This fic was written for the Everlasting Birthday Challenge at the DeanCastiel Livejournal community, for Direbanshee. I hope I did this prompt justice!

"Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly"

~Unknown

Castiel is an Angel of Thursday. Not even the only, or foremost Angel of Thursday, just one of many lesser Thursday Angels brought into being at the exact same moment; an indistinguishable creature made to shine and serve. Unlike most of his siblings though, Castiel was sometimes just a little bit remarkable. While most Angels, when not carrying out a particular task would allow themselves to fall into quiet contemplation, carefully pondering the workings of their Father's vast creations, Castiel would spend his time learning. Much knowledge was bestowed upon any Angel at their creation, but Castiel would speak with his siblings, gathering information from the others. Specifically Castiel hunted for the knowledge of things that were not immediately relevant to his standing duties and therefore unknown to him. His favourite conversations though were the stories of humans, as observed by the Heavenly Host. Castiel spoke to many of the other Angels and passed much time in such a way, drunk on tales of valiant warriors and wicked fiends. It is this penchant for curiosity and free thought that first caught the eye of a wandering Archangel.

Gabriel used to be an Archangel. Well, to be honest, he still was, even though he was mostly known as a Trickster demi-god now. Turns out that 'Archangel of Judgement' translated well into 'Loki, the Norse God of Mischief.' Gabriel grinned savagely as he surveyed the grunting, squealing, rotund bodies of five large hogs, formerly human pigs of the male chauvinist variety. Fitting. With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel popped away to find his next victim, idly sucking the candy coating off of a green peanut M&M. He decided a day trip to Rome was in order, as punishing sinners in Vatican City always fed his sharply honed sense of irony. He had barely been landed a moment however when he was joined by his younger, and perhaps favourite of brothers.

"Castiel! What brings you out this way kiddo?" Castiel was in his true form but occupying a different plane from standard Earth, and therefore invisible to the human populous, so Gabriel was treated to the site of his companion rippling in confusion, obviously having been momentarily thrown by the unfamiliar term of endearment. Gabriel took in his sibling's perplexed face with a small smile of his own and allowed himself to feel somewhat fond of his little brother's inability to handle even simple informalities.

"I would hear further of your adventures, if you would speak of them." When Castiel finally responded, Gabriel rolled his eyes, of course that was it! The kid asked for nothing else! Yet, while still as uptight and proper as the rest of Gabriel's brothers and sisters, Castiel had a streak of whimsy, and childlike innocence about him that sang of potential. The lesser Angel's unique interest in humanity was why Gabriel had approached his sibling and offered his friendship in the first place. They had an easy arrangement; Castiel told none about his visits with the supposedly missing and presumed dead Archangel, and in return was privy to all the wild recollections of Gabriel's vast experiences on Earth. Gabriel appreciated the link to home and the Angelic company and Castiel got his fill of amusing anecdotes and an ongoing education in the subtleties of human life.

"I've got a few new ones since last time, but before I do, tell me; you and Balthazar, how's that going? Any wing-bumping that I should know about? Gimme all the dirt!" Of course, being close as they were didn't mean that Gabriel didn't tease his brother endlessly; in fact it only encouraged the behaviour. Not that it worked much though as Castiel was generally immune to teasing. Mostly because he didn't seem to have a sense of humour that Gabriel was aware of, and therefore usually missed the fact that he was being teased in the first place. Like now, watching Castiel's wings flutter and shift rapidly through colours not entirely visible on the red-violet spectrum as the Angel replied, confused once again.

"I do not understand your meaning. Balthazar is my brother and my friend and as such I have no desire to share my wings with him. Did you think otherwise?"

Gabriel groaned and smacked his forehead into his palm. "He's been panting after you for the last few centuries at least, Castiel. Please tell me you let him down gently?"

Castiel's eyes were wide and fixed emphatically on his brother's face when he replied. "I'm uncertain what effect his heavy breathing may or may not have had on our friendship, nor have I ever been required to lower Balthazar in any way, roughly or otherwise."

The sharp sound of face meeting palm once again resounded loudly, and the words that followed were therefore somewhat muffled by the hand in question. "Kid, we gotta talk."

Gabriel and Castiel had retreated fully to the secondary plane, sliding sideways between this world and the next one parallel to find a private place for their conversation. Mostly because this talk was looking like it was about to turn out to be a rather long and painful one. As the time wore on it became obvious that Gabriel wasn't wrong in this assumption.

"So Balthazar wished to mate with me?"

"Yeah Castiel, he did."

"And Rachel, also?"

