1000 Ships, 1000 oneshots, 1000 followers

*Destiel

A crash sounded from the Bunker's garage,  immediately followed by a loud "SON OF ABITCH!" so Cas got the feeling that car repair wasn't going very well. And after Sam stormed out of the garage, hands covered in grease and oil and proclaimed "That's it! I'm done! I'm not helping him anymore!" Cas decided that maybe he should go check on the progress.

Don't worry, the precious 1967 Chevy Impala that Sam and Dean call home is not in danger. The car currently being ripped to shreds by Dean was Cas's run down truck. He loved the vehicle, but Sam hated it because it was always breaking down and Dean hated it because whenever Cas drove it, it meant he wasn't traveling with them.

Not that Dean would ever admit that, of course.

Cas wandered into the garage, studying Dean as he swore from underneath the truck.

"Any luck?" He asked. Dean slid out from under the car and sighed.

"I don't know what the hell you did to this thing, Cas, but I think we might have to scrap it. The whole transmission's shot, and that's just the start."

"Oh...." Cas frowned. "What if we took it to a professional mechanic?" Dean got up and scowled at him.

"I'm a professional," He insisted.

"A professional hunter, yes. Not car repair man."

"I know more about fixing cars then half the mechanics who get paid to fix them!"

"...Uh huh. Sure you do, Dean." The scowl deepened.

"And besides, what do you think would happen if we brought this to an actual auto body shop, huh? Hi, I'm Dean Winchester, still currently at large on the FBI's Most Wanted List for the fifth time, I can only pay you through a credit card scam, and I don't have insurance, but can you fix my angel's car?" Cas rolled his eyes.

"What if I took it instead?"

"Hi, I'm not legally alive cause I'm an angel possessing a dead man's corpse, so I definitely don't have insurance and the meat suit's policy expired years. I don't have money either, but if I promise you'll get into heaven, can you fix my car?" Cas sighed.

"Fine. We'll find a different way to fix it then."

"Or you could just find a different car."

"You know I don't like stealing cars."

"Well sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. And right now it's either steal a new car, or just tag along with me and Sam in Baby. I don't get why you don't just do that."

"Because there's only so long I can put up with you and Sam in the Impala, no offense," Cas insisted. "Sometimes I want to drive and listen to a talk show instead of listening to you two bicker over classic rock while I sit next to a cooler full of beer and vegetable smoothies."

"Well, I agree with you on the smoothie thing, Sam's really gotta stop that-"

"And you should really stop drinking beer while you drive-"

"It's like water to me at this point, it doesn't affect me-"

"I'm concerned for your liver-"

"But did you really have to insult my music?"

"It's not like I hate it. There's just other types of music I prefer."

"Well if you don't hate it, then what's your favorite band?"

"What?"

"Sam gets annoyed with my music all the time, but he's a Bon Jovi kind of guy, so I'll throw on a tape of that when I know he's getting annoyed; if you tell me your favorite band, then I'll play it more often."

"Oh... Well, I like Led Zeppelin..." Dean grinned. "What?"

"Nothing, I just didn't take you for Zeppelin kind of guy. I'll make a note of that."

"Sam hates Led Zeppelin though."

"No, Sam hates Asia and Stairway to Heaven because of your stupid archangel brothers. As long as we stay away from those, we'll be fine."

"And you're sure the car can't be fixed?" Dean looked at the truck and sighed.

"I'll keep trying and try to get a hold of some parts, see what I can do. But I'm not making any promises."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." Dean popped the hood of the car and went back to work.

****

A few days later, Cas was in the library, looking for a new case, and Dean wandered in.

"Hey," He said. "Catch." Cas looked up as he tossed a small object at him. Cas fumbled a bit, but he caught it. He frowned at the item, confused. 

"What is this?"

"It's a cassette tape, dumbass. It's what we play in the car."

"Oh." Cas flipped it over, reading the title. "Dean's Top 13 Zepp Traxx?"

"I noticed you've got a cassette player in the truck, and you said you like Zeppelin, so I made a tape up for you."

"You fixed the truck?"

"Still waiting on a couple parts, but after they get here, then yep, it should be up and running and and can listen to your first cassette in it." Cas stared at him and smiled.

"Thank you," Dean shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"It's nothing," He insisted, fleeing the room quickly. Cas studied the tape and his smile grew as he wondered if this is what people meant when they said they were given a mixtape.

******

"I just wanted to return this," Cas said, gingerly walking into Dean's room and setting down the cassette tape. He knew Dean was pissed at him for everything that went down. He probably would've demanded the tape back eventually anyways, so Cas thought it was better to return it now, as a sort of olive branch between them. But instead Dean hadn't even looked up at him. He'd only picked up the tape and handed it back to him.

"It's a gift," He said. "You keep those."

"Oh." Cas took the tape back.

"Dean?" Cas paused on his way out the door, and Dean looked up at him. "Just so you know...No one's ever given me a gift before." Dean stared at him, a dozen emotions flying across his face.

"Well, I guess we'll have to change that," He offered.

A Led Zeppelin mixtape was the first gift Cas had ever received from Dean. But it definitely wasn't the last.