AN: Thanks Mummabro, Cas is fun to write even just for his interactions. Thanks Master's daughter, I like Lil too. You'll see more of her later. Hope you all like this chapter. Now for the many chapters of Dean and Cas (Oh, and Bobby).
The truck rumbled down the highway in a way that set Cas on edge. Even the slightest bump in the road made him fear that an essential component of the vehicle would come loose and that they would soon die. He never felt like this in a vehicle before. This truck seemed to be held together with grease and dreams.
"So, you comfortable?" Dean asked with more volume than would normally be necessary.
"Oh, yeah, completely comfortable." The sarcasm was dripping from his words, but he wasn't sure if it carried past the rattling beast noises.
Apparently, Dean picked up on Cas' tone though, because he laughed a hearty belly laugh that made Cas temporarily forget his discomfort. "Bobby, has no time for his own projects, so sadly, his truck is the worst thing on the lot." Then as if he regretted his statement, he patted the dash and said, "Oh, sorry dude. I didn't mean to insult you. Just get back to Bobby."
Cas had to laugh at that. "So, now you are the Car Whisperer? If we were outside, I would be backing away slowly."
"Good thing we're not outside then. You're stuck with me." Cas liked the way that things were easy with Dean when they were alone. Maybe we can just not be around people for like ever. They hit a small pit in the road and the truck rattled Cas out of his thoughts.
Dean glanced at Cas and smiled. "You think this highway is bad, wait 'till we hit Bobby's road. I'll do my best to avoid the potholes, but you might want to brace yourself now."
"You didn't warn me about this." Cas had a hand on the seat in between them and his other hand gripped the handle in the door. He wasn't truly worried about dying or anything, he just didn't like the jarring nature of the car, the noise of it. It's only twenty minutes.
"Would you like some music?" Dean reached under the seat before Cas could answer and pulled out a box of cassette tapes.
"Cassette tapes?" Cas looked down at the box, running his fingers over the little plastic cases. "I didn't even think that these existed any more."
"This is where old cassettes go to die, Cas. Dean Winchester's home for wayward music." Dean was still grinning, enjoying, it seemed, the drive and what little conversation they could have in the truck.
Cas pulled some out and read the covers. "Bat Out of Hell, Highway to Hell, Set the World Afire." Cas looked up at Dean then. "You certainly have a theme here. It's all fire and brimstone with you."
"What, you want some sappy pop music? You're gonna have to go find someone else to provide that sort of thing." Dean reached down and randomly pulled out a tape. "Let me broaden your musical horizons, Cas."
"I have broad musical horizons."
"Said the guy who sang 'Dancing Queen' probably without looking at the prompter."
"Hey, you don't know that. You weren't even there then." Cas laughed at him, secretly knowing that his words were accurate.
"I am so right." So maybe Dean did know a little. Dean rather impressively opened up the cassette case with one hand and pulled out the cassette. He tossed the case aside and put the tape into the deck.
The loudness of the car was nothing now compared to the blaringly loud guitar riffs and singing that erupted from the speakers. "Oh, God!" Cas yelped as the so-called music blasted through him. He picked up the case to investigate the selection, and to make sure that he never accidentally bought this album. The cover told him that he was listening to the 'Blizzard of Ozz'. Well, we're certainly not in Kansas anymore. He looked at the back of the case and read through the tracks. If he was hearing the lyrics right, which was not a certainty, they were not on the first song. So someone actually listened to half of this album.
Dean started singing along then, and despite his efforts, the song did not sound better. Cas was doing his best though to find the peace. He stared at Dean and wondered how he had managed to get into this situation. When did you become my kind of thing? Dean cast a side-long look back at him and smiled. "Good stuff, huh?"
"The best." Cas' sarcasm was not as present as it was before. In fact, he may have even been a little sincere, but he wasn't thinking of the album or the the song when he answered.
"Yeah, the Ozzman is awesome. You know he has a song about Crowley. Well, not the one we met, but…"
"He just gets more interesting by the second." Ozzy's voice was still filling the truck cab and Dean's vocals picked up again to join him. Cas found himself smiling again. He decided to thumb through the cassettes in order to pick out their next round of torture. He was looking for anything that wasn't going to involve screaming or something sounding like instrument abuse. He eliminated several albums just on the cover art alone, despite their innocuous titles. Sorry, but if you put a bunch of goop on your cover and call your album 'Load' you are in the NO category.
Cas finally settled on the Meatloaf album that he saw at the beginning. At least one of the songs is familiar. He waited for the song to end and then held up his selection for Dean's approval. Dean turned down the volume, and they were greeted once again with the audible sounds of the truck rattling away.
"What, you don't like Ozzy?"
"Looking for variety."
"Okay. You didn't even wait for 'Crazy Train' to come around. Everyone knows that one."
"I can be patient if you want to wait for that one. I'm not exactly chomping at the bit for Meatloaf."
"Yeah, I forgot, you are kind of a salad guy." Dean laughed at his own little joke.
He grabbed the tape from Cas and ejected the other album. 'Bat Out of Hell' was inserted and before Dean turned up the volume, Cas asked, "You said that we had a lot to talk about this weekend."
