The Not-So-Exact Science of the Dean Winchester

Part 1 of the Not-So-Exact Science Series

Now, it was a very popular speculation that Dean Winchester was in love with pie, good burgers, and his Impala, but a not so very well-known fact is that the hunter could play the guitar. Oh yes, and he was good at it, mind you, not crazy like those people in the rock bands, but his style was somewhat soft. He was good enough for Sam to take notice. The first time, Sam thought that he was just trying to impress attractive young women, so he let it go. Then, when they needed to investigate a case during a charity ball, Dean eagerly volunteered to brave the throng of well-dressed snobby rich people to provide Sam a distraction and this time Sam was suspicious. So after the deed was done, Sam snuck back into the ballroom and found Dean strumming something slow and it sounded Spanish? Dean Winchester, playing Spanish guitar? Sam wasn't going to let this one go, but he sure could and would save it for a time where blackmail was absolutely necessary.

We all know that Dean was born to hunt and be the attractive smartass that he is. So how could Dean Winchester, of all people, know the ins and outs of the cords? Well, the truth was, while Sam was away at college, Dean had to investigate a case at a Music Studio, and to gain access to said studio, he had to become a student. Now, don't get me wrong, at first he was absolutely sure that he would learn to despise it altogether, but as time went on (about a week) he realized that it wasn't that bad, not that he would ever, in five million years admit that to Sam or his Dad (being raised off of classic rock) but still, it wasn't awful. The instructors were attractive and he was, coincidentally, the only guy in the class, which of course had every girl swooning, I mean Dean Winchester plus a guitar, yes please. He tried to convince himself that it was only for the case and the chicks, but slowly he realized that he was actually, pretty good at it. Though, after the spirit was taken care of, Dean found himself missing the soft sound and vibration of the strings, which were strangely soothing to him, considering his love for rock. So from then on out, Dean took every chance he could to exploit his God given talent, until now of course.

"No way, no how Sammy." Dean huffed as he paced around the bunker with Sam in tow. The older brother turned a corner, no doubt on his way to the kitchen and Sam rolled his eyes. Dean was being completely ridiculous. Cas had been bugging Sam for weeks about the guitar he had found in the library. One day Sam had just simply grabbed Cas and they followed Dean to a place on the side of the road, and just listened to him play. Cas was completely enchanted by the sound, so he naturally wanted to learn immediately, he also wanted to impress Dean but he left that out of the explanation that he gave to Sam. The younger Winchester obviously caught on, so there was only one other option, someone had to teach him and it certainly wasn't going to be Sam or Kevin, or Crowley for that matter.

"Dean, c'mon, he can't even butter his own toast." Sam said. Castiel strode in from the other room upon hearing his name.

"I do believe I can butter my own toast if given the proper buttering tools Sam, but as I learned yesterday from Dean, a cheese grater is not a tool used for putting butter on objects." Dean snickered; the butter incident had been a funny one. He stopped laughing when Sam flashed a bitchface his way, Dean then proceeded to grab two beers out of the fridge, pop a lid and throw one to Cas. Sam was being a bitch right now, he didn't deserve one.

"At least Cas can catch." Dean mumbled, leaning against the counter. Sam threw his hands up in exasperation.

"You know what, Dean? Fine, it's not like you're that good anyway." Sam tried to bait him, but Dean clearly caught on and refused to bite the hook, he instead took a swig of his beer and with a smug look shook his head.

"Nice try Sammy."

Alright now Sam was irritated, why did Dean have to be so stubborn, he was acting like a twelve year old who had lost a bet. Sam decided to try another method. He turned to Cas, who was still trying to get the lid off of the bottle.

"Let's go, Cas, I'm gonna teach you how to play." Sam motioned for Cas to follow him and strode through the doorway.

"What about Dean?" Cas called, a little disappointed. Sam's head popped back into the room and he smiled smugly at his brother.

"He won't be joining us." He then made his way back down the hallway while (in Dean's opinion) laughing maniacally. The former angel glanced back to Dean, his head tilted and eyes narrowed in confusion, before he began walking in Sam's direction, abandoning the still unopened bottle.

"'Dean won't be joining us' my ass. Long-haired bitch couldn't tune a chair if he tried." Dean grumbled. He huffed and puffed and blew his stubbornness down, and followed Cas and Sam to who knows where.

