STUPIDLY early Saturday morning, Cas's alarm went off, and he forced himself to get up and head out to meet Dean. Gabriel didn't even move in his sleep, unsurprisingly, since his brother slept better than the dead.

It had been...interesting to lie to Chuck's face and explain that he and Dean were going on a weekend long trip by themselves to Lebanon to see some of Dean's old friends. Chuck had been hesitant at first, which he had every right to be. They weren't even 18 yet, a road trip on their own seemed like a stretch to ask for.

But, Chuck had said, since Lebanon was only a couple hours away and they'd be staying at Dean's friend's house (who Dean trusted and whose parents would be home) then Chuck didn't see any real reason to keep him from going. He just made Cas promise to be safe, to make sure Dean didn't drive recklessly, to not drink, and to be home by a reasonable hour Monday night.

And the fact that he was willing to let them go so easily made Cas's heart ache. He hated lying to his Dad, especially about this. And especially since he knew how his dad felt about lying after they'd gotten arrested. 

But he needed to see Naomi. So he had to go.

Dean's Impala was already waiting by the curb when Cas stepped outside, and he climbed into the car, still tired. Dean smiled at him and passed him a can.

"Coffee sucks, so here's an energy drink to keep you awake." Cas looked at the can.

"Red bull? Seriously?"

"It'll give you wings, angel."

"It's also gasoline."

"If you don't want it, I'll drink it."

"No, I need it more." He cracked open the can and took a large sip, immediately choking on the carbonation. Dean laughed as Cas coughed and struggled not to spit redbull all over the leather interior, and they headed out.

Cas set the GPS to his mother's address, and Dean popped in a Led Zeppelin cassette (which Cas promptly cranked) and just like that, the easiest part of the trip was in motion. They sipped redbull in content silence for awhile until Dean finally broke the peaceful quiet.

"Soooo," He said awkwardly. "Have you thought about what you're going to say?"

Had he thought about it? Well that was a dumb question. Of course Cas had thought about it. It had been the only functioning thought in his brain for three days and he still wasn't any closer to an answer.

"I have," Cas admitted. "And I still don't know." He frowned. "I mean, what do you even say to a parent that ditches you for 15 years? Hi? How's the weather? She's not even going to recognize me."

"I think hi is a good start," Dean suggested. "More formal than Hey, not as formal as Hello, although hello could also work cause you're right, she won't recognize you. You'll have to introduce yourself."

"Hi, I'm Cas Novak, you know, one of the seven children you abandoned?"

"Hello. My name is Castiel Novak. You ditched my father. Prepare to die." And just like that, all the tension that had been building in Cas and all of his nervousness about meeting Naomi fell away.

"Oh my god, I CANNOT say that." He declared, laughing. 

"Why not? I think it'd be funny as hell."

"It would, and I like it just enough that I hate you for suggesting it."

"Please, you couldn't hate me if you TRIED. I'm irresistible."

"Oh, you think you're irresistible, huh?"

"I think I'm adorable," Dean shot him a stupid smile to add to the point and Cas had to crack a grin.

"You're definitely something."

"What? You don't think I'm adorable?"

"Puppies are adorable. You're not a puppy, so irresistible seemed more on the right track."

"Here's the real question though- which one of us is Crowley, and which is Aziraphale?" Cas gasped.

"YOU KNOWS GOOD OMENS?!!?"

"Duh. I'm an unofficial member of Michael Sheen's cult, and it's only unofficial because the idea of starting a cult hasn't made it into Michael's head yet."

"Obviously I'm Aziraphale."

"True, but why?"

"Because you're deep down, just a little bit, a good person, and I'm just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing."

"Can't argue with that logic, but I'm also Crowley for about a million reasons."

"Like the car?"

"And that I'd run into a burning building to save you."

"Awwww. I'd run off to Alpha Centauri with you."

"That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." 

"Oh! And you call me angel. Definitely Crowley."

"You swear more than Aziraphale though."

