Summary: Dean had done so much for him; put so much work into getting comfortable with the bees just for Castiel's sake. He wanted to do something for him in return. In retrospect, fixing up the car when he'd never done anything like that before, hadn't been the best idea…

Castiel frowned as he leaned over the opened hood of his old Lincoln Continental. There were countless wires and different metal devices that he wouldn't have been able to name if his life depended on it, and the smell that met him was more than a little unpleasant. He let his eyes roam over the different parts of the engine in front of him for a few more seconds, before he gave up and pulled back with a deep sigh. He had to admit to himself that he had no idea what he was doing.

His plan was to fix up the car as a surprise for Dean. His boyfriend had been so sweet and supportive with his bees that he wanted to do something for him in return. Castiel could see how hard Dean was trying to become more comfortable around the bees, and even though he'd assured him multiple times that he didn't have to, Dean insisted on regularly helping him with the hives. It made Castiel incredibly happy to be able to share his hobby with his boyfriend. No one had ever shown as much interest and support for his beekeeping as Dean did. He was hoping to repay his efforts by engaging in Dean's passion in return.

At first, Castiel had thought about doing some work on the Impala - maybe just a polish and an oil change, since Dean kept his car very well maintained as opposed to himself – but he'd quickly disregarded the idea. Dean would kill him, if he messed anything up with his beloved Baby, and Castiel, quite frankly, didn't have anywhere near enough confidence in his abilities to risk messing with his boyfriend's car.

So he'd decided to get some work done on his own car. Dean regularly complained about the old Lincoln Continental that he jokingly called pimp-mobile. He knew it was unreasonable, that his car was far from nice, but Castiel was pretty attached to his car. So he had decided against a full repaint and instead decided to just fix the most obvious issues. The first time that Dean had driven in Castiel's car, his look on his face had been somewhere between constipation and an aneurysm. Afterwards he'd refused to set another foot inside the car. Castiel had to admit that it did occasionally make a few weird noises, but as long as it was running he'd never seen a reason to get that taken care of. He'd declined Dean's offer to take a look for him.

All in all, Castiel was sure that Dean would appreciate it a lot, if he fixed the issues. (He could practically hear Dean's voice in his head, begging him to "get that piece of scrap-metal fixed up, before you die in a damn car crash".)

It was a Saturday, and he'd spend all morning researching cars and watching countless YouTube videos. He was painfully aware that he had no idea what he was doing and wouldn't be able to accomplish any miracles, but he figured he should at least be able to do some basic work. So he'd decided to replace the old windshield wipers, fix up the flickering taillight and take a general look at the engine. He was somewhat confident in his ability to do an oil change, and multiple videos had suggested that the occasional rattling noise came from a loose V-belt. Dean was coming by in the afternoon, and Castiel hoped to be finished by then.

So far he'd already replaced the windshield wipers, a task that actually hadn't been too difficult after a few helpful videos, and given the car a general wash. The cleaning had revealed a few more scratches in the paint, but as he didn't have anything to paint them over with, he'd postponed that task for now. Instead, he'd spend more than an hour unsuccessfully attempting to disassemble the taillight. In the end, the plastic covering had been removed, but cracked, and the little lightbulb was hanging down by its cable.

At that point Castiel had become more and more desperate. Nothing was working, and Dean was scheduled to arrive in just over an hour. So, he'd given up on the endeavor of the taillight for the moment and turned towards the most important part. The engine.

The hood was propped open, and the video on oil changes filled the screen of his phone as Castiel looked down at the mess in front of him with uncertainty. He wondered how he'd made it to thirty-six without ever learning a single thing about cars. The first step the video explained was to remove the filter so he could drain the oil, but he wasn't even sure which of the many pieces and plastic coverings was the oil filter.

He experimentally unscrewed one of the colored caps and sniffed at the opening. No. That smelled like the window cleaner stuff. He replaced the cap with the mental note to refill that later. On the next try he successfully opened the oil chamber (was that the right word?). He could immediately smell the stench of the old fluid. It had a slightly burned note to it – that probably wasn't good.

