pay for LO, so really the only thing I'm doing is inflicting psychic damage to myself, it's not like my actual money is on the line LMAO That's why I stopped paying for LO ages ago and only do it when I have a specific episode I need to review (such as the midseason hiatus review series I did). At the very least, if I really want to keep reading LO but don't want to pay for it, I can just avoid FastPassing it and read it for free so I can save the coins for other series I'd rather read. The Webtoons' FP system is very fair that way.

But this is merch explicitly made to generate revenue. It is a product, front to back. You can vote with your money by not buying the thing you don't like, absolutely, but the fact that it's this poorly to begin with is just so indicative of Webtoons' business practices and so shitty for the people who genuinely enjoy this comic and are being advertised and sold shoddy merchandise that doesn't even come looking the same way it's advertised. It's really not a good look for Webtoons, Rachel, or LO that this is what they're selling to people.

Especially for what they're charging, good lord-

Like, okay, they're hoodies and they're gonna be expensive to print and ship so the higher overhead cost makes sense, but jesus christ, with the kind of merch Webtoons has already given the stamp of approval on, would it even show up in decent condition? How bright are those colors gonna be? Are they gonna strip off as soon as I throw it in the wash? I'm half-tempted to buy a hoodie for myself just to do a review on it but I can't justify dropping $75 CAD on a hoodie that only has art on the back. Maybe it's just me living in the hellish lands of Canada where we play with toy money that's the problem, but it's just not a gamble I wanna take LOL If I bought one it would probably be the Hecate or Hermes ones because they're the only ones that are at least somewhat legible and have decent character art that isn't a character looking like they need to poop LMAO

(these are literally the two worst drawings they could have chosen of these two i stg lol the only thing that would have made this worse/funnier is if it was Handsome Hades and Persephone Kidnapping a Baby LMAO)

It has me worried about what the LO figures are gonna look like when they release. Are they gonna have some creative liberty with making them chibi-fied (like a Nendoroid?) or are they gonna try and replicate the art style exactly and wind up making literal blow-up sex doll Persephone? 😭

NGL, if the figures are done well enough and don't cost an arm and a leg, I might consider buying one just for the shelf collection, but again, it depends. If Webtoons released a tarot deck with really good panels from LO (like the Tower 4 scene or Persephone sitting on the rooftop with her comb or Eros flying down into the Mortal Realm) I would buy the shit out of that. I would even just take the Major Arcana if 78 cards was too much to ask :'0 I'm not against Webtoons/Rachel trying to profit off LO merch at all, I just wish it was BETTER- (╥﹏╥)

[starlit-serenade]

ONEUS When They Accidentally Say Something That Hurts Their S/O

Summary: How would ONEUS react when they realize they accidentally said something hurtful to their S/O?

Word Count: 1,800 words

Pairing: Reader x Members / Characters: GenderNeutral!Reader; Kim Youngjo (Ravn); Lee Seoho (Seoho); Kim Geonhak (Leedo); Lee Keonhee (Keonhee); Yeo Hwanwoong (Hwanwoong); Son Dongju (Xion);

Rated: E / Warnings: Very slight weight mention (Keonhee's) / Genre: Very slight angst; Fluff;

《 ONEUS Masterlist 》

Kim Youngjo (Ravn)

He would catch himself and apologize immediately. He would do everything in his power to keep you from leaving--he doesn't want you to be apart and leave an argument unresolved. And he'd beat himself up for hurting you.

You had entered the studio and spotted your boyfriend, Youngjo, hunched over the table with a headset over his ears, still hard at work. He was absolutely oblivious to the fact that it's almost midnight.

When you had asked him to come home with you, he had agreed. But you had mentioned that he hadn't been home all day, and said that he needed to take care of himself and that he's been neglecting himself, and he got upset.

"You wouldn't understand, you aren't an idol," he snaps. You freeze, and feel your shoulders sag and your heart drop.

Youngjo must see your face drop, because before you can turn back to the door to leave, he has his arms around you, hugging you, holding you tightly.