"Yup, her too."

"Camael? Hadraniel? Orifiel?"

"Bingo!"

Castiel shifted in discomfort, casting different shades across the fathomless landscape in discomfort. "I do not understand. I am no better than any of our kin, nor am I special or chosen or set above. In fact, I may even be less than those who you claim seek me. How could this be so?"

"Castiel, look, you have noticed that your different right? March to your own beat? Think outside the box? This ringing a bell?"

"Your metaphors are cumbersome and incomprehensible."

"Whatever. Point is, they see what I see, bro. And I see potential for awesome there. Once you learn how to loosen up a little." Gabriel regarding his sibling seriously for a moment, taking in the curves and edges and tides of Castiel's grace, the arch and hues of his disproportionately large wings. Translated into flesh, Gabriel supposed his brother wouldn't be a bad looking-sort. He would certainly maintain his striking blue eyes, which would probably do wonders for him in the dating world. And idea began to form in Gabriel's head, and he stepped back, clapping his hands and moulding his Grace in a way he hadn't since he'd first consigned himself to the trapping of bone, sinew and blood. "In fact Castiel, I know just the guy to help."

"Date your kid brother? Gabe, buddy, have you been drinking the Kool-aid? Cause we've talked about this matchmaking of yours and honestly, from one dude to another? A Cupid you ain't."

Gabriel grinned at his old friend and one of the few beings in existence he trusted enough to share the truth about his Angelic alter-ego. Tall and lanky, yet solid with muscle and handsome of face, the other man sprawled easily on the next barstool over and nursed a scotch with the air of someone long practised. "Come on Deyn, where's your sense of adventure? Besides I just whipped him up a body, and DAMN! I done good with that one. Made him bendy too, know how you like that." Gabriel punctuated himself by draining his cocktail in one decisive swallow, then using the empty glass to flag the bartender for another.

"First off, don't pronounce it like that, I mean, what is this, the middle ages? Its Dean now, chucklehead. Also, I don't care if you can flick a switch and he'll vibrate all over, I'm not being set up with anybody you know, not after last time." Dean's grimace said everything there was to be said about 'The Lisa Debacle,' capitals letters required for proper emphasise.

Gabriel snorted. "Look, so I was wrong once, means I know better now. Besides Dean, I know it's been lonely for you, since you brother shacked up with that cute blonde nymph-girl and started punching out a bunch of snot-nosed little Godlets. Believe me I know, I mean there's always work but playing tricks on jackasses doesn't keep you warm at night. Some company would be nice don't you think?' Gabriel leaned in a little closer to his friend, working the hard sell for all he was worth. "He's got wings too y'know, he'd have no trouble keeping up with you and your baby." Seeing the unconvinced look on his friends face, Gabriel settled back a bit in his chair as he pulled out his hidden ace. "When I said bendy, I meant his legs can go behind his head."

Dean's eyes widened, irritation vanishing as he swallowed somewhat noticeably. "For real?"

"And then some."

"...I'm going to regret this, I know."

"Hey who knows? Maybe we all will. Another drink?"

"Make it a double. Anyways I know you hate talking shop while we're drinking, but that red-faced douche in the plaid button-down over there, the one who just threw his drink at the nice waitress and called her a slut? I think he's earned himself a blown-out tire a couple miles up the road."

Gabriel grinned wickedly. "Classy. Cheers!"

Castiel shifts nervously, simultaneously cataloguing the way his new corporeal body reacts to every whim. It was bizarre to have organs, bones, and only two each of arms and legs. Father in Heaven, he even had skin now! He spent long moments just running his new hands over said naked skin, tracing the parts where the smoothness gave way to a light dusting of body hair. Curious hands pass over his face, memorizing the shape with his brand new fingerprints. One hand moves up to ruffle his short dark hair, letting blunt fingernails scratch lightly at his scalp in a pleasing sensation, while the other traces his full pink lips. Letting his mouth slide open he takes in the index and middle fingers, feeling along the hard edges of his teeth, the slick length of his own tongue and in return he wonders at the clean, neutral taste of his own skin. In many ways Castiel felt awed and humbled by his new form; a physical body all his own to injure and mend and feed and groom and just feel things in. Never before had Castiel even had himself so defined, so irrevocably bound into one shape instead of the constant flow of energy from one pattern to another that he had existed as for so many eternities. Strangest of all though, was that his wings; while still non-corporeal and unperceived by most mortals, were now tethered to his back, for the first time anchored on one spot on his physiology instead of moving freely around himself as he saw fit. It wasn't uncomfortable to wear a body, he decided then while examining Gabriel's handiwork in a conjured reflective surface, more like a tight and indefinite embrace. Over his shoulder in the mirror he can see his brother approach, the other having returned from his rendezvous with what he'd called 'a longtime pal of mine.' Gabriel smiling face hovers nest to Castiel's in the mirror, a decidedly smug expression firmly in place.

