The storm came on quite suddenly.
All day the temperatures had been in the high 90's, and it was dry, dry, dry country. The wheels of the Impala had been kicking up dust in their wake from where it had drifted across the road. It seemed a blessing when the black rolling thunder came roaring up behind them, the wind overtaking them before the first sheets of rain could fall.
Dean and Sam rolled up their windows, and Dean squinted over the steering wheel. "Looks pretty bad," he grunted.
"Yeah, well, if we'd had the radio on instead of this same freaking music over and over again, we might've heard a storm warning," Sam complained.
"Well, look on the bright-side, now we've got the perfect music to ride it out," Dean said, cheerfully cranking the volume.
A sound like sheets flapping in the wind suddenly filled the car, even louder than the tunes. "Hello, Dean. Sam."
"Jesus fuck!" Dean wrenched the wheel, his heart pounding. If the rain hadn't only just begun, they probably would have hydroplaned into a ditch. "Damn it, Cas! What the hell are you—"
Dean glanced at the rearview mirror and was startled to see that Cas didn't look his usual unflappable (haha) self. He was sitting ramrod-straight on the edge of his seat, his hands clenched at his sides. He looked downright… scared.
"Cas?" Sam asked, turning in his seat. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong," he said, stiffly. "I came to give you an update. After careful survey, I have come to the conclusion… that God is not currently anywhere in Texas."
"Well that's great," Dean muttered under his breath. "Attitude like that, you could run for office."
There was a flash of lightning that seemed to split the sky. The resounding crash of thunder that followed came almost immediately, and even through the rattling of the car they could feel how that strike shook the earth.
Cas startled, badly, involuntarily letting out a small grunt of surprise. His hands were shaking a bit as he tried to smooth it over, just as he suddenly became interested in smoothing out some creases in his pants. "That was all," he said, quickly.
"Uh, that doesn't sound like all," Sam said. "What's got you so spooked?"
"I am not spooked. We are in the middle of a war, Sam. Lucifer walks the earth. I have every right to be a little concerned about the nature of—"
Another lightning crash interrupted him, three in succession, and when Dean glanced back Castiel was flat back against the seat, staring at the sky in terror. Dean and Sam exchanged surprised looks.
"Cas…? Buddy? Uh… you're not, by any chance… afraid of thunder, are you?" Dean asked, delicately.
"It does not sound like that in the stratosphere," Cas stated, shortly, trying to compose himself.
"Yeah, but," Sam said, like this was something he could be reasoned out of, "it's just lightning. I mean, you could probably get zapped with it and shrug it off, right?"
"I have… seen what lightning does to a human body," Cas said, clearly uncomfortable, and possibly a little ashamed. "Like my vessel. The way the… body burns… just as angels burn when…"
Dean thought he understood what Cas was getting at, and how he might have formed this unpleasant connection. Hell, the guy had already died once. "I get it, man," he said, bracingly. "But, ya know, my mom used to say, thunder's just God clearing his throat."
Castiel gave Dean a flat look. "I do not find that comforting."