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Cas does not know what he’s doing here.
No really, he should have known better after 24 years of knowing, let alone living, with his brother that nothing good could come out of:
‘Come on Cassie, it will be fun’.
Cas doesn’t want to be here.
The queue is crowded, bustling people all excited to get on the ride. He tilts his head up to fully appreciate the nearly 400ft rollercoaster ticking away, climbing into the heavens above him. It moves slow and Cas stops trying to count the hairs on Gabriel’s head in favour for leaning against the bars. He scowls at his brother.
Arm wrapped around Kali, Gabe whispers in her ear and she giggles. He could not be more oblivious to Cas’ obvious suffering. Add to that the jostle of people pushing forward, eager to make that 2cm advancement on getting on the ride; Cas sighs. He’s done that a lot today.
Another carriage ticks up above them. He counts the clicks of moving gears, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, trenchcoat draped faithfully over his arm. The little roadrunner tattoo ‘whirls’ around his wrist and his fingers rest there, feeling his pulse. It usually reminds him to have fun – cartoons that is, were banned when he was a child so he was strangely infatuated by them when he discovered them as nearly an adult.
“Yo Cassie, come on!” Gabe yanks at his arm, pulling him from his perch to start the assent of the stairs.
Metal rails enclose them and as they climb higher, he sees a greater view of the theme park. Towering structures poke out of the ground and yet, despite the change of perspective, Castiel is more fixed on the people, ants running beneath him. He wonders what it will be like from the top. He glances to his left, seeing only a rising track.
Kali cackles again, pushing Gabe softly on the almost swaying stair case. Cas subconsciously rubs his hands over the watercolour ink, pressing the exact spots for the Chinese symbols that break up the colour in bold black lettering.
“Freedom, grace, peace.” He repeats softly to himself, cracking open his eyes to take the extra step.
They reach the platform around 10 minutes later, crowded as people try to get their proffered seats. He walks through the last barriers in a numb trance, moving with the flow of people. They’re near the back of the group for the next cart, two youngish men and a woman in front of them. Cas wouldn’t usually pay them any mind, only the shorter of the two males is being both loud and obnoxious, flirting with the personnel when she scans his wristband.
Oh, and there is a tattoo of 4 rings curving round his neck. It’s this man he watches, barely conscious of giving the woman his wrist to scan. He follows Gabe and Kali to the back of the carts.
“Aw, man Cas, guess you’ll have to be alone for this one.” Gabe says, faux apologetic in his tone, smirking like the deviant he is.
“Come on Sammy, I can’t go on my own again.” The man’s near whine draws Cas’ attention from his annoying brother.
“Well, I want to ride with Jess. I told you to bring someone, who was it, Lisa?”
The man waves a hand in Sam’s face blowing a loud raspberry while they move up to the dividers and wait for them to open. Cas trails Gabe and Kali as they slowly get closer.
“Dude, she was a onetime thing.” He pouts, Cas can see from his vantage point, but not the face of the other man – Sammy?
He uncrosses his arms with a huff; he grins, a wide goofy lipped smirk that grows and grows.
“Fine, but I’m taking the back.”
With that he pushes past the woman, who reaches out to cuff him round the head but he ducks it with ease, reaching the last divider with an enthusiastic (and quite endearing) bounce of his leg. The freakishly tall man shakes his head, mumbling something to the woman before stopping at the gates in front.
“Dean you’re such a jerk.” He grumbles across the metal between them, reaching out to punch him.
He stumbles when Gabe stops dead in his tracks and belatedly realises that they have reached the last gate available. His head snaps from the front to the back, searching for an empty cart. Near instantaneous, his eyes are trapped in pure jade green, sparkling in the bright lighting of the rollercoaster building.
“Guess you’ll have to find a seat bro-“
The man – Dean – smiles and shrugs, and Cas’ feet are moving before he registers the command for them to. He cautiously sidles into the same divider compartment as Dean, whose smile seems to only continue to grow.
“Hey man, I’m Dean.” He holds his hand out, southerly drawl kind and deep.
“Castiel,” Taking his hand, Cas replies. They seem to shake hands for a long time. Cas pulls his hand back with unexpected reluctance.
“That’s a cool name.” He smiles until his attention is taken by the creaking of metal hinges.
Dean bounds into the seat, tapping the black material once the other people have gotten out. Their hair is windswept and eyes wide. Cas smiles and follows Dean in.
“Could you put this in the storage thing please?” He asks, handing Dean his trenchcoat. He isn’t overly sure why he came out with it, the weather isn’t cold and he is accustomed to cooler temperatures anyway.
“Sure thing.” Dean stops trying to buckle himself in, crossing the wooden floorboards quickly, neatly placing the coat in a compartment along with his own jacket which he shucks off. Sammy, settled in the seat in front of Cas, watches Dean, shaking his head at Dean’s wink as he climbs back in.