"Looking pretty snappy bro. What say we find you some clothes and turn you loose?"

Before Castiel a large black car pulls up, coming to a stop and kicking up clouds of dust. They had chosen an out of the way dirt road for their first meeting; or rather, Gabriel and the mysterious Deyn had and Castiel had merely gone where his brother had directed. Now he eyed the large vehicle with trepidation as the door on the far side opened and closed, and a tall man made his way around the shiny black body. For a minute they just stood there, sizing each other up from about ten feet away, no sound but the low buzz of a couple fat bumblebees in the field nearby.

Taking stock of the other man for the first time, the Angel is momentarily thrown. Gabriel had said that Deyn would be attractive, but Castiel hadn't truly anticipated him to be quite so aesthetically perfect; with his broad shoulders, strong jaw and eyes like moonlight on jade. It made his face heat with self-consciousness, suddenly aware of all the ways that his new body could be considered less. It is Deyn that breaks the silence.

"Well. Gabe was right, he did make you hot."

Castiel blinks in confusion, tilting his head slightly in a fashion that he's been told appears distinctly avian. "I believe the excess of sunshine is more responsible for my current temperature than the efforts of my brother." Castiel is not sure what to think when the other man barks out a sharp laugh; his head tipping back to allow a sunbeam to sluice across his throat and turn the ridge of his collarbone beneath his plaid button-down into a play of light and shadows. It is strangely hypnotic in a way Castiel has never encountered before.

"Are you for real?" The demi-god asks, seemingly amused, and Castiel feels his skin prickle slightly with displeasure at the assumed sleight.

"My current vessel is a manufactured construct, but I myself was created by my Father's own hand and am hardly artificial!" Castiel's righteous anger falters a little when the other man smiles again, not unkindly.

"Meant no disrespect; to you or your Daddy. Here, hop in." At this the man hauls the passenger door open and steps back in invitation. Castiel approaches reluctantly, resting a careful hand on the sun-warm metal of the roof.

"I have never ridden in a motor vehicle. It is safe, Deyn?"

"As houses, Cas. And seriously, it's pronounced 'Dean.' Makes me sound more like the 21st century guy that I am, yeah?"

"You express preferential pronunciation for your name, yet you shorten my own?"

Dean snorted before replying. "You complaining?"

Castiel wasn't, so he said nothing and instead seated himself gingerly, tugging the lapels of his tan trenchcoat a little tighter around him, feeling slightly vulnerable in his new body. Deyn—Dean, pardon, closes the door and walks around, climbing into the driver's seat with the air of someone who lives for such a thing. He starts the car and pulls away, carefully navigating the dusty back road until their tires meet smooth asphalt. After that, with the empty road before him, Dean opens up the throttle and the car screams down the highway, going faster than what should be safe Castiel believes. A glance beside him to Dean's profile reveals him to be relaxed yet alert; the picture-perfect appearance of total control. Castiel allows himself to relax as well, confident in Dean's ability to safely pilot the large metal contraption without incident. They ride in silence for a while, just chasing the white and yellow lines before Dean turns his face aside to speak to Castiel over the hum of the engine.

"So, Angel huh? How's that for you?"

Castiel ponders his response for a minute; quite sure that no one had ever asked him such a question before. "It is all-encompassing and... predictable? I perform my duties to my Father and serve him and the mortal denizens of Earth to my fullest capabilities. When I am not otherwise engaged with my responsibilities, I prefer to spend time speaking with my siblings, or visiting Gabriel. His anecdotal knowledge of humanity is both fascinating, and seemingly bottomless."

"So you slum it down here often?" Dean turned his head, keeping one eye on the road, but allowing the other to observe the little furrow in the Angel's brow as he struggled to understand the colloquial meaning of the query.

"I have never worn a human body before."

"Yeah Gabriel mentioned that. Said he made you extra flexible to boot." Dean allowed one of his more salacious grins, curious as to how Castiel would respond.

Castiel was mostly unsure of what Dean's wriggling eyebrows could mean, except... "You... are implying a correlation between my physical capabilities and their relevance to my assumed prowess during fornication? Yes, he may have mentioned that."

