For the rest of the evening and well into the next week, Cas was too overwhelmed by the memory of his brief encounter with Dean to think of much else, merely running the film reel of that evening's events over and over in his head. He wondered if Dean had been as annoyed as he'd sounded. He'd said 'I wish to God you would leave me alone'. Cas frowned, recalling the exact words. It seemed a bit rude. But then, Cas realized, he had broken the other boy's hammock, after all. He felt a rush of irritation at himself. Great job, you want to win his heart and instead you break his hammock. Very smooth, Cas chastised himself. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Dean was probably pretty mad at him right now. And he had every right to be. Cas sighed deeply.

"Okay, that's it." Luc clapped his book shut. "You're getting on my nerves, little brother. We need to get you out of the house." Since the book-shelving project was going so slowly, Cas had engaged his older brother's help to speed it along. What ended up happening, of course, was that both of them got distracted by books and ended up sitting side by side on the floor reading.

Cas blinked at Luc in confusion. "What? How am I... getting on your nerves?"

Luc stood up and stretched before poking Cas with the toe of his boot. "All the lovesick sighs. It's silly. I'm embarrassed for you. C'mon, get up. Let's hit the road, I got an idea."

He turned and left the room, and Cas got up and followed, half annoyed and half curious. "What's your idea?" he asked, obediently tying his shoes while Luc pulled on his old leather jacket.

"It's a surprise," his older brother teased, tossing the keys to his pickup in the air and catching them again in one hand. "Hurry up or I'll leave without you."

Cas knew he wouldn't really leave without him. Or, at least, he was about 90% confident he wouldn't. You never knew for sure with Luc.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, Luc slowed his old baby-blue pickup and pulled up in front of a long rusty metal gate. He leaned out the window, peering around to make sure no one else was there, and then poked Cas in the side. "Hop out and open the gate, then close it after us. Go on, it's not locked, it's just heavy."

Cas did as requested, let the truck through, and heaved the gate back into place. Then he turned around and his eyes widened at the sight. They were in a huge dirt parking-lot area filled with the most random collection of stuff he'd ever seen. There were heaps and heaps of scrap metal, but plenty of stuff that was still in one piece as well: a refrigerator and a stove leaning haphazardly against each other, a few sets of shelves lined with cans and bottles, and piles of lumber abutting a mountain of old bicycles, car doors, and unidentifiable electronics. On the far side of the whole yard were about six rusted-out vehicles of various types: a couple of vintage cars in terrible shape, a small horse trailer, and a tractor, and closer to them there was another pickup in much better shape, with its bed full of various mechanical odds and ends.

Luc hopped out of his truck and smirked at Cas, throwing his arms wide. "Welcome to the dump!" he crowed. "It's more fun than a barrel of monkeys in sulfuric acid!"

His brother had a habit of saying rather disturbing things, but Cas tried not to let it get to him. He merely stared around, his eyes wide as he tried to take in everything at once. Slowly he became aware of a scraping sound from behind the huge pile of wood and metal, and before he could draw Luc's attention to it, a man stepped out from behind it and approached them with a wary expression.

"Oh shit," Luc commented philosophically. "Looks like we're busted. You gonna kick us out of here, mister?"

The man answered with a question of his own. "You boys ain't from the town, are ya?"

"From the town?" Cas frowned and tipped his head slightly.

The stranger gave a grim one-sided smile and said "Okay, I got it. We're all here for the same reason, right? Might not be strictly legal, but we're in good company." He was close enough now to shake hands with them, but he didn't, merely examining each one closely. "Say, you're our new neighbors, aren't you? I'm John Winchester."

Cas realized with a start that this must be Dean's father. Time to make a good impression. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Winchester," he said. "I'm Cas, and this is my brother Luc."

Luc fractionally raised one eyebrow, which was friendly behavior by his standards. John gave a brusque nod in return. "Well, I'll let you boys get on with it, then. There's a brand new mini-fridge in the shed if you want it. Everything in the back of the truck's already claimed." He gestured to the other pickup, and Cas realized it must be his––that was why it was in so much better shape than the other cars here.

When John Winchester had vanished behind the scrap metal again, Luc immediately headed over to the other man's truck and began eyeing the items in it. "Luc!" Cas cautioned, trying to keep his voice down. "That's off-limits. It belongs to him." Luc lifted a heavy parka out of the truck bed for closer inspection. "Put it back!" Cas hissed.

