Bring it on Home

anastiel:

12×19 coda. Part ½ (Cas’ POV) 1.5k. (ao3)

Cas is sitting in the Bunker’s main room, going over some of Sam’s
research, when a dull clunk sounds next to him on the table. He glances
over at the noise to see Dean pushing a cassette towards him.

“What’s this?” Cas asks, looking up at Dean.

Dean
clears his throat, eyes darting away from Cas’, and taps two fingers on
the top of the cassette, “For when you’re on the road next.”

Cas takes the cassette in his hand, examining it between his fingers.  Deans Top 13 Zepp Traxx.

“You made this for me?”

Dean’s
cheeks color, but he recovers quickly, with one of those
pleased-confident smiles of his. “Yep! Remember how I was talking the
other day about educating you on good music? Well, Zepp’s the best so I figured this would be a good place to start.”

“Thank
you, Dean, I’ll make sure to take careful notes on my opinions about
each song,” Cas replies. He rubs a thumb over Dean’s handwriting on the
front and smiles, slipping the tape into the pocket of his suit jacket.

Dean chuckles, awkwardly stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “Well, I expect a full report back.”

“I’ll make sure to call you after my first listen,” Cas replies, mouth tipping up into a smirk.

“You better.”

---

When
Cas leaves on his quest for Kelly Kline, he heads east first, driving
his rickety truck on the 36 towards Kansas City. He flicks on the local
classical station until it fizzes out two hours later and he remembers
the weight in his suit pocket.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, Cas
digs the tape out of his pocket and pushes it into the tape deck. Dean
didn’t tell him the track listing, so Cas doesn’t know for sure which
songs are on here. The first song starts off with a roaring guitar and
Cas has definitely heard this one before. He smiles, tapping his fingers
on the steering wheel to the beat. Images filter through his mind of
Dean singing at the top of his lungs, very out of tune, and slamming his
hands against the steering wheel like it’s a drum set.

The first
song ends and the second starts, just as fast as the first, but with a
quicker beat of drums and guitars. Robert Plant sings – well Cas isn’t
sure singing is the correct word, it’s more like yell-singing – about
Rock N’ Roll. Cas does, however, understand the appeal to this man’s
voice. It’s rough, but in a strangely enchanting and seductive way. He
wonders if this, aside from the musical quality, is what drew Dean to
love this band. After the first three songs, all upbeat, and obviously
rock songs, the fourth slows down a bit, starting with a ballad-like
guitar and a haunting whistle in the background. Ah, yes. Stairway to
Heaven. It’s a beautiful song, untrue, since there is no possible way
for anyone to buy a stairway to heaven, and portals are the only access
to heaven now. The song may be rather romantic in its idealism, but Cas
can clearly picture Sam and Dean as kids sprawled out in the backseat,
listening to this song, while their father drives, headlights piercing
the darkness.

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