24: [Video] Traveling Riverside Blues

[dashboardlite]

[At first, Dean had thought that the dream he had a couple nights before was just weird.  Clockwork dolls, inky-black demon eyes - it was bad mojo.  Things are changing around him, and for the most part it doesn't bother him too much.  He expects it, now, because this mansion is screwed to Hell and back and there's very little that surprises Dean anymore.

Except for when he takes a walk outside, and his tranquility is promptly ruptured by the sight of his car.  Sure, he's been dwelling on the lack of transportation recently, but still.

His car.

An excited video message from a Dean Winchester that hasn't genuinely smiled in months is being broadcasted, and he'd love to share his obsession one true love beautiful lady with all of you.]

Dude.  Dude.  My- guys, I can't even...seriously, it's just- it's my baby.  She's here, and she's beautiful, and she's so goddamn perfect.  You all gotta come down and see her.

[He suddenly wonders if he can project miles of endless highway if he thinks about it hard enough.  It's worth a shot.

Dean is so ecstatic that he doesn't even know who he's advertising this information to.]

Comments

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

I think--

[ Of course. Philip can work with that ladder. ]

I think I'll manage!

[ ...His leg remains less enthused however and he looks up tentatively, deciding that the climb is too long to risk it giving out halfway. ]

...somehow.

[ He scratches his head. It takes him a moment to realise that he doesn't have to try if he can only think of a different way up.

So he steps on the ladder with his good leg, holds on tight with both hands and shuts his eyes, imagining the ladder being drawn in like an anchor, pulling him up... up... further up until he can feel the light on his face.

Philip opens his eyes, climbs the short rest of the ladder and drags himself up on the ledge, sprawling out on the ground and taking a deep breath ]

I didn't...

[ He shakes his head and looks at Dean, grinning a little. ]

I didn't think that would happen today. Again.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[It takes Dean a second or two to realize that the ladder is rising, and he backs up in anticipation of Philip's arrival on solid ground. He stares down at him, huffing a laugh as soon as his friend cracks a smile, signifying that he's at least okay.

He looks a bit gimpy, though. It was a long way to go.]

Walk much?

[Dean grins, leaning over the pit and imagining it shut. Once the earth is solid, he sort of shuffles a foot over it to test the area. Safe. For now. Turning to Philip, Dean offers him a hand up.]

You sure you're good? I'd woulda thought you might've broken some bones down there.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip takes Dean's hand and pulls himself up, briefly flinching once he puts weight on his slightly more mangled foot. Some bruising at worst. Not that he isn't surprised himself, but why look a gift horse in the mouth? ]

I'm sure.

[ Dirty, dusty and tattered, but otherwise perfectly fine. Luckily falling from inconvenient heights is on his list of things he's gotten used to since his arrival in Greenland. That list also would have included giant worms, but he's glad it didn't have to come to a demonstration all the same.

Philip brushes himself off, glancing at the spot on the ground where the hole used to be. ]

...I mean, it's 'wishing that the ground would open and swallow you whole', not 'that the ground would open and break your neck', right?

[ He grins.

So maybe he did hit his head a little. Or maybe he's just glad that the distraction was enough that he can't remember why he was so mortified earlier off the top of his head. ]

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean is starting to think that Philip really did hit his head, because he never smiles this much and it's a little weird. It's still nice and all, but unusual. If this has already happened once before today, then something's got to be scrambled.]

...yeah, I guess.

[He remains dubious. Luckily, Dean's pretty much forgotten about Philip's question by now, and even if he did remember, he wouldn't be the one to bring it back up. So...what had they been doing, anyway? Oh, right. The car.

Have one of those companionable, teasing grins you love so much, Phil.]

I know you didn't just come out here to win the Olympic gold in falling down holes, dude.

[Please oh please say that you'd like to ride in his car. You wouldn't even have to worry about your gimpy leg or anything!]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Oh, but Philip used to have many days when he did smile that much and more. Not here, of course. Not recently. But surely there's nothing wrong with trying to recreate the past in a completely non-head-injured way? ]

I came out here because you practically invited the entire mansion to a welcome party for your car.

[ He takes a few steps towards it and looks at Dean, expectantly. ]

So either you invite me into your home and we drive or you dream up a few cold beers to celebrate.

1/2

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Point taken, my good man.]

...well, I'd hate to be a poor host.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[You'll get no arguments from Dean. He shrugs and shoves his hands into his pockets, turning and walking back over to his car. Dean settles in the front seat and it feels like home.

It might just be his imagination - it is, actually, completely his imagination - but the whole vehicle smells like lemon-scented air freshener and aged, Armor All-coated leather.

Leaning over, Dean opens the side door and grins at Phil.]

Welcome to my humble abode, please watch your step on the way in.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Philip accepts the invitation and is instantly awestruck by the overwhelmingly wonderful sensation of normality. He leans back into the seat and stares ahead. ]

...I don't remember the last time I sat in a car.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

I'll go easy on you.

[Dean imagines up a pair of coolkid sunglasses (http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/to/top-gun-mirrored-aviator-sunglasses.jpg) and hands them to Philip before whipping out his own pair (http://images4.fanpop.com/image/polls/533000/533315_1283694789205_full.jpg) and putting them on.

Why yes, the imaginary sun is high overhead and at its brightest. Thank you for asking.

Hand on the gearshift, Dean moves from first, to third, and slowly makes it up to fifth gear, enjoying the muscle memory and dexterity that manual transmissions require, pleased that he hasn't forgotten. It's like riding a bike. He's mostly cruising for the sake of cruising, rolling the windows down and letting the air in.

