Standing Together

Chapter 51

Castiel glances at the clock for what has to be the 20th time that hour. Where's Dean? He should be here by now. He should have been home hours ago. He hasn't called; he hasn't texted. Where is he?

Castiel sighs and picks up his phone. He wasn't going to call, just in case Dean was still in a bad mood, but he's getting too nervous to just wait. He calls Dean's phone and puts his own against his ear. Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up.

"I'm fixing the impala. I'll come inside when I'm done."

Click.

Castiel just stared at his phone uncomprehendingly. That's it? Castiel's been staring at the clock for two hours for that?

What does he mean he's out fixing the car? Out where? He can't be right outside, can he?

Castiel looks out the window, and sure enough, Dean's fixing one of the tires in the driveway. All the windows are fixed, too. The car's come a long way. The real question is, how long will it take to get all the spray paint off the sides?

Castiel just watches him for a few minutes. Dean's oblivious to him, entirely focused on the car in front of him. It's oddly mesmerizing, watching him work. He does it all so easily.

Eventually, Castiel decides to go out and see him. He can't imagine a happy ending to this, but he feels sort of bad. Dean shouldn't have to be rebuilding his entire car. Maybe Castiel can't fix that, but he could at least provide some company while he does it.

Castiel's sort of surprised to hear how quiet it is outside. There are no fans anymore — were they as scared of an angry Dean as Castiel was? — and there's no music playing. It takes Castiel a moment to remember Dean mentioning that all his cassettes were taken. He probably can't listen to music — not without his phone, but he doesn't seem like the type to use any technology made in the 21st century to listen to music.

Castiel walks over to the car, standing a few feet back so he doesn't get in Dean's personal space. If Dean notices him, he does a great job at hiding it; just continues changing the wheel. There are two more wheels lying flat on the ground next to him, and one flung effortlessly to the side, so Castiel can only assume he's working on the second wheel at the moment.

"Hi," Castiel says finally, sounding incredibly awkward.

Dean sighs and stands up, leaning against the car. "What?"

Okay, so maybe Dean doesn't want company. It's too late to turn back now, though, so he might as well try to start a conversation.

"The car's looking good," Castiel remarks. "I'm glad you're able to fix it."

Dean rolls his eyes. "Of course I can fix her. I'm a mechanic. It's how I was raised."

Castiel cocks his head to the side. "If you knew you could fix it, why were you so mad?"

"Because even when I do fix her, I'm still never getting my damn tapes back," Dean says irritably.

"Seriously?" Castiel scoffs. "Dean, you can just replace them. You may be one of ten people left on the planet that still uses them, but they do still sell them."

"No, I can't replace them."

"Yes, you really can," Castiel insists.

"No, I can't, because they've literally been in this car since before I was born, and they were just about all I had left of my dad," Dean snaps. "So will you just go away and let me fix my damn car so I still have something left besides a couple old guns?"

"Oh my god," Castiel breathes, not sure what to do with that information. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

Dean sighs, quieting down a bit. "See, that's why I wanted you to stay inside. I'm really not in the mood to talk. I just want to fix my car, okay? Then I'll calm down, and then we can watch Aladdin again or something, but I just need to fix her up first."

Castiel nods. "Yeah, I'll just..." He turns to leave, but he doesn't make it very far until he goes back to the impala. "If I ask a question, will you promise not to get mad?"

Dean sighs. "Fine. Sure. Go for it."

"What about the last album you listened to?" Castiel asks. "You never took it out, right? Did you look to see if that one was still there?"

"I —" Dean pauses. "No, actually. Hold on." Dean crawls into the car, emerging a few moments later with a cassette tape in his hand. "Cas, you're a genius."

"Which one is it?" Castiel asks.

"'Point of Know Return,'" Dean replies. "Not the best album, but —"

"You still have 'Dust in the Wind'!" Castiel says excitedly.

Dean sighs. "Well, at least there's that."

Castiel watches him with a frown. He's not even excited that he still has their song on the original cassette tape? He would have expected at least a little smile. Maybe he really does have to wait until the car's fixed to see just a little bit of joy in the other boy's eyes.