Dean choked on another laugh, throwing one arm across the back of the seat, his hand resting lightly against the base of Castiel's skull, tickling the fine hairs their and raising gooseflesh all along his neck and shoulders. It was not an entirely unpleasant sensation though, so Castiel said nothing and instead savoured the new stimulus, especially when Dean's blunt fingertips began to rub the muscles in Castiel's neck with gentle, even pressure. The feeling was soothing and Castiel felt his eyes droop in contentment, catching the slightest of smiles on Dean's lips before he flexed his godly power. The hand crank for both their windows began to turn themselves; lowering the glass fully to let a pleasant breeze fill the car. A human may have found the harsh rush of moving air distasteful, but to Castiel it felt nearly like flying in a way more physical and visceral than any he had experienced before. He stretches one arm out, noting the fine blue veins beneath the pale skin at the inside of his wrist where his coat sleeve rode up at the motion. He allows his arm to rest on the edge of the open window, hand loose and slightly curled to catch the wind as the duo tears up the pavement on the road to anywhere.

"Gabriel tells me you are a Trickster."

It was a statement more than a question. Dean nodded, popping the trunk and fishing two bottles from its depths. "Beer?" He offered, focusing his energy to chill to drink before passing it along to a curious Angel. He walked around the car to take a seat on the hood, leaning himself back into a mostly reclined position against the windshield. After a moment's hesitation Castiel joined him, careful not to scuff the pristine surface with his shoes. They had driven to one of Dean's favourite spots overlooking a small creek, a place they were guaranteed privacy from human interruptions seeing as it was next door to nowhere. Out here in Middle America's very own back forty the stars were plentiful after dark, and there were no other souls save the Field Mice and the Cicadas around for miles. They both sipped their drinks idly, soaking in the vast night sky until Castiel spoke again.

"Ah, how is that... for you?" The question sounded unsure, although Dean was convinced that it was due to the use of a new phrase more than anything. He shrugged casually but smiled when responding.

"It's an alright gig. I'm the demi-God of the American Roadways if you ask the official sources, although tricks are in my nature. It's mostly just driving around the lower 48, enjoying the sights, helping out stranded motorists, blessing the weary travellers and punishing the inconsiderate assholes with empty gas tanks or broken axles. I, and the others like me were all born in the moment a dirt path first connected two points, and I claimed the land that became this country as my territory sometime after." Dean sips his beer for a second thoughtfully, before speaking again. "Y'know its funny, I've been around for a long time, and while I love my baby here, I occasionally catch myself missing the days of carriages. There's something a little nostalgic about a time when horsepower was provided by real live horses." Once more Dean pauses in his monologue, picking at the label on his bottle, seemingly contemplating the merits of continuing. "Actually, it used to be my brother and me together; family business you know? But he found himself a wife and started a family a little while back, so I'm on my own now." Dean tried to shrug it off, but he got the feeling Castiel had caught on to the loneliness inherent in his voice. The angel's reply was hesitant but steady and thoughtful.

"I... am often alone. I felt I had friends for a time, but it appears that they wanted more from me than I could comfortably offer. Beyond them, and Gabriel, I feel that I am mostly faceless and unknown amongst the host. I'm sure that no one has yet noticed my frequent sabbaticals here on Earth. It is... not unexpected though. I am just one of many created into conformity and servitude, so my absences are meaningless and overlooked. I am not individual, you see, merely part of a larger community designed for submission and devotion."

Dean frowns a little in displeasure at the statement, shifting his body so he was facing a little more towards his companion. "I don't believe that anonymity crap for a second. You're here now right? You seek out Gabriel when no one else even knows where to look for him, you met with me of your own accord, rode with me in my car and are now sitting and drinking with me... how is the beer, anyways?" Dean punctuates the question with a wave of his bottle.

Castiel takes another sip, testing. "Rich, and somewhat bitter? I don't believe I mind it, but perhaps it is only that I have never experienced taste before." Castiel sips again then nods shortly as if in confirmation. Dean smiles and sits up, turning to look at the Angel more directly.

"See? Your here, tasting, feeling in ways most Angels would never dare, would never even want to. You're a curious thing, Cas. You see common men and dream of heroes, you ride shotgun with Pagan Gods, and you watch the stars in the darkest of countryside like you haven't played tag among them out there in the atmosphere. I can see the shape of your wings, you know, the bright edges where they shimmer like heat rising off the pavement. You're a being of heaven and the cosmos, and still totally content to just hang out here on the ground. I could never be happy like this in the sky; I'm a creature of gravity and dirt. You though, you blaze like a supernova and don't even think about it! You ask me, that makes you pretty damn special."