After a minute or so of silence, he waves a hand in Philip's direction.]

Put some music on.

[The implication being Make sure it's good or else.]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ For a moment Philip looks unsure about the accessory, but a quick and scorching hello from the sun through the windscreen makes him see (or rather squint at) the necessity of it... along with its atmospheric value.

At Dean's request he leans forward and-- stops, drawing back his hand. Pushing buttons isn't going to work, unless the Queen also runs her own Wonderland FM station.

Falling back into the seat Philip exhales. Those implications are a serious threat for a casual listener who is more used to living off the radio's background music and other people's selections than purchasing and nurturing his own collection.

He thinks. For a moment Bad Moon Rising springs to mind, because he feels that he owes Dean a proper version of that song. But then the guitar plinks happily in his mind and he doesn't trust himself to not mix the two up.

He thinks some more. Suddenly the radio comes to life and crackles with the beginning of this interesting piece of work (http://youtu.be/fNAKH4KdRY0). Philip glares. The music stops. ]

{ }

[ Philip looks at Dean apologetically. And there is the idea!

A screech, as if changing stations. And then this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukt8eRxz7Us) ]

...I think that's better.

1/2

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Philip is really going to have to learn how to nurture and expand his musical horizons. This is serious stuff.

It's fortunate for both of them that he doesn't choose Bad Moon Rising, because Dean might accidentally imagine a semi out of nowhere slamming into his baby, and there's nothing quite like a car wreck to screw up your day.

Although this music has him making a weird face.]

2/2

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Thank God Philip changes it from the sounds of cracked-out crickets to the utterly brilliant electric guitar of Boston. Mood greatly improved, Dean turns up the tunes and speaks a little louder over the riff.]

Hey, you ever been anywhere in America?

1/2

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

...Baltimore, once.

Seven or- I think seven years ago. They'd invited one of our professors over for a few guest lectures and he took me and another tutor along.

[ Cue reminiscing face. ]

We took a city tour the afternoon we arrived and it was incredible.

2/2

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Cue slightly less enthused face. ]

...Then in the evening I caught food poisoning and spent the rest of the week in my hotel room.

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Dean remembers Baltimore. He remembers it being pretty grungy, actually, and the memories there aren't particularly fond. He does remember it, though being a small-town kind of guy just runs in his blood. Big cities make him claustrophobic.

He grimaces sympathetically, sliding his sunglasses down on his nose and giving Philip a sidelong glance.]

...This'll be better.

[For someone who actually had some semblance of a life, Philip doesn't appear to have experienced it to the fullest. Dean conjures up something new (http://pixdaus.com/pics/1241912234AFWs9XB.jpg).

It's not so bright anymore. Midwestern fields of wheat have been replaced by scruffy tufts of grass and substantial rock formations in the far distance. He was only out in Arizona once or twice on a job, but something like this is hard to forget.

For all that Dean hasn't assimilated into the real world, excluding monsters, he's seen a lot more than plenty of other people.]

S'the Painted Desert. We'll stop for beers soon, or somethin'.

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Perhaps Philip would have arrived at a similar conclusion about the city if he'd seen more than a cherry-picked afteroon worth of its grungy splendor. As it is he'll have to stick to his first impression and a lingering appreciation for the comfort of its hotel room beds.

Philip tries a smile. He can guess what somebody who literally lives on the road sees in the landscape, but impressive as it may be, for him it just looks... lonely. ]

What about you? Do you hunt outside of the US or is that just a national service?

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Lonely? Ten points on the first try, Philip, bravo! You've just described Dean in a nutshell. No wonder he digs the majestic, barren wastelands: made by the grace of God, left to erode in the middle of nowhere. Dean laughs nervously.

Hell no, never been outta the U.S. Why do you think I drive everywhere, Phil? I wouldn't get on a plane if you paid me.

[This is a totally rational, logical fear, so stop judging him.

Seriously, stop it.]

[1/4]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ This face forever. ]

(2/4)

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[...would be his reaction if he thought 'wouldn't get on a plane if you paid me' was a sign of Dean's phobia rather than his solidarity to his country. Give him a moment to catch up. ]

You should really take a holiday sometime. At least hunt something abroad. Or you could--

[ "...come visit me and see if I'm still alive". Philip stops himself before he can finish putting that train of thought into words. ]

...Anyway, you should really try it sometime. For instance, it's actually only a short flight to--

{3/4}

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ And there it is. ]

...Wait. No, wait you-- You didn't mean--

[ He gapes. ]

When you said that you wouldn't... you- you meant-- You're afraid of flying?

<4/4>

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

You. Are afraid of flying.

[ This face. Forever. ]

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

...shut up.

[There are a million and one things he could say in his defense, but most of them probably won't matter.

So Dean grips the steering wheel tighter, eyes on the road, grateful for his sunglasses.]

[sadfreezingbrit.livejournal.com]

[ Shutting up.

Just looking straight ahead.

Grinning. ]

1/2

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[Planes crash, okay? Geez. Stop judging him with your English judging of judge-liness.

He's never going to live this one down, is he?]

2/2

[dashboardlite.livejournal.com]

[As a convenient distraction, Dean pulls over on the side of the road after a few minutes of tense, DON'TJUDGEME silence. He cuts the engine, gets out of the front seat, and stares (http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs8/i/2005/318/7/9/Desert_Sunset_by_ahff.jpg) out into the distance.]

...yeah, this is what we're drinkin' beers to.