Work Text:
January
The engine of the old car rumbled as Castiel Novak pulled into the parking lot of the auto body shop. He stepped out of the blue 1968 COPO Camaro, taking note not to get any grease on his Armani suit. When he walked into the shop, he was greeted by a pair of striking green eyes staring up at him from behind a desk.
“Can I help you?” Dean Winchester, proud owner of a 1967 Chevy Impala as well as Winchester Auto Repair, stood from his seat, wiping his hands on his grey jumpsuit.
“I’ve got the Camaro out there. She stalls a bit on startup. I’d like that fixed.” Cas looked over the man, his nose wrinkling in disgust. How could anyone stand to work all day in such a disgusting piece of material?
Dean rolled his eyes as he stepped out from behind the desk. Another one of these rich pricks. He stepped out into the cold air, bringing his toolbox over to the car.
As Dean worked, Cas sat in the small waiting area, casting a disdainful look around the place. He checked his watch. The time was 7:47; he didn’t have much time to get to the office. He had a huge case he had to work on today and Castiel Novak, Attorney at Law, did not have time to sit around all day in an auto body shop. Finally, Dean came in with Cas’ keys, grease all over him.
“She should work like a charm now. You uhh…” Dean paused, not wanting to insult the man in his shop. “You really should bring her in more. She could use some work.”
“I take care of my car just fine, if that’s what you’re implying,” Cas all but hissed, snatching his keys from Dean’s hand and pulling out his wallet.
Dean stepped behind the counter to ring up the bill.
“All I’m sayin’ is that she’d purr a lot nicer if you brought her in at least once a month.” Cas handed him his credit card, scowling at the man before him. “It really wouldn’t take long and it wouldn’t cost that much,” he looked down at the card with a small smirk, “Castiel.” What the fuck kind of name was that? “I’d just do a few tweaks, keep ‘er nice an’ pretty.”
“Fine. Put me down for February…” Cas trailed off as he checked the calendar on his phone. “February 10th.” He took his card and his keys and hurried off, not even sparing a thank you.
“What a fucking asshole,” Dean whispered as he watched the Camaro speed own the street.
“Jesus Christ, what an asshole!” Cas’ voice was gruff as he checked his watch; 7:56. “First he’s telling me how to take care of my car and now I’m going to be late to work!”
February
Cas was walking around the car slowly, dragging his fingers along the shiny black exterior. He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life, except for his Camaro, of course.
“I can let you drive her when you come in next month,” Dean said as he approached Cas, wiping his hands off. Why he’d offered to let this douchebag drive his baby, he did not know. It was probably the way the other man looked at the car: with such worship and adoration. Dean couldn’t help but liken Cas’ gaze to his own.
“She’s a beauty,” Cas said with a nod, peering into the front window. “I’d love to take her out for a spin when I come in next.” He wasn’t planning on going back to the auto shop after this month, but the promise of driving the 1967 Chevy Impala was incredibly enticing. Maybe he’d even made Dean an offer.
“I’ll put you down for the first saturday of March, then?” Dean asked, passing Castiel his keys. He didn’t like the new greedy gleam in Cas’ blue eyes.
“Sounds good.” Cas took the keys, once again leaving out a thank you, as he headed out, speeding away from the shop.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Dean murmured with a smile, putting a hand on the hood of his car. “I won’t let the bad man take you away.”
March
Cas pulled the Impala back into the parking lot of the auto body shop, cutting the engine just as Dean rolled out from underneath his Camaro. The biggest of smiles was on Cas’ face.
“That was a good year for Impala. And this car, geeze, she runs beautifully.” Dean gave a small smile as he approached, bracing himself for Cas’ offer. “I was going to offer to take her off your hands but after driving her, I don’t think I could take her away from anyone.”
Dean let out a relieved sigh, exchanging keys with Castiel. Thank God.
“Oh, can I come in on the 20th next month?” Cas asked as he opened the door to his Camaro. Dean looked up in surprise, raising his brows. He was shocked that Cas was going to come back. “She’s running better than ever.”
“Uh...yeah, the 20th works for me.” Cas shut the door and started his engine. The passenger window was rolled down and Dean stepped over. “Oh, you might want to drive a little slower. She’s not gonna make it if you keep speeding around like you do.”
Cas was obviously peeved at this as he sped away, grumbling about how he was going to be late for work. Dean went back over to his car, sitting down on her hood.
“He let me keep you...maybe he’s not that bad.” His voice was soft as he watched the Camaro disappear around the corner, his brows furrowed.
April
“How to roll the log tonight...Nobody's fault but mine.” Dean was singing along as Cas walked in, staying silent as the other man was not yet aware of his presence. He watched as Dean swayed his hips and sang along, his melodious voice filling the shop.
