Take Care of My Baby

"So I hear you like swing music."

Castiel looks up, head tilted and brow furrowed in confusion, and fuck, that look gets Dean every goddamn time. His hair is ruffled from the wind blowing through the open windows, and Dean just wants to pull over the car and kiss Castiel, who just happens to be saying, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

It's a few days after the motherfucker from out of town gave Castiel shit. You can bet Dean whooped his ass in the race Alastair had come requesting. The man had left town licking his wounds, and nobody had fucked with the younger man since.

The two men are currently on their way back from the university - taking the long way, of course - because Dean had decided that he couldn't handle only seeing Castiel once a day. And there was something about having the man next to him in his car that made him happier than he'd like to admit.

"So what about swing music?"

"Shit, I dunno," Dean admits, "I was just tryin' to make conversation."

Castiel smiles at him. "I know it's not your cup of tea, Mr. Rock n' Roll."

"Hey, rock n' roll ain't so bad," he protests. "There's some real great stuff there. Real good for driving fast." He can see Castiel wrinkle his nose, so he says, "I know, I know. You don't like driving fast."

"And I respect you for following the speed limit when I'm with you," Castiel points out, smiling.

"Hey Cas, I got a-"

"Wait, stop."

Dean pauses. "Okay?"

"You've called me that a couple of times now," he says. "Cas."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Nickname. It just kinda fits you, y'know?" Dean stumbles as he tries to put words to the emotion he wants to convey. "Castiel is all formal. Like... like what teachers call you or what your family calls you. But you're not all formal with me. So, Cas."

"Cas," the man echoes, like he's feeling the way the word rolls off his tongue. "I like it."

Dean didn't know he was worried until relief floods over him. "Good."

"Now, what were you asking?"

"I, uh... you wanna come to The Roadhouse with me tonight? Everybody's probably going cruisin' afterward, and my front seat is awful lonely without you in it." Dean thinks that he's probably never said anything cornier than that, but Castiel's face lights up like a freakin' Christmas tree.

"I think that sounds good," he says through a smile.

"I can't guarantee that I won't go fast."

"That's okay, I think I can handle it."

Dean thinks his face might split in two.

__________

Castiel fiddles with his shirt in the mirror as he waits for the clock to strike seven. As he does, Gabriel leans in the doorway of the bathroom, a sly grin on his face.

"Got a hot date?" he asks cheekily.

The younger man turns to give him an uninterested look. "No."

"Yeah? Then what're you so worried about your outfit for?"

"We're new here. It doesn't hurt to make a good impression."

"Oh, don't hand me that. We've been to new towns before, and you didn't give a rat's ass about what impression you made," the man says. He grins and pokes Cas in the hip. "So spill. Who's the babe?"

"I told you I'm not going on a date," Castiel protests.

"Is it Becky?" Gabriel wrinkles his nose in distaste. "Please tell me it's not Becky."

"It's not Becky."

"Thank God," he sighs in relief. "But if you're not goin' on a date, then what are you doing?"

"I'm just going to hang out with some friends," Castiel says. He finally decides that no amount of smoothing will get the wrinkles out of his sweater, so he gives it up.

"What friends are those?" Gabriel asks. When Castiel doesn't respond, he plops down on the counter and pokes his brother's side again. "C'mon little bro, you can tell me anything. I won't let Zach or Michael know."

Castiel hesitates. "Dean Winchester."

"Oooh, look at you, going after the hottest dog in town," his brother coos, nudging Cas. It earns him a glare in response. "Hey, I'm just playin', I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you." Castiel glances at the clock and sees that it's close enough to seven, so he grabs his trench coat

"Aw, c'mon, don't wear your creepy trench coat," Gabriel groans as though it's a personal offense to him.

"He happens to like my creepy trench coat." And Dean did: he'd told Cas so on the way home from the university a few days prior.

Castiel is smiling as he walks to the front door, but as he nears the living room, he hears it. The unmistakable rumble of a '32 Coupe. Dean's baby. And it's attracting his family like flies.

"What in the hell is the ungodly racket?" Zachariah is in the kitchen, and Castiel can hear him shuffling around, getting ready to come investigate. He briefly catches a glimpse of Gabriel giving him a wink before going into the kitchen, likely trying to distract their older brother.

Castiel doesn't wait for any further queue. He flies out the door faster than he's ever moved before, throwing open the door to the Coupe and jumping inside, crying, "Goddammit, Dean, drive!"