Castiel is unsure of what to say or do, laid bare beneath Dean's intense green stare. He sits up slowly, the motion bringing his face closer to Dean's. At this distance Castiel could count the freckles on Dean's nose, and each one appears to be a revelation; a tiny cluster of miracles hand-painted on skin. Castiel drinks in Dean's face hungrily; his green eyes, his fine cheekbones, his full lips, which is where the Angel's mind stutters and dies. He moves without thinking or realizing, laying two fingertips to the enticing swell of Dean's bottom lip, absorbing the experience like a desert drinks rain. Dean takes the mostly empty beer bottle from Castiel's hand and chucks it, along with his own, onto the ground with a harsh clank. The moment transfixes them, pins the both wide open like specimen for dissection. It takes Dean a long while to find his voice.

"Gabriel sent me to you to teach you." Castiel can feel the words through his fingers, and in the breath and vibration of Dean's voice he is moved profoundly.

"Then I shall be taught. Everything please, if you would." Breathless, anticipating.

Dean laughs again, little more than a soft huff of air against Cas's cheek. "Everything is a lot, are you sure?"

"Yes, and then anything else left after that, too."

"Greedy." The word is breathed practically into Cas's mouth, Dean's lips brushing his own. Cas raises his hands and cups Dean's face, skin warm and sweet beneath his palms.

"Please." Cas replies, and then lets his mouth meet with Dean's the way he's seen human lovers do before. The soft touch is electric and sharp like citrus, the press of their lips close to divinity and Castiel begins to burn in a way few Angels ever have.

"Good answer." Dean's words and accompanying chuckle are the last coherent things spoken as the two new lovers lose themselves to mutual passion. Far above them in the black velvet sky, the silent stars are the only living witnesses.

"So what did I tell you little brother, didn't I say you'd like him? In fact..." Here Gabriel pauses, taking in Castiel's rumpled suit and missing tie. "In fact, I'd say you liked him a whole lot. Did he teach you anything?" Gabriel's expression is smarmy, but Castiel's answering smile is wide and unfettered.

"Many, many things. I asked for everything, but I'm not sure sufficient time was available. We may have to meet again, numerous times in fact." Here Castiel's grin spreads, face flushing slightly with the remembrance. "I would look forward to it."

Gabriel would usually use this moment to poke fun at his brother for glowing with joy, but, well, Castiel was in fact literally *glowing* with joy. Seriously, his brother's Grace was manifesting along his skin; forming swirling little eddies of power and buzzing tiny hymns into the surrounding air. Somehow seeing Castiel nearly undone with his happiness made it feel wrong to mock him for feeling that which Gabriel himself hadn't felt in a good long time. "So if I talked to Dean now he'd be as twitterpated as you? Did you share your wings with him then? I'll bet there were feathers absolutely everywhere, must've been hell on the upholstery!"

Here Castiel's face shifts moving into uncertainty. "I... did not. Could not. He has no wings of his own to return the gesture. Gabriel, surely you knew that when you planned this introduction?" It is here that the Archangel groans quietly, shaking his head.

"Dear sweet Father in Heaven Castiel, this was part of the lesson! No he doesn't have wings, but sharing is about trust and love. You have great, schmoopy feelings for the guy? Then go get him, and stop making him wait! I promise he has many things he can share back even if he is flightless. I wouldn't introduce my wide-eyed baby brother to just anyone, so don't leave him hanging, bro." His younger brother smiles again, and damn, but if it isn't a good look on the kid. Without another word Castiel is gone. Gabriel allows himself a moment to revel in a job well done, before snapping himself away onto other, less saccharine pursuits.

Somewhere the space between here and there and nowhere in particular really, a large black classic car eats up the miles on a lost highway no one remembers. The midsummer world is sunbathed golden, the road is smooth and black, and Dean can feel the ghost of a hand caressing his cheek, tracing the shell of his left ear, barely distinguishable from the wind against his skin. His smile widens involuntarily.

"Hey Cas, glad you're back. Y'know, Gabriel told me before we met that your wings meant you'd always be able to keep up with me, so I'd never have to leave you behind. Wanna test the theory?" The tinkling laughter of an Angel is the only response as the gas pedal meets the floor.

With all four windows down, his favourite tunes cranked and howling with joy, Deyn of Roadways drives furious; like an earthbound comet chasing the horizon. Beside him an Angel of the Lord; luminescent and aeriform with eyes like the vast blue sky, keeps pace as the Earth spins around its axis, flying along its orbit through the universe in endless unstoppable revolutions.