“Nobody’s Fault But Mine. Zeppelin recorded it in ‘75. It was a cover of a Blind Willie Johnson tune.” Dean started at the voice, his eyes going wide as he spun around. Fuck. Cas had caught him singing and dancing. Dean’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment but he was impressed that Cas knew ‘Zep.
“Nice!” Dean nodded, wiping his hands and walking towards the other man. Cas grinned, a challenging look in his eyes.
“You Shook Me.”
“‘69, debut album, written by Willie Dixon.”
“And?”
“And, what?” Dean’s brows were furrowed as he looked at Cas.
“Written by Willie Dixon and J.B. Lenoir.”
“Dude…” Dean’s voice was an awed whisper as he looked at Cas with wide green eyes. “Dude!” He came over to Cas and clapped him on the shoulder.
Cas flinched a little at the hand on his shoulder. He was wearing a new Brooks Brothers suit and he really wasn’t keen on getting grease on it. Dean quickly removed his hand, remembering that Cas was one of those.
“Dude, classic cars, classic rock,” Dean looked Cas up and down, “for a guy who dresses like a total jackass, you’re pretty awesome!”
Cas huffed out a semi-laugh, handing his keys to Dean. Without another word, he walked towards the waiting room. Cas knew that he should be upset about what Dean had said, but he couldn’t bring himself to get angry.
May
Cas was now coming to the garage on a semi-weekly basis, although, he was unsure as to why. Sure, it was good for his car. Dean was so careful with the Camaro. He was really fixing her up nice. But Cas felt that there was more to it...like he was actually enjoying Dean’s company.
It was a Sunday morning and Cas was sitting in the back of the garage at a small table, a coffee in one hand and a case file in front of him. His brows were furrowed in concentration as he made the occasional note, trying to work up his client’s side.
“Hey, Cas. What’re you working on?” Dean asked as he came over, sitting in the seat opposite Cas.
“A case,” the blue eyed man mumbled, not looking up from his work. Dean just slid Cas’ keys across the table and remained silent. Cas made no effort to get up. he was enjoying the peacefulness of the garage: the classic rock playing in the background, the smell of grease and polish, the sound of Dean working.
Dean watched Cas carefully. There was something strangely calming about the way Cas worked so diligently, nose buried in his papers. Dean studied Cas’ face, taking in every detail. The curve of his nose, the sharpness of his jaw and chin, his plump lips.
Cas felt Dean’s eyes on his and he looked up. Their eyes met and it was as if the entire world stopped. Blue met green and green met blue. Cas’ lips were slightly parted and Dean’s tongue flicked out to run over his own. They were silent. All that could be heard was their stuttered breathing. Suddenly, Dean stood.
“Let me get you some more coffee.”
They avoided eye contact for the rest of the day.
June
“God, I’m starving,” Dean mumbled as he passed Cas his keys. It was late afternoon on a Saturday and Dean had been polishing up the Camaro all morning.
“You, uhh, wanna grab lunch together?” Cas asked, raising his brows. Dean grinned, grabbing the keys to his Impala.
“Sure thing. Meet ya at the diner down the block?”
Cas grinned and nodded and pulled carefully out of the garage parking lot. Dean smiled at how Cas was starting to drive slower.
They were sitting at a booth in silence, their eyes pouring over their menus.
“What can I get for you boys?” The waitress was young and chipper, a huge smile spread across her face as she came up to the table.
“Hiya, sweetheart,” Dean murmured with a smile, glancing up at the waitress. “I’ll take a burger with the works and...a slice of cherry pie. And coffee. Black.” The waitress nodded and turned to Cas.
“I’ll have the exact same,” Cas murmured, looking at Dean with a curious expression on his face.
Once the waitress left, Dean turned his gaze back to Cas.
“Never woulda pegged you for a burger guy.”
“Never woulda pegged you for a pie guy.”
July
Cas was rummaging through his clothes, trying to find something suitable. Most of what he owned was stuffy businessware and that wasn’t appropriate for the occasion. Finally, he found a red tee shirt at the bottom of one of his drawers. He pulled it on and looked in the mirror. He looked significantly different in jeans in a tee shirt. He looked much more...relaxed. Cas took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair before glancing at his watch. Shit. He was going to be late.
Cas pulled the Camaro into the garage parking lot, noticing how different the building looked at night. He could hear voices coming from the yard in the back and Cas headed over slowly, his stomach jumping nervously.
Dean had invited him to the annual Fourth of July party he always had at the garage. After finding out that Cas spent nearly every holiday alone, Dean clapped him on the shoulder and insisted that he join the party. When Dean saw Cas rounding the corner, he lept up, a second beer in his hand.
“Cas! What’s up, man?” He thrust the beer into Cas’ hand. “Let me introduce you to the family.