Dean eventually caught up to Sam and Cas and they had ended up in an empty room. Sam stopped to survey the area and nodded to himself. The room was simple, with a grey carpet florescent lights shining from the ceiling. A few chairs sat in the corner, but they were dusty and busted up.

"Sit tight, Cas, Dean I don't care what you do. I'll be right back." Sam turned and made his way back out the way they had entered. Dean sighed heavily and sunk down against the wall until he was sitting with his back to it and his legs extended. It was then that Dean remembered leaving his bottle on the kitchen counter; he groaned loudly, causing Cas to look back at him.

"Is there a problem I should be aware of Dean?" He asked, right now all he had knowledge of was that Dean was aggravated with Sam for some reason. He hoped he was not part of that reason.

"Why are you irritated, Dean?" He asked, walking over to sit next to him beside the wall. Dean thought for a second and then turned to him.

"You know what Cas? Forget Sam." Dean stood up and locked the door, coming to the conclusion that he actually didn't care what Sam thought. He fully intended to teach the fallen angel how to play the guitar because, what the hell.

Cas stood up and walked away from the wall, towards Dean, not aware of what exactly was going on. Dean grinned widely at Cas and pulled him to the middle of the room. He took Cas' hands and proceeded to give him a full inspection and when the curious angel asked why, Dean had insisted that it was for musical purposes. Sure thing Dean, whatever you say. Halfway through the completely necessary inspection, they both heard Sam at the door.

"You two better not be screwing in there!" He shouted, Castiel glanced wide-eyed and red-faced at Dean, who was not against that idea, but instead of making everyone else uncomfortable, the hunter simply rolled his eyes.

"Shut it Sam! You told me to teach Cas how to play the damn instrument, so here I am." He called, scowling at the locked door. Sam chuckled and knocked on the door.

"I don't know if you've noticed Dean, but you need an actual guitar to teach someone how to play one." He said matter-of-factly.

"I don't care." Dean huffed. He kind of did.

"Fine, I'll just play the stereo from out here Dean. See how you like the songs I pick." There was a moment of silence and Dean gulped loudly. "Oh no, or better yet I'll let Cas pick." Dean could just feel the smirk on Sam's face and he wondered what he did to deserve this evil brother of his and the 'oh so gorgeous' fallen angel with such bad taste in music (well from Dean's perspective anyway). During his time as a human, Castiel had taken a liking to a very strange mix of artists, ranging from Ed Sheeran to Luke Bryan and My Chemical Romance to Christina Aguilera, Dean wanted to puke (well he didn't really mind Christina, she was hot), but still. Then to the hunters' despair he heard the undisputable sound of 'That's My Kind of Night' come on the stereo and he could hear Sam laughing hysterically from the other side of the door and turned to find Cas mouthing the words and moving his head to the beat. However, when he saw Dean staring, he stopped bobbing his head and simply kept mouthing the words while staring back with wide-eyes. Castiel looked hilarious, like a deer caught in the headlights, and Dean couldn't stop himself from laughing. It only got worse when Castiel tilted his head in confusion while still casually mouthing the words to the country song, and Dean doubled over with laughter. Castiel simply shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the door to let Sam in, feeling guilty for leaving him out. Sam strode into the room carrying the stereo and a guitar to find his brother wiping the tears from his eyes and breathing heavily, letting out chuckles about every other breath and Castiel still mouthing the words to the last verse of the song. The smaller man had resumed the moving of his head to the beat. Sam snickered at the sight before him and he handed Cas the guitar. The former angel took it and strung it a few times.

"I brought you this, and you," Sam tossed his brother a Twix and Dean caught it easily. He had stopped laughing by now and was breathing steady enough to speak.

"Here, Cas, let's give this a go." Dean took the instrument and propped his foot on one of the worn chairs. Cas went to stand in front of him and Sam muted the stereo, so he could join them as well. Soon after, Dean was in teacher mode, while Sam threw in a few comments here and there, and Cas was forced to practice until he feared for the well-being of his fingers.

"Dean, I think you can let him take a break now." Sam said, making a face in Cas' direction. Castiel was rather frustrated, he had been staring at the thin black cords for a while now and he was starting to see double, causing him to mess up every so often. Dean looked up from his magazine and set his bottle on the ground close to where he was sitting. They had spent the last hour lounging around, listening to Cas practice cords and Dean had to admit, he was actually pretty good for a beginner. Dean stood up and made his way over to where Cas was and took the guitar back.