To his surprise, Luc did, turning back to him with a slowly widening smile. "Ohhhh, I get it. You want me to play nice with your future father-in-law." With a look of mock innocence he threw both his hands in the air and sauntered away from the truck. "No problemo. I certainly don't want to mar your eventual marital bliss with a little family tiff."

Cas blushed furiously and glared at his brother. "I think you're thinking a bit too far ahead," he said severely. "Dean doesn't even like me yet, let alone..." He paused and swallowed, unable to finish the sentence.

Luc's grin showed that he understood all too well. He punched his little brother in the shoulder with what could almost be considered affection. "Well, I've got a fabulous idea, you pining little lovebird, you. Why don't you have a look around and see if you can find a nice present for Mr. Hot Stuff? Maybe if you ply him with gifts he'll return the favor, if you know what I mean."

Utterly flustered, not to mention offended, by his brother's lewd implications, Cas rushed away between the piles of miscellaneous stuff, and for lack of anything else to do, started looking around for something Dean might like. When he caught sight of a large curved metal contraption, it took him a moment to figure out what it was, but when he did, his eyes went wide. A hammock frame. As much as he hated to follow Luc's advice, the frame would make a very appropriate peace offering to Dean, who was probably still thinking of Cas as the weird kid who broke his hammock.

When he shyly told his brother his idea, Luc burst out laughing. "You really are serious about this guy, aren't you? What a scream. Well fine, if you're gonna do it, you'd better do it right. Take my truck tomorrow, you can bring Dean over here and show him the frame. Meanwhile, let's tug it over here out of the way so nobody else grabs it and skedaddles."

***

The next day at five minutes to three, Cas was sitting in Luc's pickup outside the local high school, more nervous than he had felt in a long time. The more he thought about it, the clearer it became that his behavior towards Dean had been absolutely idiotic. Why on earth had he jumped into the hammock with him like that? Dean had been peaceful, probably enjoying his solitude until Cas had bumbled in, scaring him and breaking his hammock. And yet, Gabe's encouraging words were still echoing in the back of his mind: If he doesn't know what's good for him, you'd better show him! Take some initiative. So that was exactly what Cas was doing, even if it scared and depressed him to be in such close proximity to this heartless kid-processing machine known as a 'school'. The building loomed in front of him. Cas felt like a brave knight on his baby-blue Ford steed, facing off against the fat ugly brown-brick dragon of a building that crouched in front of him.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and within a few minutes the building's doors sprang open and kids began pouring out onto the sidewalk. Hmm, Cas thought with horrified fascination, This dragon breathes talkative multi-colored fire. He desperately scanned the faces for a certain pair of green eyes, and finally caught sight of Dean making his way through the crowd. He hadn't noticed the truck, so on impulse Cas hit the horn, instantly regretting it when Dean jumped like a startled gazelle. But at least he was looking at Cas now, with those amazing eyes. For a minute, Cas thought the other boy might look away again and keep walking, but then Dean slowly approached the pickup and peered in through the open window.

"Howdy pardner," he said, teasing with a strong Southern accent. "What's with the truck? I think your forgot your straw hat and overalls."

A flood of relief rushed through Castiel when he realized that Dean wasn't mad at him, or at least not as mad as he had every right to be. Cas was still unnerved by the throngs of loud students flowing all around them, though, and he wanted to get out of there fast. "It's not mine, it belongs to Luc," he said quickly. "I don't have my own car. I borrowed it because I needed it. Please get in, Dean," he almost begged. "The soul-crushing atmosphere of this place is making me very uncomfortable. I would like to leave."

To Cas's displeasure, Dean stepped away from the truck. "Go ahead, then. I'm not stopping you."

Clearly this boy was just not getting it. "No! I want to leave with you," Cas explained in irritation. "Get in the car, Dean. I need to show you something."

Dean hesitated briefly, glanced to his left, and seemed to make up his mind. He tugged at the passenger side door's handle. "You gotta unlock the door if you want me to get in."

"It is unlocked," said Cas in confusion. After all, he'd just used that exact door yesterday. But there was a pattern of things that usually happened around Luc, and this fit the pattern. "I suppose it must be broken. That's not really a surprise. Things tend to fall apart around my brother." He slid across to open the door for Dean and then returned to the driver's seat, watching out of the corner of his eye as the other boy climbed in.

When he was settled, Dean asked "So, you said you had something to show me?"

"Yes. At the dump." Cas took a deep breath. He hating driving, although he was good enough at it. He just couldn't help thinking of everything that could go wrong. Automobiles were such monstrous big creatures. He started the engine and craned his neck in every possible direction to ensure that the coast was clear before pulling out of his parking spot.