Dean guns it, which is probably the worst decision, because Castiel can see the curtains being pulled back, and he knows that the car sounds like a feral animal. But he can't deny that the whole thing has given him a heart-pounding rush of excitement that he hasn't felt in a long, long time. He's terrified, but yet he feels alive.

When they make it down the road, Dean turns to Castiel with a dopey smile on his face. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard you swear."

"You must be rubbing off on me, Dean Winchester," Castiel smiles back. He feels like he's on cloud nine; there's something about Dean that makes the whole world disappear. He'd usually be too concerned about the trouble waiting for him at home to enjoy himself, but Dean's presence burns away all of that worry.

"Now I wouldn't wanna do that," Dean says, "I like you just the way you are."

Castiel doesn't get a chance to respond, because they're pulling into The Roadhouse. Dean pulls into his usual place, and before he even gets the car in park, he's already got an audience demanding his attention.

"Winchester, my man!" comes a sudden drawl.

Dean leans over to the window and punches the arm of whoever is talking. "Heya asshole, how's it goin'? Haven't seen you around lately?"

"Oh, you know. Just makin' my way around." The man leans over to peer into the car at Castiel. He has on a cut-off flannel shirt, and his hair is slicked into a ducktail. "Ain't good manners not to introduce me to your friend."

Dean huffs in embarrassment, but he leans back so that the man can extend a hand to Castiel. "Ash, this is Castiel, the new kid in town. Cas, this is Ash. He dicks around at the garage sometimes, but he likes to claim that he works here."

"Hey, asshole, I do work here!"

"Doing what?"

Ash falters, his mouth open as he searches for words and shrugs. "Oh, y'know. Whatever."

"Ash! You botherin' these boys?" This voice is one Castiel recognizes. It's the waitress, Jo.

"I ain't botherin' nobody!" he protests. Then, he leans down to address Dean. "You drivin' around tonight?"

"You know it."

Ash claps the side of the car. "Looks like I'll be seein' you again tonight," he says. With a quick salute, he leaves with, "Doctor Badass out."

Castiel can see Jo rolling her eyes as she pushes Ash. Then, she's leaning into the window with a grin. "Hey, Dean. Castiel. What can I get you boys tonight?"

"Bacon cheeseburger. What 'bout you, Cas?"

"I'll... have the same."

Dean's grin spreads from ear to ear. "A man after my own heart," he laughs. "And, uh, how about two Cokes?"

"Pie?"

"Not tonight, Jo."

The girl looks shocked. "Dean Winchester willingly turns down pie? Has Hell frozen over?"

"Can it, Jo. I'm watchin' my figure," he jokes, patting his stomach.

"The day Dean Winchester watches his figure is the first day of the apocalypse," she laughs. "I'll get your meal out to you soon. And if you change your mind about that pie, you let me know."

"Will do."

As Jo heads off, Dean turns around with a roll of his eyes, but he doesn't get very far when something catches his eye. Suddenly, his grin widens, and he flips someone off through the windshield. Castiel is momentarily confused, but then Sam, all gangly limbs and stupid grins, is running up to the car.

"Hey Dean, hey Cas!" he exclaims. "Jess wants to meet Cas. Jess! C'mere!"

The pretty blonde haired girl that Castiel has seen on a few occasions turns to see who's calling, and when she sees it's Sam, her whole expression brightens. She breaks off the conversation she's having with another girl and hurries over.

"Jess, I wanna introduce you to Cas," he says. Jess's face seems to light up even further. She peeks down into the car and waves to him.

"It's real nice to meet you, Cas! Sam has told me about you," she says with a smile. Then, she extends her hand. Castiel takes it gently.

"Good things, I hope," he smiles.

This pulls a laugh out of Jess. "Only good things, I promise." They drop their hands, and she smacks Dean lightly on the shoulder. "You better treat him right, Dean Winchester."

Dean throws his hands up in defense, a smile on his face. "Hey, I'm behavin' myself!"

"You better be," she says with playfully narrowed eyes. Then, she breaks out into a smile and tugs Sam away.

"Women," Dean says with a roll of his eyes, and Castiel laughs.

__________

Dean is worried about what Cas will think about cruising. It's something that nearly everyone does; when the weekend comes, you can bet your money that everyone with a car will fill up their gas tank and drive around town. There's no real rhyme or reason behind it, other than the fact that it gives them all something to do.

But Dean worries because Castiel isn't a fan of driving in general, and sure, he rides with Dean to and from the university, but that's not the same. Out on the streets, Dean has a reputation to live up to. He's Dean-goddamn-Winchester. His name is known all through the state, and it's even gotten as far as a few others. This is when people challenge him, when he teases his skills, when he listens to music too damn loud and flirts with all of the girls he sees.

