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A soft echo of a car door shutting echoed throughout the garage as Castiel lowered himself into the passenger seat of the Impala. He exhaled as he shut the door behind him and rested himself against the leather seat. The beige interior of Baby became a comforting sight to him lately, as she was one of the only things Dean cared about the most. Castiel tilted his head toward the right, staring at the empty seat next to him longingly. It had been weeks since Dean’s death, and he still couldn’t bring himself to sit in the front seat, Dean’s spot. The place where he said his witty remarks and laughed, glancing at Castiel with light in his eyes that didn’t seem to last long enough. The memories they shared, usually more sentimental than Dean liked, but that didn’t change the meaning behind them. Castiel brushed that thought aside and glanced around Baby, noticing every little dent or scratch that carried so much history.
Dean told him everything about Baby, his and Sam’s initials they carved into her when they were kids, the little green army men stuffed in the backseat door, his box of old cassettes containing his extensive collection of rock music. For so long, Castiel took this car for granted, not fully realizing how it brought the two of them together in so many ways. The light nights that he popped in to see Dean, seeing him get startled, unintentionally showing Castiel a vulnerable side of him. He always treasured those moments, only wishing that Dean didn’t feel the need to hide that part of himself. A deep feeling of sorrow soon drew over him as tears began forming. He quickly blinked them away and came back to reality. Reflecting on these moments didn’t do him any favors now, thinking back on what happened or what could have been. He came here for a reason, to take care of something he should have done so long ago. He owed Dean that much.
The reason was in the shape of a mixtape.
The one Dean had gifted him so long ago and had failed to listen to until this moment. Castiel turned the key, causing the engine to come to life, along with the radio. The rock chords of a Led Zeppelin song filled the interior of the Impala. Castiel smiled slightly at the sound of the classic rock Dean always enjoyed blaring through the speakers. For a moment, he let the music envelop him, wondering how Dean never got sick of listening to the same songs over and over. Slowly, Castiel turned the radio down then leaned toward the tape deck, staring at it for a few seconds, reminding himself that whatever lay in this tape wouldn’t change the past. Maybe he was scared it wouldn’t change the way he felt about Dean. His only hope was that this tape would comfort him in the same way Dean always did. He took a deep breath, slid the mixtape in, and let the sweet sounds take him away.