Now that he had the cap removed, he wondered how he was supposed to remove the oil. In the video it had just spilled out on its own as soon as the covering had been removed, hadn't it? With a sigh, Castiel went back to the beginning of the video.

It turned out that what he'd unscrewed wasn't the filter or drain plug at all, but the fill cap. The actual drain should be on the underside of the car. Castiel screwed the fill cap back on and barely stopped himself in time from pushing his greasy hand through his hair in frustration. How was he supposed to lift his car? The video suggested a lifting jack, but he didn't own something like that. Dean probably did. Castiel bit his lip and looked at the time on his phone. It was two twenty-five pm. Dean should be on his weekly call with his brother for at least one more hour. Maybe…

He squared his shoulder and made a decision. Dean lived just down the street and he knew where the key to his shed was hidden. If he hurried, he could get Dean's lifting jack and be back in no time.

Twenty-five minutes later, Castiel carefully maneuvered the machine onto his own driveway. He'd been able to sneak into Dean's backyard and out without his boyfriend noticing. He had been able to see him talking animatedly on the phone in his kitchen, but Dean had stood with his back to the window.

Knowing that his time was ticking down, Castiel made quick work of placing the jack in front of the car and carefully lifting it. The next step would be to locate and unlock the drain plug. If his research was correct, the filter shouldn't be connected to it in his car model, and he'd be able to remove that once all the oil had drained from the car.

With a wrench in hand, Castiel carefully crawled under the bed of the car. His heart was beating wildly in his chest with that much metal above him, and he prayed that the jack would hold. It suddenly seemed much too flimsy to support this many pounds of steel. It took him a moment to locate the oil drain, and then he had to crawl back out from under the car to get another wrench when the one he'd brought didn't fit.

Finally, he was able to unscrew the bolt, and he quickly pushed a big bucked beneath the opening as he fully removed it. Dark, sticky oil started to gush out from the opening, a considerable amount dripping down his hands before he could pull them away. "I probably should have worn gloves for this," he muttered to himself as he carefully stared to scoot backwards.

Before he was fully out from under the car, however, the oil drain started to gurgle and the steady stream of oil began to waver. Castiel frowned. There was no way all of the oil had drained already. He carefully crawled back forward. Just as he had reached his previous position, a big bubble of air formed right at the opening and oil sprayed out in a wide circle.

Castiel flinched back and gagged violently as a bit of the disgusting liquid entered his mouth. He spit out as much of it as he could and made a hasty retreat. His face and the upper part of his shirt were covered with splashes of oil. Castiel muttered curses under his breath as he quickly wiped his face with a nearby towel. Then he took a big swig of water out of the bottle he'd placed by his front door and cleaned out his mouth a few times, spitting the water into the bucket he'd used for cleaning earlier. His shirt was probably a lost cause.

The oil drain was still making weird noises underneath a car, and Castiel desperately unlocked his phone to look through the video for what he'd done wrong. He barely had to watch for more than two minutes. The fill cap. He should have removed it before starting the draining process! To let air flow down to replace the oil. Stupid!

He quickly took care of that. Almost instantly the oil flow underneath the car returned to a normal, clear stream. Castiel let out a breath of relief.

This really wasn't going well.

Still, he decided to at least take a look at the V-belt while the oil was still draining. So he leaned back over the hood. The make-up of the engine didn't make any more sense to him the second time. He had no idea where to even start looking for the V-belt. Back to his phone then.

As he straightened up again, he accidentally hit his head against the opened hood, hard. "Ow!" With a cry of pain he stumbled backwards, one hand cupping the back of his head.

"Cas?!"

The sudden sound of Dean's voice had him whirling around, one hand still clutching his head and the other instinctively moving back to steady himself. In doing so, he bumped against the frame of the car. The sudden jolt dislodged the lifting jack under the car, and suddenly, the Continental was slipping off it. One side crashed down, the other still caught on it's hinges.