"That's because I fucking like to, Sweetheart."

"I think Crowley would spontaneously combust if Aziraphale called him sweetheart."

"How DARE you say something like that when I'm MILES AWAY FROM MY LAPTOP AND MY FANFICTION-"

"You have a notes app on your phone. Write your dream fanfic on that."

"...I knew I fell in love with you for a reason."

"It was a pretty good choice on your part."

"Best choice of my life," Cas muttered, typing away on his phone. "I'm going to ignore you for an hour and write fanfiction, okay?"

"I wanna hear it when you're done."

"DEAL."

*****

They stopped two hours later because breakfast was necessary and Dean saw a sign that said pie. So while Cas ate pancakes like a normal human, Dean inhaled slice after slice of apple pie at a speed too fast to be healthy or human in any way.

"So I think I've got it figured out," Cas said, fiddling with his phone. "I found a cheap motel in Fargo- it's the closest to Bismarck we can get without having to pay a STUPID amount of money for a room, but it's still two hours away, so we'll probably have to wake up early on Sunday in case there's traffic."

"But it's two hours less of driving we'll have to do today," Dean pointed out. "AND we won't have to sleep in my car tonight. I'm sold, book it." 

"Got it." He went to the motel's website and immediately frowned.

"What is it?"

"You're gonna think I'm lying-"

"Okaaaaaay?"

"Because it's TOTALLY cliche, but-"

"Don't say it," Dean grinned. "They only have rooms with one bed available, don't they?"

"Yep." Dean shrugged.

"Well I mean, we are boyfriends. It's not the end of the world if we have to share a bed."

"True," Cas agreed. "I'm just afraid we'll like it so much that we won't want to go back to our own beds once we get home."

"Or we could have such a horrible experience that we never talk to each other again afterwards." 

"What exactly could happen in the span of one night that could convince me to never speak to you again?"

"Ummm," Dean scraped his fork against the bare pie plate, trying to trap any molecule of filling he might have missed. "I don't know- I use all the hot water in the shower and then set the blankets on fire?"

"Impossible. Motels don't have hot water." 

"You got that right." Dean licked his fork clean and Cas found himself watching him, only to go red when Dean noticed and smirked. "Something on your mind, angel?"

"NO," Cas said immediately, blushing harder. "Nope, nothing at all- we should probably get back on the road, I-"

"Right. Gotta get to Fargo on time. Make good use of that room." Cas buried his face in his hands.

"Oh my god."

"You're adorable."

"Why do you have to be so damn attractive?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

****

The rest of the drive up was actually really fun, to Cas's delight. Rush hour traffic had sucked, but most of the drive had flown by. They had wasted the time by singing horribly off key to all the songs on Dean's cassettes, playing iSpy and Never Have I Ever, and just generally goofing off.

"Okay, new game." Dean said as Cas picked through the box of cassettes. "Question for a Question."

"How do you play that?" Cas asked, checking out an Aerosmith tape that had definitely seen better days.

"Just how it sounds. I ask you a question, and if you answer then you get to ask me a question and I have to answer."

"Alright. Fire away!" 

"Favorite color?"

"Green. What's your favorite tape in this box?"

"It's labelled 'Dean's Top 13 Zepp Traxx'"

"Fancy."

"It's got all the best songs on it." Cas found the tape and put it in, Good Times Bad Times blasting out of the speakers. "What's your favorite classic rock band?" 

"Queen. What's your least favorite story about your childhood?"

"OUCH! You're out here with the tough questions."

"Gotta keep you on your toes, sweetheart."

"Alright, fine. When I was ten and Sam was eight, we were obsessed with superheroes, so we got all dressed up- I was Superman, Sam was Batman- and we taped trash bags to our arms and climbed onto the roof of the garage and tried to fly."

"NO!"

"YES. Sam ended up breaking his arm and I felt so terrible for WEEKS. He still brings it up sometimes, but it always makes me feel awful cause it was my idea and he got hurt because of it."

