Dean worked for nine hours at the Family Business Mechanic. By the end of the day, his hands were covered in oil, under his nails, everywhere. The end of his shift was nearing when a tan truck rolled in.
"What do you think is wrong?" Dean asked from the counter as he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up. Startling blue eyes, a fancy coat… the mysterious Uncle Castiel with the weird kid who didn't talk much.
"It has failed me. Can I get a new one here?" Castiel asked.
"Well, Cas, if it's that bad, you should go to a dealership." Dean said.
"Cas?"
"Shortened version of your name."
"How do you know my name?"
"I met you this morning. I'm Emma's dad."
"Who?" Castiel asked, tilting his head. "Oh… you."
"Yeah." Dean said. His memory might be bad, but it wasn't as bad as Castiel's. Or maybe he was so pompous and sheltered and his nose was too high in the air to see that Dean was a person. He pushed down all of the things he wanted to say and checked the car. "It stopped working because you have a flat tire."
"A… flat tire?"
"You need a new tire." Dean said. "What's this type?"
"Uh… truck?" Castiel asked. Dean sighed, putting his face in his hands. "Oh, don't do that. You'll get more… dirty."
Dean grabbed his coat, making him jump. Once again, Dean had always been a clean freak, but Castiel was ridiculous. How could someone not know anything about cars? "Oh, sorry, Cas. Why don't you tell me about yourself while I find a tire?"
"Okay." Castiel replied. "Uh… my father's name is Charles. He was a single father, an author and a musician. He was deemed unfit for taking care of my siblings and I, so we were sent to our aunt, who lives by Kane Lake, on the other side of the town."
"You have a lot of siblings?"
"Yes."
"One of your siblings is Jack's dad?"
"Yes."
"What happened to him? I'm just asking, because my daughter is friends with Jack…"
"He was arrested. My friend, Kelly was pregnant with Jack at the time and she discovered that she wasn't going to survive. She named me as his godfather and gave me custody. I've raised Jack here, his whole life."
"Oh… you don't get out much, do you?"
"No."
"What do you do? For work, I mean?"
"I'm a Professor at Lebanon University."
"Oh! My brother went to Stanford, but I've heard about it. What do you teach?"
"Generally I teach history and religion/myth studies." Castiel said. Dean smiled, feeling less nervous around the weird guy.
"Would you and Jack like to come over for dinner tonight? I'm making burgers." Dean said, finally finishing the wheel and walking to the front desk.
"Uh… alright. Sure. Yes. Great."
"Awesome." Dean smiled.