"I'm sorry, baby, I shouldn't have said that. That was unfair to say," he says. You don't respond, and he continues. "Please, don't go. That wasn't fair. I'm sorry, baby."

He pulls away and cups your face to look at you. "Baby, are you okay? Please say something."

You inhale. "That was mean," you say finally. He exhales, relieved that you've responded, and nods.

"Yes, it was. I'm a bad boyfriend," he says. "Let me apologize. I'll take a day off tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow, it's just me and you, okay?"

You sniff. "You don't have to. I just want you to take care of yourself."

"I want to," he says. "Let's go home, baby."

Lee Seoho (Seoho)

Seoho would have to be really tired or upset to say something hurtful to you, as he's usually very careful with his words. But he knows that whatever he said was not justified. The moment he realizes what he said, he'd apologize.

"Seoho," you call out when you arrive home. You kick off your shoes and  head to the bedroom, where Seoho should be--his practice ends before your work. You two had planned to go out grocery shopping today.

"Seoho? Are you upstairs?" you ask as you climb up the stairs to the bedroom. There's no response, that came to my texts and didn't want me in my life I just wanted to be able and not just be you continue up. You note that the door is open, and peek into your bedroom to see Seoho on the bed, phone in hand. His eyes are trained on his phone, and he doesn't seem to even notice your presence. 

"There you are," you murmur. He still doesn't respond, and you realize he has his earbuds in. You walk over in front of him and wave at him until he sees you and removes one earbud.

"Oh, Y/N," he says, blinking up at you. "You're home."

You nod. "Yup. I was calling for you. We should go grocery shopping before the sun's down, so we can have time to make dinner."

Seoho sighs, and mutters to himself, "Annoying."

You stare at him. "What? Excuse me? I'm annoying?"

He frowns at you, looking confused for a second before his eyes widen. "Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that. Let me explain."

He takes your hand and pulls you to sit next to him on the bed. You frown at him, but wait for him to explain.

"I was just. Exhausted from work. I meant that going out and being busy was annoying. God, Y/N, I'm sorry, that came out wrong," he says.

"No no, it's alright," you say, ruffling his hair, and he smiles sweetly at you. "Maybe I can go shopping for us?"

He shakes his head. "Stay with me."

"Mmkay. We can just order takeout today instead? And get groceries tomorrow?"

He nods, and you smile, pressing a kiss to his temple.

Kim Geonhak (Leedo)

Right away, Geonhak would realize he went too far. He'd stop right away and apologize profusely. He'd know that he needs a bit of space or a short break to breathe, before apologizing and talking with you.

"Geonhak, you can't not respond to my texts or anything and expect me to have made dinner for two ready," you say. "You've been missing dinner for the past week and have been eating it at , and when I asked if you wanted me to make dinner for us both tonight

"You wouldn't get it," Geonhak says dismissively. "You aren't an idol, we have schedules and practice. I couldn't find the time. But of course you wouldn't get it. I just don't have the time."

You pause, absorbing his words. "You didn't have the time at all today to text me, is that it?" you ask, eyes tearing up. "Alright. Well, I'll make sure to make lunch again."

You can see Geonhak's face change. His eyes widen in shock, and he reaches out to grab your hands before you can turn away.

"Y/N, I didn't mean it like that," he says. "I just had a really stressful day. That was wrong of me to say, I'm so sorry Y/N. Let me just. Take a breath in the next room for a minute, okay? I'll be right back, I need a second."

You nod, and he exits the room. You're used to this. Not him accidentally saying something hurtful, but him often getting too worked up and having to take a breath. But after that, it always works out.

When he returns, he apologizes again for what he said. And then, he explains that he did lose track of time, due to a surprise interview and loads of practice. You two talk it over much calmer this time, and he apologizes again for what he said.

Lee Keonhee (Keonhee)

Keonhee would never say anything mean about you, but he might say something a little harsher than intended, or maybe with a bad tone. But the moment that he realizes what he said, he would instantly stop and apologize profusely. He'd beat himself up about hurting you like that.

You're curled up on your bed with your head on your boyfriend Keonhee's chest.