Somehow, things work out.

When they finish their meal, Dean and nearly half the cars at The Roadhouse hit the road for the night. Castiel is the one who turns on the music: rock n' roll, because he knows Dean likes it. And the guy doesn't stop smiling, even when the speedometer creeps above the speed limit. Maybe it's just because they're too absorbed in their conversations for Cas to notice.

"So you're telling me that you willingly talk to Becky Rosen?" Dean asks, wrinkling his nose. Becky is easily the most annoying girl he's ever met. If Cas likes her, fine. He just hopes they never have to spend time in the same room together.

"I will admit that she's a bit much to handle, but she's a nice girl," Cas says, his eyes flickering from Dean to the road.

"Man, she used to have this huge crush on Sam. It was the weirdest thing." He shakes his head, trying not to think back to those times.

"How so?"

"I guess she had this whole journal dedicated to how much she loved him. And she used to feel him up whenever she saw him. I don't know if it was hilarious or terrifying." Dean can still remember the time when they'd gotten a knock at the door in the dead of night, and Sam had opened it only to have his chest caressed by Becky.

"She has.. mentioned that a few times, yes," Cas says with a faint smile, and it makes Dean's heart skip beat. He wants desperately to see the full smile, to find what makes Castiel the happiest.

"So you know how, uh, interesting she is."

Castiel gives Dean a knowing smile, but he says, "You should be thankful for Becky."

He furrows his eyebrows. "Why is that?"

"She has a lot of advice when it comes to... making acquaintances."

"What d'you mean?"

"It was by her suggestion that I not accept a ride to the university with you right away," Castiel reveals with an almost conspiratorial smile.

"No way!" Dean exclaims. He had never really given Castiel's motives a thought; all he's learned is that the man was worth the wait.

"She said that you would appreciate the challenge." And Cas is giving him this soft smile, like he's never been happier for a piece of advice in his life.

"Man, I was goin' crazy trying to figure out why you wouldn't give me the time of day," Dean laughs.

"So it worked." When Dean looks over, Cas is giving him a knowing smile.

"Yeah, I guess it did." Dean realizes that he hasn't smiled this much in a long, long time. Not since he was a kid.

Dean has his window open, and when he pulls up to a stoplight, they're startled by the sudden, "Hey, Winchester!" that suddenly pierces the night.

He whips around to find Meg leaning out the window to give him that sly, red-lipped grin of hers. "Whaddya want, Meg?"

"Some new guy's out there lookin' for you. Thinks he's some real hot shit. Better go show him who's territory this is," she purrs with a wink. Then, she's gone. Dean doesn't catch who's driving, but they must have put the pedal to the medal, because pretty soon all that's left of them are the tail lights in the distance.

When Dean pulls out, he looks at Cas. "I'm not racin' anyone tonight," he says reassuringly. Castiel doesn't look particularly worried, but he just wants to make sure.

"I thought Dean Winchester never turned down a race."

"Yeah, well," he shrugs. "Racing can wait."

He doesn't miss the grin that Castiel tries to suppress.

"Guess you're not so predictable after all," the man says.

"Predictable? Who said I was predictable?" Dean wrinkles his nose.

"Well, I just heard things. Rumors." Castiel shrugs. He shifts in his seat, and it moves him a little closer to Dean.

"What kind of rumors?"

"Well, I heard you only like pretty girls, and that you always say yes to a race. I heard you don't try to court anyone, you only let people pine after you, and you only spend your time with Sam." Castiel counts each reason off on his fingers as he says them.

"Huh. Didn't know people talked about me so much," he laughs.

"Oh, Dean. Everybody's talking about you."

The way Cas smiles at him makes a shiver of happiness run down Dean's spine. He knows Cas catches it, but he tries to talk his way out of it with, "It'd have been a shame if you'd listened to them."

"Good thing I don't listen to rumors."

"Good thing I don't give up too easy, too," Dean grins. And that brings a smile out of Cas.

Music plays, keeping the car from being immersed in silence, but they don't need conversation to make themselves comfortable. They merely enjoy each other's presence, counting all the blessings that brought the two of them together.

Every so often, a car pulls up to Dean's baby, and the man has a conversation with whoever decides to yell to him through an open window. Usually it's someone informing him of the new guy in town, the one who wants to race Dean, but sometimes it's a friend, and Dean shoots the shit with them for a few minutes. Once it's Sam and Jess, who drive off giving Cas and Dean a thumbs up, and another time it's Ash and Jo, who whistle and croon at the men in the other car. They both earn the response of a laugh and a middle finger from Dean.

