20: [Video/Action] Open Arms

[dashboardlite]

Dean is slumped in one of the easy chairs in his room, seemingly completely oblivious to the camera he's left on the bedside table.  It's at enough of an angle that half his face is obscured by the shadows in the dimly-lit room, and the only sources of illumination are the floor lamp off in the far corner, and the soft electric glow of the radio's face.

The only thing it's been playing today are Journey's greatest hits, but it's been stuck on a loop of Faithfully and Open Arms, which made Dean think, and thinking is always a bad idea when he's convinced that he's fucked up almost every close friendship - or relationship - he's had with anyone since coming here.

Dean is starting to see a pattern, and if the expression of grim pain on his face isn't enough of a giveaway that something is wrong, then the beer bottle dangling from his fingertips over the left arm of the chair ought to be.  Reaching down, he tugs off one of his heavy biker boots and chucks it at the radio, which clatters to the floor and fizzles out of whatever reception it was getting.

He knows he should be happier.  His brother is here.  Sam, Sasquatch that he is, is here - albeit older - the the guilt he feels over moping when he should be catching up with Sam is...really awful, actually.

But everyone has those days, right?

Right?

Comments

3/3

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip waves it off. ]

Anyway, I...

[ It's been a long time since he's last tinkered with a car beyond some veryvery basic repairs, but as far as distractions go that sounds just about perfect. He smiles. ]

That sounds great.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean waves off the past trauma as well. They really do just trade sob-stories. That's gotta change.]

I know we can't drive the sucker, but Hell if I'm gonna sit back and do nothin'.

[He grins back. Manly bonding time is a go.]

What kinda car, you think?

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ He thinks about this for a moment. ]

Whatever we can get, I suppose. I've never asked the closets for half a garage before.

[ After another moment's thought he raises his hands in an universal I give up, don't ask me gesture and continues the lady car metaphor. ]

You decide. I don't have a type.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean mulls this over. It's a little disappointing that Philip doesn't have a preference - that seems weird, right? - so he's going to have to pick something himself.

Anything Chevy is just going to make him miss his baby, so investing in a different style might be the way to go.]

...you ever seen The Dukes of Hazzard?

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Well, Philip will ride anything that comes along.

...

...

...

Moving on. ]

A few times. Don't remember all that much of it.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Will he? Will he, really? Intriguing.

Dean claps his hands together, grinning broadly.]

We're gonna make our own General Lee, man.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Hey, as long as it gets him where he needs to go he pretty much has no preference. In cars. Which is what we are talking about here.

Philip whistles, impressed. ]

Do you think we can even get that much out of the closets?

I don't really have anything to pay the merchants with.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Of course! Cars. If you say so.

He considers this incredibly valid point, furrowing his brow thoughtfully. Dean's never actually built a car from scratch before. He got pretty damn close fixin' up his baby after the crash a couple years back, but he's never done it from the ground-up.]

Good question. S'just your standard...1969...Dodge Charger body pieces. [He trails off a little. Well, shit.] ...what do you pay the merchants with, anyway? They don't need money, right?

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip shrugs. ]

I've heard they take money. And... other things.

I don't know about you, but I didn't exactly have a lot of either with me when I came here and I doubt they'd be enthusiastic to accept anything we get out of the closets...

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

"Other things"? [Dean looks wary.] That's wonderfully specific. What the Hell's a guy gotta do to get some car parts? I'm not giving away a kidney, or anything.

[He thinks for a moment.]

...I got some fake credit cards we could use if they take Visa.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip laughs. ]

You think they'd be fooled by that?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

What? You don't think I look like a-

[He fishes around in his pocket for his wallet. It's pointless to carry around here, but it's out of habit. Dean withdraws a credit card and squints at the name before finishing:]

-Salazar Houdini?

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Fffffffffffffff, good sir. Ffffffffffffffffffffffffff. ]

People actually fall for that?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

Hey, I've used the Freddie Mercury card more than once.

[Dean shrugs, chuckling, and tucks it away in his back pocket.]

But I dunno how smart these vendors are. Do they deal in souls? 'Cause I don't know if I wanna go down that road again.

1/something

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Honestly? Not too long ago credit card fraud and amusement probably wouldn't have gone hand in hand for Philip, but in the grand scheme of things that's been forced on him that sort of thing just flies right under the radar of moral scorn.

Anyway, on to more pressing matters... ]

We are not going to sell our souls for car parts.

[ Pause. Ponder. Sigh. ] Maybe they--

2/undecided

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ !!!!! ]

...Give me a second.

[ And just like that Philip disappears from view. ]

3/let's make it a foursome

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ The video feed shows an entirely Philip-less part of his room.

In the background the noises of several zippers and metallic clanks can be heard faintly.

A rusty saw slides across the floor.

Then silence. ]

4/4

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ And Philip returns, placing a strange statue in front of the camera. Its odd and small shape is adorned with a red gemstone of sorts.

...I've got this artefact!

I don't know what price there is on it, but I brought it here and it's not something you can just get out of the closets.

{ }

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[HEY. HEY. Dean would sell his soul for his baby (probably), so don't knock cars, man. He does sit quietly while Phil rummages through all his things, maintaining a perfectly raised eyebrow until the man comes back. Dean won't ask questions about the saw. Not when he's got a machete under his bed.]

An artifact? [Dean leans in, squinting at the transmission screen. It's a little, bejeweled statue.]

What the Hell is it? Where'd you find it?

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip gives Dean a raised eyebrow in return. Where do you think? ]

Well, it wasn't on sale at Harrods.

[ He lifts the statue and turns it for Dean to see. ]

...And I have absolutely no idea what it is or what it does... if it does anything at all.

{ }

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[He snorts. The fact that Philip's humor is almost constantly improving makes Dean feel somewhat accomplished. He scrutinizes the figure again, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully.

Then he shrugs.]

Hey, all I've got are fake credit cards, a fake FBI badge, and this- [He lifts up the amulet around his neck.] But the last one ain't for sale. I say we go for it. Maybe one of the merchants has a doll collection and wants something to fill the "sparkly and slightly-creepy" category.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

All right, so... when do we get started?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

As soon as we trade that sucker in for parts, man. You think there's any place around here like a garage we could build in?

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip shakes his head a little. ]

The only place I can think of are the stables and I doubt the real horses would want a mechanical companion.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

It'd be okay if we were careful, right? Like...say...knock out a stable wall and build in the barn part? Why the Hell do we have horses here, anyway?

[WHY MUST EVERYTHING FOIL HIS PLANS TO BUILD A SEXY CAR?]

They got a field, they can graze, or...do whatever horses do.