"You were ten, you didn't know any better."

"Still." Dean sighed. "Alright, if we're going for tough questions... Who was your first ever crush and what happened?"

"Oh noooooo," Cas whined and Dean started laughing. "Third grade. It was a kid named Arnie Reynolds, and he was like the 'bad boy'-"

"Bad boy? REALLY? I didn't take you for the type!"

"SHUT UP!!" Cas blushed. "And it was the same year Charlie decided that everyone in the class had to get married on the playground; we all went along with it for some stupid reason, and so I asked Arnie if he wanted to marry me and he laughed in my face and said boys couldn't marry boys and then he married Ruth the same day."

"NO!"

"True story. Broke my heart."

"CAS."

"It's fine, he moved away next year and nobody ever talked about him again."

"That's so sad though!" Cas shrugged. 

"I'm over it. But if YOU get to hear about my exes, then I want to hear all about yours. Did you date anyone before me?" Dean squirmed.

"Yes." He admitted. 

"Who?"

"Lisa Braeden, back in Lebanon. She and I started dating at the beginning of eighth grade until just before the Homecoming Dance freshman year."

"What was she like?"

"She was...fun, I guess. I mean, we had fun when we hung out. She was my first kiss and all that stuff. My mom hated her, although I didn't see why until after we broke up."

"Why'd you break up?"

"I assumed we were going to the Homecoming Dance together, but the week before, she got asked by Kenny Williams, and since he was a Junior, she said yes and immediately broke up with me because she wanted to date him instead."

"Wow, what a bitch." Cas said bluntly. Dean laughed.

"You can say that again. The jokes on her, though."

"Oh?"

"Kenny found me a couple days after the dance and said he found out what she'd done and that he wanted to apologize. We got to talking, and ended up making out behind the gym a couple times before he started dating someone else. Lisa HATED me for it." Cas burst out laughing.

"I love karma."

"It's awesome."

******

It was late by the time they reached the motel in Fargo, so crashing on the queen sized bed was definitely the best feeling ever.

"I never want to move again," Dean groaned, lying on the bed.

"I did offer to drive," Cas insisted.

"Hell no, nobody drives Baby but me."

"Whatever Swayze. I'm gonna take a shower."

"Why? Motel water pressure sucks."

"Because I don't want to smell like a truck stop when I show up at my mom's house."

"And smelling like a motel room is better?" Cas paused.

"Maybe I'll shower in the morning."

"I recommend you shower twice. Road trip smell lingers."

"Fair enough." Cas wandered into the bathroom and fiddled with the squeaky shower controls. "OH MY GOD."

"What?" Dean asked.

"IT'S WARM."

"WHAT!" Dean launched off the bed and ran for the bathroom, where he and Cas stuck their hands under the shower head and freaked out over the hot water. "Shower, now." Dean insisted. "You have no idea how long this will last."

"But I'm just gonna shower again in the morning anyways, and I'd feel bad if I used all the warm water before you got a chance to shower."

"Yeah but if we sit here and argue about who's gonna shower first, by the time we figure it out the water will be cold again and BOTH of us will suffer, so just take it."

"I mean there is another option," Cas started.

"What, neither of us shower and we just rely on deodorant like normal people?"

"No," Cas bit his lip. "I mean if we showered together we'd both get warm water." 

Dean exe. has stopped working.

"It's just a suggestion, but-" Cas continued.

"We'd also be conserving water," Dean said suddenly. "Less of it would go to waste."

"That's good for the environment."

"Very good."

"So really it's for the good of the world."

"I mean if showering with you helps prevent climate change then I can't exactly say no, I care very deeply about the planet, Castiel."

"As do I, and we used a lot of gas today, so we should give back to nature and do what we can to help."

"Makes sense to me." Dean insisted.

"Fine, then we'll shower together."

"Good."

"Excellent."

"Wonderful."

"It feels good to save the planet."

"Indeed."