"Keonhee," you say, and he hums in acknowledgement. "Keonhee, I'm gonna go get some snacks, okay?"

He nods, and you push yourself up off of him, your hand pressed against his chest, and he lets out a loud groan.

"Ohhh gosh, you're heavy, Y/N," he says.

You feel a feeling of embarrassment wash over you and mumble a quick "Oh, sorry," as you remove your hands from his chest quickly.

"Ah, wait baby!" Keonhee grabs your hand quickly before you can go. He sits up and moves so he can sit in front of you. "I didn't mean your weight. You just, you pressed down on my chest really abruptly and it felt heavy."

You tilt your head, sort of understanding him. But not quite. Thankfully, he continues.

"I should have said 'ow, you pressed down on my chest really hard,'" he says, clutching at his chest to demonstrate what he should have done. You laugh a bit at his silliness, but resume your pouting. He takes your hands and presses a kiss to your knuckles. "I'm sorry, baby, I misspoke. Bad boyfriend, bad Keonhee. I'm so sorry, baby."

"It's okay, Keonhee," you say. "Only if you get snacks instead of me."

"Deal." He presses another kiss to your knuckles. "Love you baby."

Yeo Hwanwoong (Hwanwoong)

Hwanwoong doesn't always watch his words carefully, so feelings might get hurt on accident at times. But once he sees that something hurt you, he'd stop himself and apologize.

"Oh my gosh, there’s is a little harsher and I'm really looking for something that can help me get my own stuff done and then I can an audition for a small dance group!" you say, pausing your scrolling through your social media at the sight of an advertisement. You look at your boyfriend who sits on the other end of the couch. "Woong, should I audition."

"Oh no, Y/N," Hwayoung says, shaking his head. You pause, and nod slightly. You know he doesn't mean it in a hurtful way--you don't usually dance--but you've always been itnterested in it, even before you met him, and you'd hoped that joining a group would be a start.

"Yeah. Maybe you're right . . ." you say, and you see Hwanwoong look up in surprise.

"I didn't mean it like that, Y/N, I'm so sorry it came out like that. I just meant you don't have the practice yet," he says, standing up. He walks over and takes your hands, kneeling in front of you. "When's the audition? I can help you practice before then. How does that sound?"

You nod, looking at him kneeling with his face inches from yours, and you feel the corners your lips lift. "Sounds great, Woong."

"Perfect, when is it?" he asks. You look at the date.

"Two weeks."

"Oh, that's plenty of time! I'm sure you could be better than me by then!" He pokes your nose and you laugh a bit.

"Thank you, Woong."

Son Dongju (Xion)

Dongju doesn't usually say mean things. but if a disagreement gets really bad, or if he gets really mad,  he might get more easily caught up in his emotions or annoying and unintentionally raise his voice.

"Y/Nie," Dongju asks from the kitchen, and you look up from your spot on the couch.

"Yes DoongDoongie?" you ask.

"Did you see a bag of chips in the cupboard?"

"Oh yeah, I did," you say, worriedly. "Was that yours? I'm sorry," you say apologetically. "

He sighs. "Y/N," he grumbles to himself as he walks over and plops down on the other end of the couch from you. He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling, obviously fuming.

"Sorry, Dongju. Do you want me to go buy you some?"

"It's fine."

He shakes his head, "It's fine."

"Dongju--"

"Y/N, it's fine," he says. Not quite yelling, but his voice is definitely raised. You shrink into yourself.

"Alright," you say quietly.

"Y/N, sorry," he grabs your hand. "That was wrong. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

You nod, not meeting his eyes. "It's okay. It's my fault."

"No, no. I shouldn't have raised my voice." He squeezes your hand. "Y/N, can you look at me?"

You look up at him, and see he's pouting at you.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I really am. Forgive me?"

You nod, humming gently. "I forgive you. Do you want me to buy you more chips?"

He thinks for a second. "Let's go together, okay baby?"

You smile. "Alright."

[pathetic-has-been-rockstar]

Memories and a movie

Pairing: Castiel x Dean

Written for: @spnchristmasbingo

Square filled: Miracle on 34th Street

Warnings: none

Summary:   Dean Winchester has never been one for holidays, but he's fond of his few good childhood memories. When Castiel unwillingly upsets him, he will have to find a way to make up for it.