Castiel quickly backed away from the car. He looked at Dean with wide eyes. His boyfriend was staring at him in shock. Castiel's shirt and hands were covered in oil, his face still had greasy streaks all over and he was holding his head where he'd hit it. The car behind him was leaning heavily to the side, the frame creaking ominously. The taillight was hanging down and there was a bit of oil seeping out from under the car. All in all he made quite the picture.

Castiel lowered his head in embarrassment, unable to look Dean in the eye. His boyfriend, however, crossed the distance between them in a few strides and took his face in his hands. "Cas, are you okay?! What happened?!" He gently pried Castiel's hand away from the back of his head and took a look at where the older man could already feel a bump starting to form.

"I was trying to fix up my car," Castiel muttered as he resigned himself to Dean's frantic check-over. He'd learned early into their relationship that Dean could be a bit of a mother-hen (not that he'd ever admit it). "I'm fine. It's just a little bump."

Once Dean was satisfied that Castiel wouldn't keel over any second, he pulled back and turned towards the mess that was Castiel's car with a frown. "Why didn't you call me? I could have helped you."

"I thought I could do it on my own."

"Cas, you do know that I'm a mechanic, right? If there is one thing that I'm good at, it's fixing cars." Dean's tone was joking, but Castiel could see a flicker of hurt in his eyes, so he was quick to explain,

"I know! That's why I wanted to surprise you with this. You've been trying so much with my bees, and I just wanted to return the favor. You've been complaining about my car for months, and I just thought…" He let his voice trail off. It didn't matter what he thought. It had been stupid. He should have known he'd never be able to pull this off. He lowered his eyes in defeat.

"Oh, Cas…" Dean gently took his hand, despite the fact that it was covered in oil, and waited until Castiel lifted his head again. "You didn't have to do that. I enjoy helping you with your bees." Castiel lifted an unconvinced eyebrow, but Dean continued before he could interrupt. "I do, really! You don't have to make it up to me or anything. This was really sweet of you. But I know you don't have any interest in cars, and you don't have to change that for me. I don't need you to pretend."

"Oh, you noticed that…" Castiel fought back a blush at the realization that Dean had known all along that he'd been bullshiting his way through all their car-conversations.

"Yeah," Dean laughed, "It wasn't really that subtle. But seriously, me learning the stuff with the bees isn't like a debt you have to repay. I like doing that with you."

Castiel bit his lip. It still felt a bit unfair to him. He wanted to make an effort for Den as well. "How about you show me how to take care of my car, sometime?"

Dean's eyes lit up at the suggestion and Castiel's heart instantly lightened. It was worth it just for that look on his boyfriend's face. God, he loved him. The thought made butterflies erupt in his stomach, like every time it came to his mind.

"I'd love to!" Dean said. "Though probably not today." He looked Castiel up and down and grinned. "You should probably take a shower and get rid of all the grease. What were you trying to do anyway?"

"Oil change," Castiel grumbled. Looking down at himself, he had to admit that Dean was probably right, he could really use a shower.

Dean leaned down to peer beneath the crookedly standing car. "Hey, it's not that bad! You actually got pretty far. I'll finish this up and get rid of the mess while you take a shower, alright?"

At first, Castiel wanted to protest, he'd made the mess, so he should be the one to clean it up, but then he decided against it. Dean was right, he dealt with situations like this on the daily. He was the car expert. It'd probably be quicker, if Castiel wasn't in the way. So he nodded and passed Dean the keys for the car, before he went inside the house.

He took a furrow shower, scrubbing himself clean until there wasn't even a speck of grease left underneath his fingernails. Once he'd left the bathroom and redressed in clean clothes, he went back downstairs and checked on Dean's progress. The other man had rightened the car on the jack and was currently lying underneath it. Castiel guessed he was probably changing the filter at the moment. The taillight had already been repaired.

Castiel went back inside, not wanting to disturb Dean in his work. As he stood in his kitchen, an idea came to his mind. There was something else he could do for Dean. Something that he was actually good at.

