"Sammy!" Dean screamed, "What the hell did you do to my baby!"
Even from the inside of Bobby's worn down ramshackle of a house, Sam could hear the angry profanities of his brother. He clicked his laptop shut and grudgingly dragged his feet towards the door. The elder hunter walked in, looking sorry for the boy. He made a beeline for the fridge, an attempt to placate Dean with some beer when he entered the building. Either that or attempt to shut out Dean's most recent hissy-fit with a drink for himself.
It didn't take long for Dean and his anger to barge into the family room.
"I didn't touch your car, Dean," Sam said immediately, his eyes blank. "If you want to know who scratched her up, ask Bobby."
"Don't you be pinning this on Bobby," Dean growled before the older man even opened his mouth, "He's not a sasquatch who could easily desecrate my beautiful baby!"
"All I've been doing is looking for a new case, and nothing else. Cas can attest to that," Sam replied, trying to hide his annoyance. It had been so nice and quiet these past few days…why couldn't they just relax for a week?
Bobby eagerly popped open the cap of a beer, downing the drink as quickly as he could. Dean's green eyes looked at him apprehensively, seeing the fear in his friend. Sam grabbed his laptop and began to make his way to the living room to escape, but his brother tightly gripped onto his arm, keeping him from his goal.
"You're not getting out of this, Sam. Would you or Bobby like to explain what happened to the Impala?"
"He doesn't know," Bobby said reluctantly, "And neither do I. When Cas went to go get some air, he saw it, and simply told us that the car had some scratches. Maybe some kids did it last night while you and Sam were out getting dinner and you just didn't notice it-"
"I think I would notice something like that, something that horrible, on my baby-"
"Stop calling the car that," Cas said in his deep voice, "It surely is not an infant."
It hadn't even come as a thought to the angry man that Cas was in the room. Dean released Sam, and grabbed the beer, or what was left of it, from Bobby's hands. Castiel rolled his eyes, letting out a dissatisfied sigh. Sam and Bobby exchanged a look. Castiel could always calm the older brother, though they had no clue how. Sam had his suspicions, but he didn't want to assume anything.
"Well, I'm certainly not going to let her sit there in pain. I'm gonna take her down to the shop; anyone want to come?" Dean breathed, the scent of alcohol barely noticeable in his breath.
"Why take her out when you can just fix her up here?" Sam asked, mildly frightened at the possible response from his older brother. Yet, Dean just ignored him. Castiel's lips curled into a bit of a smile when he realized what the other men's silence meant. They were stepping away from the situation, and leaving it to the angel.
Dean laughed, grinning wide. "Why do I waste my breath asking anymore? Come on."
-
Castiel looked more than just out of place in the mechanic's waiting room. The blatant "No Smoking" sign was completely ignored by an excessively obese man who spewed smoke out of his nostrils each time he heaved out a breath. A woman in a tight shirt and jean shorts, if you could even consider them to be shorts, would occasionally inhale deeply into her cigarette. Every minute, without fail, Cas would cough a little too loudly, and, without fail, Dean would step on his foot to make him cease in order to avoid getting shot. The hunter would then continue absent-mindedly looking through the newspaper, with Cas staring at the stained walls with the same bored look he always seemed to have.
"Mr. Hothgraw?" a woman coughed out, emerging from a back door, "Your car is ready to go."
Dean gingerly put the newspaper in Castiel's lap, getting up and grabbing out his wallet. Cas looked down at the first page, and smiled. As Dean paid with yet another fake credit card, the angel held it in front of the others face as he walked back to him.
"What?" Dean asked, "What are you doing?"
Cas shoved the newspaper even more into Dean's features, in a slight hope he would notice it more when it was crammed up his eyes.
"Dammit Cas, use your words!" Dean commanded, pushing the angel's hands back.
"There's a free cruise to England tomorrow."
"And?"
"We should go."
The hunter sighed, grabbing a hold of Cas' trench coat sleeve and dragging him out the door, into the brightness of the day and away from the clouds of dark smoke emanating the tenants of the lobby. "And why should we go?"
"It's free."
"Just because something's there doesn't mean you have to do it. Come on, let's get back to Bobby's. That guy in the waiting room is eyeing me in a way I don't particularly like."
"You know, that actually sounds like a pretty good idea!" Sam said, snatching the newspaper from Castiel. "We've always hunted in the states; why can't we try something new? It's not like the area will be barren of ghosts or demons and people who need our help."
Dean ran a hand through his hair, his nose scrunching up, causing his freckles to be even more accentuated. "What's so great about going to a place where everyone drinks their beer warm?"
Bobby smiled. "There's nothing wrong with a little taste of a new culture."
Dean could have sworn that Cas was shaking his ass back and forth, like a happy dog. He let out a low groan. "There has to be some sort of catch. No one does anything for free anymore, especially not in this economy." His eyes narrowed as he went through a list of possibilites in his head.
Sam's chocolate eyes grew as he looked at the paper again. "I think I know the catch."
Dean's eyes tightened even more. "And what exactly would that be?" He could sense danger, especially when Sammy was trying to hide it from him. Castiel turned away, so he was facing a wall; he didn't want Dean to see his eyes.
The angel muttered quietly.
"Excuse me, I couldn't exactly make that out. Would you repeat that?"
Sam attempted to hold back a smile. He knew what it was, and it would definitely upset his older brother. He tapped Bobby's shoulder and led him to the kitchen as Dean continued to question the angel. Each time, he was given the same, quiet answer. And, each time, Dean would ask Cas to repeat himself.
It was a couple minutes before Bobby softly asked, "Sam, what exactly is the catch? I couldn't quite hear the idjit."
Within seconds he finished his sentence, there was utter silence. Sam glanced at Bobby with a puzzled look, and the older man said nothing. Simply shrugged his shoulders. And then, just for a second, he heard that beautiful noise that comes after a kiss; that quiet puck that marks lips leaving an embrace. Sam's eyes grew wide, his mouth just slightly open. Bobby poked the gigantic boy standing beside him, snapping the hunter back to reality. He couldn't have heard it. Sam was probably just imagining things.
"Oh, um, uh, you see…" he sputtered, still recovering from his delusion, "The cruise is, uhm…"
A glass shattered.
"You idjit, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Bobby yelled, storming past Sam back to the common room.
"What am I doing? What am I doing? I'm not going on that freaking cruise!" Dean screeched, his hands on his hips.
"And why is that a cause for breaking my vase?"
"It's to…" Dean's voice quieted, "To uh…prove a point! That's it! To prove a point!"
Sam looked sheepishly at Cas; his guess becoming more and more real. Those blue eyes…were they always like that? And his lips, were they always so pink? Sam shook his head. Just how much had he had to drink today?
"Cas and Sammy can go, but there is no way I'm going!" Dean fumed.
"Would you mind telling us why you won't go?" Bobby asked sharply. "Because I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Bobby—" Dean faltered, looking at Cas. "It's a gay pride thing. We have to be gay to go."
"Shouldn't be too difficult for you kids. Get your bags packed, the ship sets sail tomorrow," Bobby snorted, leaving Dean to rant on his own. "I don't want you in my house in the morning."
As the man went to the kitchen to fetch yet another beer, Cas caught Sam's glance. Sammy's eyes couldn't hide anything: his suspicions were written on his face. Yet, Cas simply nodded his head, and turned to watch Dean as he stomped off outside. Perhaps Sam was right…perhaps he wasn't as drunk as he thought he was.