Dean sat in the drivers' seat of his car and leaned his head against the wheel. He was sobbing. The people who knew him well knew that he did not cry unless one of three things had been damaged. His brother, his car or his dog. On this day, his only comfort was in the rumpled leather seats and the crackle of the stereo trying to choke out an unrecognizable Metallica tune. On this day, he was crying for Cas his missing golden retriever.
Any random passerby seeing this particular grown man in this state would have been more than a bit concerned. Dean was in his early thirties. He had vibrant green eyes and a perpetual five o'clock shadow that may as well have been superglued to his perfectly sculpted face. Every inch of him was toned and muscular. Scars ran up and down his arms from the years of hunting alongside his father. Anyone looking at him got the impression that he had been to hell and back so often he could recite the path by memory. He was the most masculine of the masculine. He had also had his fair share of loss in his lifetime, which is why the loss of his pet shouldn't have had such an effect on him. But, as Dean put it, him and Cas shared a "profound bond."
"Dean, we have to get moving. We've been looking for hours." Sam, Deans younger and less rugged looking brother, emerged from the woods where Cas was last seen.
"No, this is my fault. I have to keep looking for him." Dean had been the one to lose Cas in the first place. They had been walking when Cas caught sight of a bee and ran off to chase it. Dean couldn't keep up with his wayward pet. He pulled on the leash hoping this would stop him dead in his tracks. Instead, it resulted in the thin piece of fabric splitting in two allowing Cas to run off and leave Dean stranded in the middle of the woods.
"Dean, we have to get going. We can't just stay here and look. We're wasting our time. Let's just go home and sleep. You're exhausted." Sam knew he was fighting a losing battle.
"Sammy, you wanna go home, that's fine. But I'm taking the car and I'm going to keep looking for Cas." Dean turned the car on not waiting for Sam's response. He knew if he got ready slow enough Sam would eventually open the passenger door and get in.
Sam sighed and walked around to the other end of the car, opened the door and sat shotgun. "Fine, drive."
The rest of the ride was silent. Deans' eyes did not stop searching for Cas the whole night. Even when it became quite apparent that he was chasing his tail.