Words: 2391

Beta: @raspberrymama

my work can be found on AO3, here! If you’re interested in the whole series, you just have to click here!

Dean is in the kitchen again, making popcorns and humming a cheesy Christmas song that he heard while grocery shopping, and just won't get out of his head. He's not too bothered about it, all in all.

You won't be joining them at the bunker at least for another day, due to the closed roads, but the rest of them can start to get in the Christmas spirit. They decided to watch a Christmas-themed movie, so to give Cas and Jack the full holidays-are-coming experience. While he throws some more butter in the popcorn, he looks for the salt, trying not to spill stuff around.

A moment later, Sam walks in the kitchen, holding his pc and looking at him.

“Hey. Need a hand with that?”

“Yeah, pass me that bowl. Do we have it?”

“Yep. Miracle on 34th Street, as usual. Are you sure you don't want to watch the new version, too? I think maybe Jack...”

Dean stops him before he can go on. “Sammy, we've been over this. You and I are going to show the kid our Christmas movie, and that's it. If he doesn't like it, he'll show us his favourite one, and we will never forgive him for that.”

Sam scoffs softly and clicks a key on his pc. “Alright, then, I'll throw in the subtitles and we're good to go. We'll wait for you in the...”

“Dean cave!”

Sam sighs, exasperated. “... yes, Dean, we'll wait for you in the Dean cave.”

“Don't say it like that. It's a temple of happiness and comfort. It's the Dean cave!”

Sam opens his mouth to say something, then decides against it. He sighs and walks away from the kitchen, smiling. Dean is insufferable, of course, but it's a different kind of a pain in the ass. A light-hearted, happy Dean who teases and mocks people around him because it's fun, and not to keep a distance to avoid painful separations. All in all, he's glad of being nagged like that.

He walks in the infamous Dean cave and he finds everyone already settling down. He connects the HDMI cable to his pc and goes to sit on the couch, next to Eileen. She makes a small hint at him, and Sam nods. He clears his throat and looks at Castiel, curled up on an armchair next to the couch.

“Uh, Cas... why don't you give us the armchair? We can definitely be more comfortable there. Here, take the couch.”

Shrugging, Castiel moves on the couch. A moment later, Dean walks through the door with a ridiculously huge bowl of popcorn, and goes to sit next to Castiel. Jack stands up, going to turn off the lights, and Sam hits play on the pc before going back to the armchair and letting Eileen sit on his legs.

“So... did you love it, or did you adore it?” Dean beams at Castiel and Jack as soon as he turns the light back on.

“I like it! It put me in a good mood”, Jack nods, smiling. Dean chuckles, satisfied, then turns at Castiel, who still hasn't spoken, and looks pretty confused.

"What troubles you, Cas?" Dean asks, curious to see if he will have to explain something.

“I don't really understand the point of this movie.”

“The-the point? Cas, it's the best Christmas movie ever made, until Trading Places, what do you think is the point?”

Castiel shakes his head, an incredulous expression on his face. “Dean, it's a terrible story about how the American system cages a man for believing to be a fictional character. The judge emits his sentence on a case that doesn't belong in a courtroom, based on what's written on currency. It all stems from the troubles of an alcoholic man. How can you love this movie?”

Dean looks at Castiel, horrified. Sam knows that face. It's the same expression he had when he was forced to destroy Baby to survive a ghost attack. Whatever it's going to happen, the happy atmosphere of movie night is about to go up in flames. Surprisingly, Dean just sets his jaw and nods.

“Alright, I get it. Not everyone can appreciate it.”

“I'm just saying that there's not a lot that...”

“Shut up!” Dean barks, a second before walking away without giving anyone the time to stop him. Confused, Castiel turns to Sam.

“What did I say?”

“Cas, uh... Dean loves this movie. Very, very much. We... we used to watch it with dad, so... I-I think he was hoping you'd like it, too.”