Gabriel also turns around. Cas deems his wiggle of eyebrows wholly inappropriate. He rolls his eyes in return, flipping him off.
Chuckling beside him reminds him that he isn’t alone in this seat.
“Who’s half size?” Dean asks, looking ahead between the people to point at Gabriel’s sandy head.
“My brother, Gabriel.” Cas sighs, although, in all honesty, that is the first time he has given that explanation without having some life scarring story before it... Progress is progress.
“He looks like a bundle of fun; this little bitch is my bro.” He leans forward to ruffle the man’s hair, and has difficulty when the person comes to strap them in, cranking the bar over their heads individually. Dean ends up just pulling a strand of his hair.
“Ouch Dean, what the hell!” He squawks, large hand swatting back to no avail.
“Sam calm down,” The girl turns and winks at Dean who hasn’t stopped smirking.
He seems to remember Cas is their and he raises his eyebrows.
“You ready batman?”
“Uh-“
Cas is cut off as the coaster jerks forward, the cart moving. They’re right at the back, tilted almost horizontally.
Cas doesn’t not know why he let Gabriel talk him into this.
“First time?” Dean asks, noting with his head Cas white knuckling the head rest.
“On this ride, yes.” Cas swallows, flicking his eyes to meet Dean’s gaze in lieu of turning his head.
He laughs full in his throat. “It’s ok man, first time can be a little daunting. You’ve got about another 10 seconds of enjoying the view.”
Licking his lips, Cas looks to his right, seeing the earth drop away beneath them. If he thought the people looked like ants before, they are pinpricks now, the altitude changing. They’ve already gone up so far, a small sign post informing them that they are 300 ft in the air.
“I’ll let you know when the camera is.” He says, winking and throwing his arms in the air. Cas notes that Sam and the girl also do this but doesn’t have a chance to question it.
The seat curls forward, screams bellowing from the front. From the back, he can watch the front start to go down, before registering that they are too.
“Woo!” Dean shouts, arms waving wildly as the air compresses against them.
Cas doesn’t know why, why this stranger would make him have a burst of confidence on the highest ride he’s ever been on – is still falling down on – he throws his arms up too. Dean grins at him again, air gulping in open mouth as he throws his head back in laughter. He looks at peace with the G force whirling their way. Cas, on the other hand, focuses on stopping his head from bouncing between the arms of the head bar. Once under control, he feels his stomach lurch again as the coaster again climbs.
At one point they slant completely on their side and he has the sudden urge to grab Dean’s arm, afraid he will fall. Dean shoots him a funny look over his shoulder, the cart righting itself immediately after. There are more dips and drops, climbs and falls before Dean speaks.
He’s fidgeting in his seat, hands fumbling with the rush of air at the hem of his shirt. Cas tilts his head curiously.
“Alright Cas!” He shouts, “This is it!”
The track dips again, ducking into a pitch black hole under another ride. He tries to smile, or do a face, when he feels something warm grab his hand. A flash and it’s over. Car halting abruptly, they’re back in the loading dock.
Dean whoops again, smoothing down his shirt. They wait for the seats to be released and, maybe clumsier than at first, stumble onto the other side. He hands him his coat and shrugs on his own. Gabe and Kali join his newly assembled group, the 6 of them walking down to the camera viewing area together. Sam and the girl are chatting animatedly, her bubbling as she clings to the larger man’s arm. Gabe has his arm slung loosely around Kali’s waist and Dean, Dean slinks back to walk with Cas.
Something, he doesn’t know what, curls warm in his chest.
The monitors are busy, people trying to find themselves in the small poorly coloured screens. Sam points out him and Jess, Dean nudges Cas to their own one beside it.
Cas gasps.
Dean has his shirt pulled up with one hand, the other gripping onto Cas like a vice. His full chest is on show, tribal tattoos and what looks to be mechanical parts, swirled with smoke; a long grey gun cocked against his ribcage. Cas notes in the image his head is turned towards Dean, both of them looking with a familiar fondness to each other.
“Come on Cassie, our picture was awful. I wanna go on that ride, what is it Kal?” He drags Cas away.
“Loki’s Playpen?”
“Hells yeah!” Gabe cackles, pulling them both with increased vigor.
He and Dean make a last fleeting eye contact and then he is gone, gulped down in a mass of people.
Cas stands in another nameless queue. Waits in another teeming line of people. He stands, scans his wristband and takes a seat in the open cart. He continues to stare straight ahead this time, not bothering to acknowledge the person climbing in beside him.
“Hey Cas, can you put this over there?”
He spins in disbelief.
That’s not the last time he sees that smile, or that chest.