Author's Note:
Lyrics from Something About You by Five For Fighting. I know that it's totally OOC for Cas to be singing, but this is an AU where he was raised completely differently from how he was on the show, so blame my fantasies aboout Cas singing and my love of Bon Jovi for this chapter.
"Well I never thought I would win, I never thought much about that
I never stopped to begin thinking about the process."
Dean's P.O.V.
All of us wanted to get to know each other a little better, so we picked a hunt a few hundred miles away and swapped passengers. I was reluctant to let Sammy ride with someone else and Gabriel was the same by Cas, but given that we would be on the same road right behind each other, we finally agreed to it.
I pulled off the dirt road and onto the highway, Castiel silent in the passenger's side. He was clearly as used to riding with Gabriel as Sammy was used to riding with me. I turned on some music to ease the tension. Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" flowed from the speakers. Grinning, I started singing along at the top of my lungs.
"C'mon, join in," I said, slapping Cas on the arm.
"I do not know the lyrics."
"Just follow my lead. It's a bit of an initiation to riding shotgun in the Impala, you have to sing along with the driver."
He didn't realize I was kidding. "Oh, my apologies. I wasn't aware of the mandatory ritual."
"Well now you know," I smirked.
The chorus started, and he very quietly joined in. His voice was barely audible over the radio. Still, I could hear that it was husky and uneven but still somehow…beautiful. Maybe even hypnotic. Who knew the gruff angel could sing so well. I smiled and started singing even louder in a hint for him to do the same.
"'This is for ones who stood their ground, for Tommy and Gina who never backed down. Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake, luck ain't even lucky gotta make your own brakes,'" I sang, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel.
Just as I hoped, his voice got louder as we shot back into the chorus. "'It's my life, it's now or never. I ain't gonna live forever. I just wanna live while I'm alive, 'cause it's my life. It's my life," we sang, a reluctant grin forming on his lips, "My heart is like an open highway, like Frankie said I did it my way. I just wanna live while I'm alive. It's my life.'"
We ended up singing throughout the whole damn Bon Jovi tape. I felt more open and free than I had in years. I had no idea the deadpan little dude could be so much fun. I sounded like a sick dog compared to his voice, but who cared? We were having fun and that was all I really cared about.
"Cas, that whole deadpan humor thing's really misleading, you know?" I laughed as I switched to an AC/DC tape. We'd reached the end of the Bon Jovi one.
"What do you mean?"
I smiled. "You're a lot more fun that you look."
"Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"A little of both."
He nodded and stared out the window. We fell into a comfortable lull in the conversation, both too worn out from singing along with Bon Jovi to rock out to AC/DC. An hour later he fell asleep, his body relaxing against the seat. I'd always thought Sammy would be the only person that felt right in the Impala, but I found myself growing fond of my baby's newest passenger.
I looked in the rearview mirror to see the top of the Ferrari down, and Sam and Gabriel seemed to be playfully bickering over something. They appeared to get along as well as me and Cas. The four of us barely knew each other, but had become fast friends. I reminded myself to ask Cas sometime why he'd gotten so freaked when I'd said Mary was mine and Sam's mom. Right now he was sleeping too well for me to want to wake him up.
In the silence, broken only by AC/DC's "Highway To Hell," the reality of just how fast all this had happened hit me. Since when did Sam and Dean Winchester, the ever cautious hunters, say "Hey, I don't know you and generally I hate angels, but wanna tag along anyways" to people they didn't even know? My own actions were starting to confuse me.
I didn't regret bringing Cas and Gabriel in the slightest, but I couldn't figure out what made me do it. The strange bone deep trust I felt for them was the only thing guiding me. I just wish I knew why I trusted them so much. Especially Cas. I felt close to him for reasons I didn't have any hope of understanding.
Can we please skip the mental chick flick moment? my mind bitched. Sure, mind. Sounds great. I threw one more glance in the sleeping angel's direction before returning my attention to the road. It seemed like a never ending stretch before me, as black and merciless as the deepest pits of Hell.
Now, my semi-peaceful little world had been disrupted by the angel sleeping soundly in the passenger's seat…and I didn't even know why I wanted him with me in the first place.
"Baby there's something about that I can hold on to
I'm going to hold on to that
Baby there's something about that I can hold on to
I'm going to hold on to that."