No more than five minutes later, he had everything that he needed arranged on the counter. He started by mixing flour and sugar, adding a pinch of salt and cold butter directly from the fridge. The water he added to the mixture was cold to ensure the texture would come out just right. As a last ingredient he added a drizzle of honey. He flattened the dough on the counter and rolled it out. Once he had a thin sheet, he lined the pie form with it. He let that sit for a bit while he got started on the filling.

He looked up from his work when he heard Dean opening the front door. "Babe? I'm done with the car!"

"Great! Thank you so much!" Castiel called back. He would have gone to hug Dean by the door, but he was hands deep in the pie filling. Also, he wanted this to be a surprise, so he called out, "Go take a shower before you come into the kitchen."

"Damn, should have made you wait and shower together," Dean grumbled loud enough for Castiel to hear. He rolled his eyes, but a small smile still slipped onto his lips.

While Dean cleaned himself up, Castiel hurried to get the pie finished and assembled. He was still weaving the last stripes together on top of pie when he heard the shower shut off. He hurriedly brushed the already prepared sugared egg wash over everything and finished it up with a few more drizzles of honey on top.

He had just pushed the pie into the oven, when Dean entered the kitchen, a wet towel still in hand as he was rubbing it over his head. Castiel whirled around, and for a moment he could just stare. Dean looked amazing fresh out of the shower, a few droplets still dripping down his face from his wet hair.

"Hey, sunshine," Dean said with a sly grin.

Castiel didn't even try to hold himself back as he went right over to Dean and kissed him. His boyfriend let out a satisfied sound and leaned into the kiss. When they parted, Castiel brushed a wet streak out of Dean's face and whispered, "Thank you for fixing my car, Dean."

"Any time, angel. Just have to ask," Dean murmured back. He was looking right at Castiel, and the older man had the feeling he was drowning in the vibrant green of his eyes. Then, Dean's nose twitched in interest. "What smells so good here?"

Castiel drew back and gestured towards the oven. "It made you a pie as a thank you. It's honey pie."

"With your honey?" Dean's eyes lit up. It made a warm feeling blossom in Castiel's chest that Dean liked his honey so much. Whenever he pointed out how much better than store bought honey it was, he just wanted to kiss his boyfriend senseless until they both ran out of breath.

"Yes," he said.

"Awesome!" Dean rushed over to the oven and peered inside. "Man, this looks amazing!"

"Thank you!" Castiel said modestly. In reality, Dean's childlike excitement over pie never failed to make him smile. "I hope you'll like it."

"Dude, I always love your pie. God, I love you so much!"

Castiel froze just a second before Den did as well. Inside of his chest, a firework of feelings was exploding. Love. Dean loved him.

Sure, they'd been dating for a few months by now, but so far neither of them had said the L-word. Castiel couldn't believe how happy it made him to hear it.

Dean, meanwhile, looked slightly panicked at his silence. "Cas, I…"

Castiel didn't wait for him to find his words. Instead, he closed the distance between them and pulled Dean into a bruising kiss. The other gasped in surprise at the sudden assault, but quickly returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm. Castiel only pulled back long enough to say, "Me too! God, of course, I love you too, Dean!"

The smile that the words brought to Dean's face was so big, that their next kiss was more of an awkward clinking of teeth, but neither of them cared. Dean laughed breathlessly as Castiel pulled him down the inch or so of height difference between them and leaned their foreheads together. They just stared into each other's eyes for a long while. Castiel was drinking in every little piece of Dean's expression. He was determined to commit this look on his face to memory. It wasn't often that his boyfriend left his face this open and vulnerable. And the pure joy, happiness and affection that Castiel saw reflected in his eyes wrapped like a blanket around his heart.

Before long they were kissing again. At some point they'd shifted until they were leaning against the counter. Castiel had one hand in Dean's hair and the other on his lower back. One of Dean's hands was wandering lower the longer they stayed connected. Neither of them was in a rush to end their make-out session.

They almost burned the pie…