Still, Cas nearly spun the wheel too far and went off the far side of the road when Dean scoffed and said "The dump? Real romantic date, dude."

For a split second Cas panicked, wondering if Dean really thought this was an attempt at romance on his part. "It's not a date! I wouldn't take you on a date to the dump!"

"Relax, I was just kidding," Dean grumbled. "Where is the dump anyway?"

"About five minutes from here." Cas let himself keep talking, saying whatever came into his head, as they continued down the road. He knew he was blathering, but you couldn't really blame him: it was already stressful enough driving at all, let alone driving Luc's huge pickup with the guy he had a crush on sitting right next to him.

Luckily, Dean let him ramble, not interrupting until they were turning into the entrance to the town dump. The gate was open today. "So, come here often?" Dean asked.

Pulling into a suitably out-of-the-way parking spot, Cas finally relaxed a bit, and gave Dean a small frown. "Certainly not. But I happened to be here the other day and encountered your father. He had taken most of the good stuff by the time I arrived."

"How do you know who my father is?" Dean asked almost accusingly.

Cas carefully turned off the engine and pocketed the keys. "I'm very observant, Dean. You're evidently not. But don't worry; it's a skill that can be learned." He reflected for a brief moment, then added: "For some. Now, come on, I have something for you."

When they got out of the truck, Dean recognized the hammock frame immediately, and Cas was delighted to see a smile spreading over the other boy's face. Dean examined it closely, and Cas couldn't help noticing the skilful touch of his hands as they tested the metal's strength. When Dean finally glanced up again, Cas burst out "Do you like it?" Realizing how childish he sounded, he quickly continued. "If you do, I thought we could put it in the back of the truck and take it home right now. Before anyone else takes it. I mean, I don't know that anyone else will take it. But just in case hammock frames become a hot commodity tomorrow. Nobody cares if you take stuff from here, as long as they don't actually catch you in the act. I'm sure we won't get in trouble."

"Nah, my dad does this all the time," Dean responded. Luckily, no one came along before they had successfully loaded the frame into the truck bed and had left the dump in the rearview mirror. Although he was still tensely focused on the road as always, Cas took note that Dean was far more relaxed on the way home, even pretending to play along to a guitar solo on the radio. Cas noted the type of music for future reference. Apparently Dean liked the oldies station.

Back home again, they unloaded the hammock frame together and set it up in the backyard of Dean's house. Even this comparatively small project showed Cas a new side of his neighbor: when it came to physical and organizational stuff––lifting and moving the frame, telling Cas where to stand and how to hold it, knowing from one glance exactly what type of tools they'd need––Dean was a natural. He had an easy familiarity in his interactions with the world around him that fascinated Cas. He felt like he could happily watch an entire feature film that was just Dean pounding in nails.

Finally their work was done, and Dean gave the hammock in its frame an approving once-over, stepping back next to Cas. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Yes," Cas agreed. "And now you won't have to damage the trees anymore by sticking things into them."

"Oh, I see, your motivation for all this was some silly hippie tree-hugging thing, was it?" Dean asked, eyes sparkling with playfulness.

Cas's heart jumped at the sight, and he put on his most severe expression to hide it. "It's not 'silly' to take the Earth's protection seriously. It's the only matter that affects literally all of us, and unfortunately it's also the only one that no one feels is their personal responsibility. But it's the personal responsibility of all of us. I hope you recycle and save water whenever you can, Dean. Do you own a bicycle? You should. It's better than driving everywhere."

"I take the bus to school," Dean shot back. "That is, when my freakish neighbor doesn't insist on giving me a ride home in his brother's gas-guzzling pickup truck."

Cas stumbled over his own words in an attempt to defend himself. "That––this was an isolated incident. I will not have gifts for you every day."

"Aw, you won't?" The look Dean was giving him right now ought to be illegal, all puppy-dog eyes and teasing pout. "And here I was gettin' all excited about it, too. I mean, nobody's ever taken me to the dump and given me an ugly metal hammock frame before. I thought this meant we were pretty much engaged to be married."

Cas's mouth fell slightly open. Dean––excited? He called the frame ugly... engaged? married?! It was too much. He felt like his brain was one big blinking 'ERROR' message. He stood frozen to the spot until Dean made it even worse by giving him a light punch in the shoulder. "Thanks for the gift, thanks for the lift. I'll be seein' ya." And he was gone, before Castiel had any idea how to react.