For a long moment, Castiel stays quiet, then nods. “I understand. I suppose I'll go apologize to him.”

“It's not... let him cool off a bit, maybe.”

“Don't worry, Sam. I know exactly what to do.” Castiel ignores Sam's suggestion before going after Dean, leaving Sam, Eileen and Jack in the room. Jack stands up and stretches, still in a good mood.

“Don't worry Sam. If there's anyone able to calm Dean down, that's Cas.”

Sam chuckles, taking Eileen's hand. “You know what? You're right. Let's clean this place and go to bed, we'll deal with the lovebirds tomorrow.”

They all laugh, and start tidying up the place.

Castiel walks in Dean's room, awkwardly standing just a few steps from the door. Dean is sitting at his desk, going through some stuff, and Castiel can take a look at him. He studies how his dark blond hair is slightly ruffled on the back of his neck, after being pressed against the back of the couch for the last couple of hours, how the shirt's fabric stretches on his broad shoulders. It's looking at the movement of his shoulders that Cas realizes that Dean is moving. He turns to him, and gives him an indecipherable look.

“Hey, Cas.”

“Dean... I wanted to...”

“Ah, look... it's fine, man. It's just a movie. No big deal.”

“Sam explained to me it was a sort of tradition. I should have known there was a story behind it. There's always a story with you.”

Dean's lips curl again in one of the half smiles that Cas has learned to map and interpret down to a fine art... in a few seconds. There's always a moment or two of pure amazement at seeing how his whole traits seem to turn him from a weathered hunter into a smiling man, showing the Dean he's always cherished so deeply.

“You know... you're right. Guess I was mad because it's one of the good stories, this one.”

“... would you like to share it with me?”

For a fleeting moment, Castiel sees the surprise in Dean's eyes, as clear as fleeting. It almost hurts to think that he could be surprised to be asked to share something obviously so dear to him, but Castiel stays quiet and watches Dean nodding in agreement.

“It's just... you know we didn't have exactly an easy childhood. I had to take care of Sammy from day one, cause dad... you know. You heard more than enough. But Christmas... soometimes it was not about... this.” Dean says, gesturing at the room around him. “Sure, it was always in a different motel, always after some monster. But... the police rarely work on Christmas' night. Families stick together, making it harder for the monsters to hunt. Motels would offer something to their guests, especially to us. They saw a single dad working his ass off with two children... it tends to make people feel sympathy, especially at Christmas.”

Castiel nods, entranced by Dean's voice. He keeps smiling, and it's clear that, despite everything that man put him and Sam through, he still misses his father. His dad.

“And no matter where we were... that movie is a classic. If it wasn't on a channel, it was on another. When he managed to stay with us, Dad would make some popcorn, usually with so much butter that you could see through the bag once you were done, and we would all hunker down and watch that movie together.”

“... it sounds like a wonderful memory, indeed.”

“Yeah, it... it is. One year... one year Sammy was so upset that we had to decide: telling him that Santa wasn't real, or inventing an excuse to justify the fact that, once again, we didn't get a new house.”

“How did you deal with that?”

“We told him that Santa couldn't get a new house for us because we had to move constantly, to stay safe. We had to stick with that for a couple of years, before he grew out of that. I... I did my best to let him be a kid, Cas. Standing up to dad wasn't easy, and I... I just did my best.”

Castiel must fight the anger he feels understanding why Dean sees himself the way he does, and walks as close as possible to Dean. He places a hand on Dean's shoulder, trying to find the right words to say.

“Dean... you did a wonderful job with Sam. You shouldn't have been forced to look out for him. Your father was supposed to do it... and I'm sure that Sam is grateful for it. I'm sorry I didn't appreciate the movie.”

“Ah, Cas, it's fine. I overreacted.”

“No. It's not fine. Allow me to apologize.”

“... there's no need to...”

“Dean, I understood that around Christmas is customary to make kind gestures to each other. Please, let me.”

Dean chuckles, raising his hands.

“Alright. Let's see what you got for me.”

“Fine. Get dressed.”

“... what?”

“Get dressed.”

