Car Problems

Untitled Part 1

"Oh, come on, really?!" Cas slammed his hand on the steering wheel in annoyance when the check oil light came on. Again. He'd been putting it off for months now and to his surprise the light had actually gone off again. Until now. The car hadn't been running right lately so he decided to bite the bullet and just go get the oil changed. He didn't like the lube places, they always did things half assed, so he decided a real mechanic shop was the better choice. Cranking his music up he decided to head to the place near his house. They had good ratings, according to his sister, and hot mechanics. So at least he'd have something to look at while he had to wait.

When he pulled into the parking lot he saw the mechanics bustling about, working on cars in the open bays. He turned the car off and got out, walking into the lobby where he was greeted by a bubbly red head.

"Hi, welcome to Winchester's Auto Repair. How can I help you?" She asked.

"I need an oil change." He told her.

"Alright. Can I get your info? Car make and model, and the keys?"

Cas gave her everything she asked for but went out to the car to grab his phone and his earbuds before he handed over the keys. He settled into a seat that gave him a view of the garage and as he slid the buds into his ears and cranked the music up, he watched the men as they bustled about. He saw his own car getting pulled into the bay closest to the lobby and the best looking mechanic of all opening the hood and working on it. The man was tall with slightly bowed legs and broad shoulders, his hair was a dark blonde and Cas found himself wishing the man was closer so he could get a good look at his eyes. From where he sat at least he could see the strong jaw, full lips, and Romanesque nose. Damn he was gorgeous!

He watched as the guy changed filters and did a few other things under the hood, even stopping to shake his head at one point before he pulled out a creeper and laid down on it. The mechanic slid under the car, no doubt to drain the old oil out and at that point Cas lost interest. He couldn't see the mechanic any longer so he turned his attention to his phone, and he worked his way through his emails. He didn't hear the lobby door open or someone walking up to him, but a tap on the shoulder startled him. He pulled one bud from his ear and looked up to see the handsome mechanic standing in front of him. Green eyes were looking at him from a face so close to perfect it took his breath away. The freckles scattered across the man's nose and cheeks just added to his good looks, and when he smiled, it made Cas' heart begin to race.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The man's shirt said his name was Dean.

"You didn't. I may have my music a bit too loud, I didn't hear you approaching." Cas said with a sheepish smile.

"Well, I got your oil change done, but man, your car...when's the last time you had work done? It's a miracle it's still running." Dean shook his head. He stepped back as Cas stood up.

"Is it finished?" He asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about some other issues I noticed." Dean jerked a thumb back in the direction of the car but Cas held up a hand to stop him.

"Calm down mechanic guy. I just came in for an oil change. If I wanted to hear about all the other shit going on with my car, I'd turn my music down." His music was still blaring in one ear and he was sure even Dean could hear it. Dean blinked, his jaw dropping for a moment before clenching tight, his nostrils flaring. Cas didn't know the man well but he could tell he had pissed him off.

"Fine. Drive your death trap. Charlie will ring you up for the oil change." Dean said gruffly and turned to leave.

"I'm sorry." Cas blurted. Dean paused, still partially turned away, clearly waiting for Cas to finish.

"I don't maintain my car the way I should, I know that. But I don't have the time, energy or desire to get anything else fixed right now. I apologize for being rude." Cas hung his head in shame. Here was this highly attractive man and what did he do? Show him what a real dick he could be. Dean turned back to face him, crossing his arms. The angry look hadn't completely disappeared though.

"How about I come back another time and you can look?" Cas asked.

"Fine. Make an appointment with Charlie and I'll get Victor to handle it." Dean started for the door and Cas found himself chasing after him.

"Why won't you work on it?" He asked. Dean turned around and Cas barely had time to stop before he barreled straight into the man.

"What does it matter?" Dean asked.

Cas fidgeted with the cord for his earbuds. "I guess it doesn't..."

Dean's expression softened finally. "Look, just make the appointment, and if I have the time to do it myself, I will. If I don't, I'll have to relegate it to one of my guys. They're all as good as me. Your car will be in good hands."

"Are you the manager?" Cas didn't know why it mattered, he was just curious. Dean flashed him a smile that made his stomach feel like a flock of birds had just taken flight inside of it.

"I'm the owner. Dean Winchester's the name. You are...?"

"Castiel. Um, Cas for short. Novak, not that that part matters." Cas winced. He was not normally quite this awkward. "I'll just go make that appointment now..."

Cas trudged over to the counter where Charlie was busy talking to another customer and stood waiting. Suddenly Dean was at his side.

"Come here, I'll set it up for you, she's busy right now."

He stepped behind the counter and Cas moved further down so that he was standing in front of him.

"What day works best for you?" Dean was flipping through a calendar on the desk, looking at the already scheduled appointments.

"Any day is fine. I work from home, so just tell me a date and time and I'll be here." Cas replied. Dean looked up at him for just a second before nodding and looking at the upcoming days.

"Well, we're open seven days a week and I'm usually off on the weekends, but I can come in to work on it Sunday." Dean said. Cas shook his head. He wasn't going to expect this man to come in just to work on his stupid car. That was unfair to pull him away from his family like that and he said as much.

"No, I can't expect you to take time away from your family just to come in and work on my car. I know I may seem like an asshole but I'm not thatmuch of one."

"I'll just be sitting at home watching the game anyway. I can Tivo it. I don't have a family, so coming in to work on a car for a few hours, it's not like it'll be the first time I've done it. It's slower on Sundays though, so I should be able to get at least your brakes taken care of by late afternoon." Dean told him. Cas was still unsure. He felt guilty asking this man to take time to work on his car when he should be at home relaxing.

"Look you want me, right?" Dean asked.

Cas blurted "Yes, I do!"

They both seemed to realize at the same time how that had sounded. Dean burst out laughing while Cas groaned and buried his face in his hands in embarrassment.

"Ok, maybe I phrased that wrong, but you get what I meant." Dean said as he marked out a block of time with a red pen for that Sunday.

"Yes, I understood. I'll be here Sunday. What time do you want me?" Cas asked. He groaned again when he realized what he'd just said. "How the hell am I even a writer?" He muttered to himself. Dean snorted, thoroughly amused now by Cas and his awkwardness.

"Can you be here by nine? We open at noon on Sunday. If you're here by nine I can get the majority of the work done before my guys start getting underfoot."

"Yes, I'll be here by nine." Cas promised.

"Alright, go ahead and pay Charlie for the oil change and I'll see you Sunday morning." Dean winked before leaving to go back to the garage. Cas was pretty sure Dean Winchester was going to be the death of him.