"I did." Dean did not continue.
"And, you apparently want to wait?" Cas' voice took an uptilt making his words into a question.
"It's still Friday. I have one more day before it is technically a weekend. Plus, I am not sure how to share this. Also, I am not certain that I should share this. So, I need time to get my head around this. Be the patient guy that you keep claiming that you are."
"Not sure if you noticed Dean, but I tend to only say I am patient. I tend to not practice patience."
"I noticed. Also, not complaining either." Dean cast a look over at Cas. Cas remembered the results the last time that he claimed that he could be patient and wait for Dean. All of this thinking made Cas long for closeness. He looked over at Dean past the empty space between them. Cas wanted to move to the middle seat. He undid the seatbelt and slid over to the new seat. He fastened the center seatbelt and pretended that nothing had just happened.
"So If I wake you up, bright and early tomorrow, you'll tell me what you wanted to tell me?"
"Are you trying to manipulate me, Cas?" Dean smiled at Cas then and bumped his shoulder into him with affection.
"Is it working?" Cas bumped him back, then sat there enjoying the closeness.
Dean didn't look at him when he responded, "Everything is working."
"So, you feeling good enough to tell me your deep dark secrets now?" Cas bumped him in the shoulder again playfully.
"I don't have deep dark secrets, just things that you need to know if you are going to be sticking around."
"Why wouldn't I? You sound like you actually think that I have plans to bale." Cas looked at him then, trying to read his face.
"I can't imagine what you get out of this. I just don't see how this makes sense for you." Dean chanced a glance at Cas and then quickly looked back at the road when their eyes met.
"Dean, I think that you just don't see me. This is so good for me, you don't even know. I just hope that it is good for you too." Cas didn't break his stare at Dean's profile. He hoped to see a reaction to his words..
"It is almost too good. I am constantly overwhelmed." Dean looked serious. "I can't seem to keep my head straight."
"That's good. Straight guys aren't usually attracted to me." Cas said with mirth.
"Well, then." Dean squirmed about a little.
Cas placed a hand on his leg then and stared straight ahead. "I'm glad that we get to spend time together this weekend. I was regretting it, with all of the stuff that we talked about at the garage, but I'm over that now. I'll take what I can get. Even these little moments are enough."
"Cas, you have to go back to your side of the car."
"Why?" Cas looked at him with concern. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, you just need to go back, before we hit a tree or something. You are too distracting." Dean gave him a pointed look, and Cas laughed at him.
"What if I don't?" Cas took on a look of mischief.
"We will likely die. I hope that you had a good life." Dean responded.
"I trust that you can handle this." Cas continued to sit there with his hand on Dean's leg until Dean reached down and gently moved it off.
"Better now?" Cas asked, lowering his voice a bit to take on the gravelly tone that he knew Dean admired.
"God, Cas." Dean seemed to be trying to avoid looking at him. His arms were ramrod straight.
Cas began again with his voice still lowered. "I would hate to think that you might have to pull over or something."
"We are on the highway, Cas. You have to stop."
Cas just smiled at him, and as he was about to open his mouth to speak again, Dean reached over to the stereo and cranked up the volume. "Ah, you are trying to drown me out."
Cas was happy to hear that the song was 'I Would Do Anything for Love" and that it had only just started. At least one could sing along with this one, and it wasn't nightmare inducing. He began singing along and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Dean kept glancing over at him. He decided to just go for it and started belting out the lines as the chorus rose up. He rocked back and forth as he sang. He paused only long enough to shout over the music, "Come on, Dean. I know that you know the lyrics." Then he started back up with new vigor.
"You are nuts." Dean smiled, but he sang along. Dean sometimes stopped singing when the lines became too quiet. He kept sending furtive glances at Cas with each new pass through the chorus as if he suspected that Cas was singing the words to him. As the song passed into the silence at the end Dean reached out a hand then and rested it on Cas' leg. "God, Cas. I wish that I were better with words."
"What do you mean?" Cas reached up and turned down the volume.
"I just don't know how to say what I'm thinking half the time. It sucks. I feel all kinds of things and stuff, and then it all just gets mushed up into rambling piles of gibberish. Kind of like right now." Dean turned on the signal and exited the highway. Cas wondered briefly if he was looking for a place to pull over. That did not seem to be the case though, as Dean was driving down a rather long empty road.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere, so if something comes to you, feel free to share. Or don't, no pressure. You know how patient I am." Dean laughed at him and Cas rested his hand on Dean's. The road became a mess of potholes and Dean moved his hand back up to the steering wheel. Cas felt the same discomfort he felt at the beginning of the drive as the truck jarred and rattled through the potholes that Dean couldn't avoid. Cas grabbed Dean's leg, not out of affection, but out of nervousness.
"We're almost there. You doing okay?" Dean looked over with a comforting smile.
"I'll be fine." Cas smiled back. Dean turned the music back up, but they did not sing along now. They just stared ahead at the open road stretching out ahead of them.
Review, Fav., Follow. Are the song references working? Also, how did you feel about this chapter? Let me know, because I just love the feedback. Up next, revelations.