Dean smiles, curious to see what Cas has in mind and stands up to grab his coat. He puts it on, takes a scarf and a hat, puts on his gloves, and finally turns to face him.

“Is this enough?”

“It is. Are you ready to take a flight?”

“Not a fan of it, but... whatever makes you happy.”

Castiel gives him a small hint before placing a hand on his shoulder, and Dean experiences the familiar and dreaded feeling of his stomach being mashed from the inside during teleportation. A second later, when he opens his eyes, he manages to steady himself against a brick wall and take a deep breath before bending down and trying to catch his breath.

The air is cold, heavy, and Dean knows the smell lingering in the air, even if he can't pinpoint where or when. It feels familiar, but somehow distant, and it brings mixed feelings with it. When he finally feels his stomach settling down, he straightens his back and looks at the angel who just brought him there.

“Cas... where are we?”

“Why don't we go find out?” Cas answers, with a small smile that lets out his anticipation. Dean, affected by Cas' visible excitement, starts walking towards the exit of the alley where they appeared.

Before they walk out of it, Dean has a clear idea of where they are. There's only one city in the world that has that particular kind of bright night, those sounds mixed in a cacophony so terrible to result irresistible, topped with the smell of a thousand different foods, people and exhaust pipes. When they walk out from the alley, his hypotheses are confirmed, and Dean laughs, incredulous, turning to Cas.

“You brought me to New York?”

“So it seems.”

“What the...”

“There.”

Cas points at something behind Dean, who feels his heart stopping for a second, then starting to beat furiously in an attempt to catch up. Sure enough, turning around Dean sees the building of Macy's, dressed in blinding lights and Christmas decorations.

For a moment, Castiel is deeply worried. He never saw Dean reacting like that. His mouth fell open, while his whole face transformed into a blank expression of utter disbelief. He just keeps staring at Macy's, his eyes running up and down the building the only movement that Cas can see, as if trying to find a way to get in, or something like that. After a few very long moments, he decides to risk a question.

“Dean... are you alright?”

Dean turns to Cas so quickly that he almost takes a step back. He raises his arm, pointing at the building.

“You... you brought me to New York. On Christmas' week. To friggin' Macy's? Because you didn't like my favourite Christmas movie... you thought it was a good idea to bring me into it?”

At six and seven for Dean's reaction, Castiel nods. He thought he'd appreciate the intention behind the gesture. Perhaps he's been too intrusive. Perhaps he interpreted the sharing of his story in the wrong way, or perhaps Dean didn't mean that...

“Cas... that's the... that is the most stupid, senseless, sweet thing that anyone is ever done for me!” Dean practically shouts in Castiel's face.

“Why are you yelling now?”

“Because you are not supposed to... Cas, how... why did you do this?”

When he finally realizes why Dean is so upset, Castiel smiles. A big, wide smile that makes his eyes crinkle and the most human side of him flash clearly like one of the Christmas lights around them. Dean Winchester, the legendary hunter, the man who came back from Hell, the one who died and came back to tell the tale more than once... is embarrassed. The most brazen, skilled conqueror of waitress of the United States has no idea about how to react to a genuine gesture of care and affection.

The smile of Castiel erupts into a light-hearted laughter, and Dean is bedazzled in finding out that, in fact, he loves that. He thought he'd hate Castiel laughing at him in a moment like that, but... he was wrong. He adores his laughter. It tells him that Cas just read all the right things in his reaction, understood where they came from, and why they are there.

Dean blushes, sticks his hands in his pockets and mutters, in a falsely angry tone “Shut up” at Castiel. He doesn't stop Castiel when he nudges him with a shoulder and stays close to him.

“What do you say about we go and take a closer look at that place?”

Trying to keep his coolness, and failing miserably, Dean nods. “Well, since we're here...”

Cas shakes lightly his head, impatient and slightly exasperated. “Yeah, we're here. Thanks for seconding me. Come on, let's go.”

----------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading! 

I truly hope you enjoyed this little story. Every kind of feedback is very much appreciated, just as much as likes and reblogs!

Please, do not repost my works or part/s of it on different places, not even if you give credits.