There were names flying at Cas from every direction. Sam, Bobby, Jo, Ellen, Ash, Charlie, Kevin, Bella, Garth. Cas’ head was spinning as he tried to remember the relation of each person.
Cas was relatively quiet throughout the evening. He’d struck up conversation with Kevin regarding criminal law. Otherwise, he just sat next to Dean, enjoying others’ conversations.
He caught Dean staring at him again and he stared right back, brows furrowed. It was weird not seeing Dean in his usual grey jumpsuit or covered in grease. He’d cleaned up nice: jeans, black tee shirt, plaid button down on top. When Cas met Dean’s gaze, Dean couldn’t help but blush and smile coyly. He leaned over, speaking quietly so that only Cas could hear him.
“You look good when you’re not wearing a suit.”
August
It was the last weekend in August and it was sweltering. Cas had been to the garage nearly every weekend and occasionally during the week. Dean was underneath the Camaro, his shirt had been discarded hours ago, sweat dripping along his body. Cas was sitting in the garage, dressed in a tee shirt and jeans, beads of sweat dripping down his own face. He had a beer in his hand and he leaned back against the chair, letting his eyes close against the bright sun.
“So, Cas,” Dean said from underneath the car. “I haven’t heard anything about your girl. Tell me about her.”
“I, uhh…” Cas paused, his eyes fluttering open. He rubbed at the back of his neck, running his hand over the sweat that had slicked his skin. “You haven’t heard about my girl because I don’t have one.” Dean rolled out from underneath the car, his eyes wide with surprise.
“You’ve got to be shitting me. Guy like you without a girl? I’m shocked.” He rolled back under the car after grabbing a wrench.
“And you’re dating uhh…” Cas wracked his brain in an attempt to remember the girls name. “Charlie! Yeah, that’s it. How’s Charlie?” A laugh bubbled up from beneath the car and Dean rolled out again.
“Charlie? No, no, man. She’s like my little sister!” Dean laughed as he looked up at Cas, who was laughing too. Their laughter started to fade as they looked at each other, their gazes becoming intense, as they usually did when their eyes met.
“Cas…” Dean rolled out fully from beneath the car, standing up. His heart was pounding and his palms were sweating. “Cas, would you want to go out with me some time?”
“What, like...on a date?” Dean nodded, his eyes wide with fear. “Dean, I think I’d really like that.”
September
It was the first weekend in September and the night of Dean’s first date with Cas. Cas hadn’t been to the garage all week and Dean was more than nervous. He straightened out his button down, shifting a little.
Dean met Cas at the restaurant, giving him a weak smile. The night started out slightly awkward, a silence falling over the men. Once they ordered, they each seemed a bit more relaxed as they began to talk, falling into comfortable conversation as they usually did.
They talked about everything: cars, music, movies, you name it. The evening passed by them quickly, time slipping away.
They’d decided to walk around in the local park after dinner and each man could feel the aura of nervousness around them. When Dean felt Cas’ hand slip into his own, he gasped a bit and looked at Cas with wide eyes. Castiel merely smiled, giving Dean’s hand a light squeeze.
“Hey, Dean. I uhh...Well, I never thought you were into guys,” Cas said slowly as they walked, now feeling quite comfortable with Dean’s hand in his own.
“My mom died when I was four, but I’m sure she would’ve been fine with it. My dad, though. Jesus, he woulda killed me. I always put up a front. Slept with a lot of girls when I was younger. And when I was older.” He blushed a bit, leaning his shoulder against Cas’. “I guess I’m more bi than gay. But Sammy. He’s always been there for me. He’s a great kid.” He looked over at Cas, raising his brows. “But you. Mr. Successful Lawyer. Never thought you’d be into guys. I always thought you had some blonde bimbo at your side with fake tits.”
“Yeah…” Cas laughed nervously, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “Yeah, well. When I came out to my family, they kinda resented me for it. They kicked me out, cut off all contact. You know...the overly religious type.” Cas chuckled and shrugged, smiling at how Dean squeezed his hand a little tighter. “So, I just decided that I’d become successful and happy without them.”
Dean stopped walking abruptly, causing Cas to stop too. He stepped in front of the other man, looking at him with wide green eyes. This was it. Now or never. Dean took a calculated step forward and pressed his lips to Cas’ in a tentative kiss.
Cas was shocked at first before one hand fell to Dean’s hip, the other coming up to the back of Dean’s neck. Cas pulled the other man flush against his body, deepening the kiss. They stood like that for a while, bodies pressed close together as they explored one another’s mouths.
October
It had been a month after Dean and Cas started dating and Cas was now spending all of his free time at the garage, helping Dean with odds and ends.