"Seems like you've got a lot of friends here," Cas points out after a while. He doesn't sound jealous or upset, just observant.

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugs. "I kinda made a name for myself. Lot of people are into that."

"You are something of a celebrity," the blue-eyed man nods.

"Pff, nah. I'm nothin' special."

"You don't give yourself enough credit."

Dean purses his lips and gives Castiel his best disbelieving expression. "I just race cars. That ain't nothin' special." And the look he gets in response is astounding. Dean has never really understood how to read into people's eyes, but he can see Cas's, and the man is looking at him like he sees Dean as a gift sent from the heavens. Like he can't understand how Dean doesn't love himself. Like he's bound and determined to make Dean understand.

"You don't see yourself, Dean."

"There's nothin' to see."

Castiel opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, a car pulls up next to Dean's, horns blaring. It's a car full of girls, and Dean can pick Bela, Ruby, and Pamela out of the bunch of them. Pamela is the one hanging out the window, her curly brown hair blowing wildly in the wind. "You got room for one more in there, Dean?"

"sorry, Pam. Got no extra room tonight," Dean calls back.

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Pamela pouts, but she starts to retreat back into the car. "If ya change your mind, you just let me know!" He catches her wink before she waves to Bela. There's a chorus of goodbyes, and then Bela hits the gas and makes a left turn.

"You have all of California's female population at your beck and call," Cas laughs as he watches the girls go.

Dean snorts. "And I don't want a single one of 'em." He feels his chest warm at the soft smile and red cheeks that the comment pulls from Cas. He barely sees it due to how dark it's getting, but it pleases him.

Because it's getting so dark, the abundance of cars on the road begins to thin out. People are heading home or to a party or back to The Roadhouse for one last milkshake. Dean realizes that the night is coming to an end, and soon he'll have to bring Cas back home.

With just a bit of prior thought, he says, "There's this place out in the woods. I don't think anyone knows about it but me and Sammy. D'you... d'you maybe wanna go out there with me for a little bit?"

"I would love to."

And so fifteen minutes later, Dean pulls off to the side of the road in an alcove that few people know exists. He and Sam had found it when they were kids, and it has been their go-to spot since then. Dean grins at Cas when they park, then gets out of the car, and hurries to the passenger side to hold the door open for Cas.

"Such a gentleman," he comments with a grin as he joins Dean in the darkness. "We're not gonna get lost, are we?"

"Nope. I could make my way through here with my eyes closed."

"I hope so. It sure is dark enough to make you think your eyes are closed."

"You should probable hold onto me, though. Just to make sure you don't get lost."

"I'm starting to think that this is just a ploy to get me to hold your hand," Castiel says, but Dean can hear the smile in his voice, and Cas's hand easily finds its way into Dean's.

It's slow going for a little while, but their eyes eventually adjust to the darkness. When they do, they make far better time getting to the little clearing that Dean is leading them to. It's right next to a river, and there's a huge, flat rock at the water's edge, which is the reason why it had become such a popular hideout for the Winchester boys.

"So. Here we are," Dean announces with a grand sweep of his arm. But as he does it, he almost feels embarrassment. "I, uh... nobody else knows about this place, and I thought I'd show it to you."

"It's lovely, Dean," Cas says with a grin on his face like he's just found the Garden of Eden.

Then it's just the two of them there, just Dean and Cas, less than a foot away from each other. The sky is bright above them, and the crickets are chirping away, but they don't seem to register that. Dean feels a bit shy, because finally, finally, he's got Cas alone, with nobody around to judge them, and he's getting lost in the oceans that are Cas's deep blue eyes. He reaches up, places a hand on the other man's cheek, and pulls him in closer.

When their lips meet, Dean thinks he's found the heaven he doesn't believe in. Cas is hesitant and careful, as though he's just learning how to kiss, and for all Dean knows, he is. He lets his mouth meld with Cas's, one thumb tracing circles on the man's cheekbone while the other hand rests on Cas's hip to bring them closer together.

Dean pulls back after a few moments, partially for air and partially to see Castiel's wet lips and half-lidded eyes.

"Shit, I probably shouldn't have done that," he whispers suddenly, attempting to pull away. Maybe he had been interpreting Cas's message wrong, or maybe he hadn't, but there are too many dangers with this and-

One of Castiel's hands shoots up to grab Dean's shirt and pull him closer. "Don't be stupid, Dean."

And then they're kissing again.