"I don't understand why you're making me do this, Dean."
"It doesn't hurt to learn, Cas."
"I can be anywhere I want to in a second. This isn't necessary."
"What if you end up human again? Huh? Besides this will help you... I don't know, blend in more. Plus, Sammy and I need a D&D." Deans elbow nudged Castiel.
"A… What?"
"Designated driver."
"I don't understand." Dean sighed.
"Never mind. Look, it's not that hard. You turn a wheel and push peddles on the floor."
"I'm an angel of the lord, Dean. Not a... designated driver."
"Yeah, well while you're here on earth you're going to be. Now, start the car."
Dean and Castiel sat in the front seats of the Impala, but this time Dean wasn't in the driver's seat. Castiel turned the key just as he has seen Dean do many times before, and felt the car start up beneath him.
"Now, put your hands on the wheel." Dean instructed. Castiel hesitated for a moment before doing so. Dean huffed, reaching over and fixing where his hands rested. "There. Remember, you only drive with one foot."
"You… I don't understand. You have two feet and you drive all the time." Castiel responded, looking at Dean with his brow furrowed. Dean stared at him before shaking his head, rubbing his temples.
"No, Cas. You only have one foot on the peddles while driving. You can't have one foot on the gas and one foot on the break. It doesn't work that way."
"Which one is which?" Cas said, hunching down to observe the floor.
"The one to the right is the gas. The left is the break." Castiel nodded, gaining some understanding. "Okay, now press on the break."
"But we aren't even moving."
"You have to have the break pressed to change gears, Cas. Here, try it." Castiel moved his foot off the break and reached down with one hand. He gripped the gear shift, trying to shove it down from the P to the D. It wouldn't budge, and Castiels brow furrowed in frustration. "See?"
"Okay. Yes. I understand." The angel said, moving his foot back to the break. He pressed on it, feeling Dean's eyes on his face. Castiels hand flexed over the gear shift, yanking into drive, and waited for further instruction from Dean.
Dean looked out at the road ahead of them. It was empty, and dirt surrounded both sides. He resisted smiling at the angel beside him. He wasn't just being nice Castiel really was an angel, but he was in more ways than one.
"Put your foot on the gas—That's the one right beside the break, and slowly press down on it." He did so, and the Impala slowly started to creep forward.
"Am I doing this correctly?" Castiel sounded confused and slightly worried like he always did when it came to human technology. Of course, there was some human technology that he didn't mind, Dean remembered with a slight flush. He shook images of the man beside him shirtless out of his head and focused on the fact he was letting someone who has never driven a car before drive his precious Impala.
"You're doing fine, Cas." Dean responded, his hand gripping the side of the seat. "Try going a tad faster." He did so, and the car reached about 10 miles an hour.
"I know how important to you this automobile is, Dean." He said, his eyes locked on the street.
"Cas, it's okay. You're doing fine. It's a straight shot. All you have to do is pay attention and drive the car forward."
Castiel learning to drive was one of the very many things the Winchester brothers had been teaching him to do. How to properly interact with human beings was at the top of that long list. Another one was how to cook, but that had gone over pretty bad. Dean recalled with sadness the amount of burnt pie's Cas had tried to cook for him. It was a sweet gesture, though, he had to admit.
Sam had told Cas that he had to earn his keep with the Winchesters while he was on earth. Cas agreed, and as far as they could tell he was enjoying learning human customs. It was a sort of adventure for all three of them. A slightly dangerous and potentially life threatening adventure, but an adventure nonetheless. It brought Dean and Castiel closer together than the two men would have ever thought to be possible.
Oh, boy did it bring them close.
"This is not so bad." Castiel spoke, the muscles in his shoulders finally relaxing. Dean did smile this time, looking at him affectionately.
"See? It's no problem. All you have to do is—" They hit a pot hole, causing the car to jerk. Castiel panicked, spinning the wheel sideways, his foot slamming down on the gas. Dean shouted out, and they were suddenly stopped, Deans head smacking against the window. Castiel froze, staring at the tree that had suddenly appeared, embedded into the front of the Impala.
"I don't think that was supposed to happen." He said, and Dean made a strange noise. His mouth was hanging open, staring at the dents and scratches. Castiel frowned. It shouldn't be that hard to fix, is it? Castiel has the ability to heal a human and teleport him places, why can't he fix a simple machine? Of course, Dean did seem to be pretty upset about it…
"My… My car!" Dean choked out, gripping the dashboard.
"I do believe the tree may have gotten the worst of it." Castiel responded, and a limb fell from the tree, hitting the windshield with a crack and rolling across the hood. A small fissure appeared where it had landed, and Dean buried his face in his hands. Castiel reached a hand over, laying it gently on his shoulder. "I apologize."
Dean took a few deep breaths and counted to ten in his head.
"It's. Fine." He choked out, then breathed in again slowly, raising his head. "It's not totaled. It's not totaled. It's not totaled."
"I heard you the first time, Dean."
Dean Winchester groaned and let his face fall back into his hands.