“Hey, Cas. C’mere. Wanna show you how to fix up a car.” Cas looked at Dean with wide blue eyes. He’d never fixed a car in his life and he wasn’t about to start now. He was always afraid that he would break something. “C’mon. You won’t do anything wrong. You’re in good hands.”
Cas stepped forward, coming next to Dean in front of the Impala. Dean smiled and pressed a kiss to Cas’ cheek before looking back at the car.
“The Impala’s makin’ a rattle. Now, this rattle could be a couple of things.”
“Alright…”
“Alright, see this thing?” He pointed to a part in the car, looking over at Cas. “This is a valve cover. Inside are all the parts that are on the head. Hand me that socket wrench. Alright, you with me so far?”
“Yeah, uhh. Valve cover covers the heads.” Cas grabbed the socket wrench and handed it to Dean.
“Very good. Now, this is your intake manifold, okay, on top of it…” Dean looked over at Cas again, his brows raised.
“It’s ahh...uh, carburetor!” Cas grinned proudly, happy that he knew something about cars.
“Carburetor, yeah! Very good.” Dean passed the wrench to Cas and stepped behind him, putting his hands on Cas’ hips. “Go ahead, Cas,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the spot behind Cas’ ear.
“You want me to…”
“Yeah, I do. You fix it.” Cas took a deep breath before he stepped forward, cranking the wrench. “C’mon! Put your shoulder into it!”
Cas grinned and did as he was told, unable to stop the happiness bubbling up in his chest.
November
Cas and Dean had only been dating for about two and a half months when they decided to move in together. To some, it seemed like they were jumping the gun, but the two men knew, deep down, that they were in it for the long run. There was this inexplicable bond between them.
Cas was already at work when Dean shuffled down to the kitchen, eyes still full of sleep as he poured himself some coffee. Upon opening the fridge, he found that Cas had forgotten his lunch. Dean muttered under his breath before dressing and getting into his car, heading to Cas’ office.
Dean walked through the building slowly, his eyes wide, curious, and slightly afraid. This was so very much out of his comfort zone. There he was, a mechanic dressed in jeans and a Led Zeppelin tee shirt holding a brown bag, walking through a law office. He saw Cas’ door and started to head over, stopping when he got to the secretary’s desk.
“Can I help you?” she asked with a brow raised, looking Dean up and down.
“I uh...yeah. I’m uh…” Dean stopped talking for a minute, not sure how much Cas had told his office about him. “I…”
“Sir, you will need to make an appointment if you want to see Mr. Novak.” Fortuitously, Cas had chosen that exact moment to walk out of his office and he grinned when he saw Dean. Cas immediately came over, wrapping both arms around Dean’s waist and kissing him deeply. Dean was taken aback for a moment before he melted against Cas, as he always did.
“Oh, you must be Mr. Winchester! Mr. Novak has told us all about you! You should have told me who you were I would have…” The secretary continued talking but Dean wasn’t listening. His forehead was pressed against Cas’ as he looked into those beautiful blue eyes.
“You told them about me,” Dean whispered in amazement, unable to stop the smile spreading across his face.
“How could I not?” Cas teased, pecking Dean’s lips.
Dean laughed and wrapped his arms around Cas’ neck, pulling him in for a tight hug.
December
Dean and Cas were cuddled up on the couch, a blanket wrapped around them as they admired their Christmas tree. It was their first Christmas together and Dean knew that there were going to be many more to come. He looked up at Cas from his position between Cas’ legs and pressed a kiss to the underside of the other man’s chin.
“Merry Christmas,” Cas whispered, moving a bit so that he and Dean were eye to eye.
“Merry Christmas,” Dean murmured in return as he moved in to press his lips against Cas’. The kiss was slow and gentle, the passion between them becoming tangible as it filled the air. Dean pulled away after a few moments, completely breathless.
Cas’ eyes fluttered open and he and Dean fell into one of their staring wars, their eyes glittering in the light from the tree.
“Remember when we first met?” Dean said suddenly, a smile ghosting over his plump lips. “Jesus Christ, I thought you were such a douchebag. With your expensive suit and dick attitude.” Dean huffed out a laugh, running the tip of his nose along the side of Cas’. “Who ever would have thought I’d fall in love with you?”
There was a pregnant pause as Dean realized what he said. He went stock still and he pulled away, looking down at the floor. He hoped that Cas wouldn’t bolt. Dean jumped a bit when he felt a soft hand on his cheek. Cas turned his head, pulling Dean’s gaze back to him.
“A whole year.” Cas’ voice was soft as he spoke, looking into those fiercely green eyes that he’d come to love. “It’s been an entire year since the day I first walked into the garage. A year since my first impression. I thought you were such a jackass,” he said with a small laugh and a comforting smile. “And now, I am totally and completely in love with you, Dean Winchester.”