"I think you've had enough practice for today." He said, the ghost of a smile setting on his face, and Cas returned the gesture and went to sit beside Sam against the wall.

"Why don't you play, Dean? I'm sure Cas would love to hear something." Sam mocked, taking a swig out of his bottle. He smirked when Dean went to reply, but then simply closed his mouth while his face burned red. Dean was already irritated with Sam, and then to top it off Cas decided to laugh at his various embarrassed facial expressions. But, both Sam and Cas stopped laughing when Dean pulled the guitar up into his lap, propped his foot on the chair and started to play, and hell if it wasn't the best damn guitar playing either of them had ever heard. It sounded familiar to Cas and Sam, they felt like they had heard the tune before. What they had not expected however was the next turn of events. The oldest Winchester opened his mouth.

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below

Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls

And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke

Keep watching over Durin's son

And holy hell was it amazing. Not just the carful strumming of the guitar, but his voice too, it was low and smooth and just to die for.

If this is to end in fire

Then we should all burn together

Watch the flames climb high into the night

Calling out for the rope, stand by and we will

Watch the flames burn over and on

The mountain side

Cas and Sam looked at each other in confusion and awe, but it only lasted a moment because the eldest Winchester sang the next line.

And if we should die tonight

Then we should all die together

Raise a glass of wine for the last time

Calling out for the rope

Prepare as we will

Watch the flames burn over and over

The mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky

After that verse, the lazy looking prophet strode past the room, but stopped when he heard the guitar and saw Dean playing it? This was new, so all decked out in plaid prophet pajamas, Kevin joined Sam and Cas against the wall. He looked at them questioningly but they simply shrugged and turned back to the rather (now that he had seen their expressions) cocky looking, hunter/guitarist, whatever the hell he was, nobody knew anymore.

Now I see fire

Inside the mountain

I see fire

Burning the trees

And I see fire

Hallowing souls

I see fire

Blood in the breeze

And I hope that you remember me

By the time he got to the second verse, Dean was getting into it, I mean really getting into it. He had even thrown a wink or two to Cas. So completely meaning to question his heterosexuality later, he continued with a newfound confidence.

Oh, should my people fall in

Surely I'll do the same

Come finding mountain holes

We got too close to the flame

Calling out for the rope

Hold fast and we will

Watch the flames burn over and on

The mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky

Cas whistled, after just learning how to from Sam, who had told him to. Dean flashed them a crooked smile and he did, indeed, take it all the way home.

And if the night is burning

I will cover my eyes

For if the dark returns then

My brothers will die

And as the sky is falling down

It crashed into this lonely town

And with that shadow upon the ground

I hear my people screaming out

Now I see fire

Inside the mountains

I see fire

Burning the trees

And I see fire

Hallowing souls

And I see fire

Blood in the breeze

I see fire

And I see fire

And I see fire

And I see fire burn over and on the mountain side

Later that night, after their little concert, all four of them had retired to the living room. It had a TV so that's what it was, according to Dean. Sam had brought the radio to the room and they had all agreed to let Castiel pick the channel, but just for tonight, none of them had any idea how long they could bear the constant switch from the pop to country. So, they all rejoiced when Dean had finally shut the damn thing off and switched to food network on the television. Dean had been teaching Castiel the importance of basil for about an hour and a half, but their discussion had escalated, when Kevin had turned on ABC to watch an episode of Castle, and it got to the point where they were yelling at the Television, because the characters were simply not listening.

It was about eleven at night when Sam finally got to his feet and stretched out his arms. He gave Kevin the signal that he should leave too before it was very late at night and everybody started talking about their feelings, like thirteen year old girls at sleepovers. The (still) pajama clad prophet got the message and followed Sam out of the room. Why do they have a signal? Well of course, because it had happened before and Dean and Cas had almost ended up jumping each other on the very couch they were sitting on right now. Sam wanted to save Kevin the trauma of it happening again. So, they both left Dean and Cas to fangirl over the television show.

Cas was clutching a pillow in his lap and slamming it down on the couch every time a character did something stupid, like lie to their potential love interest. Dean chuckled a little, every time he threw a mini tantrum at the TV.

"Do I amuse you, Dean?" Castiel turned to him, his eyes narrowed in all seriousness. Dean shook his head, an amused expression crossing his face and he put his hands up in surrender. Castiel suddenly smirks at the hunter and hits him over the head with the pillow. Dean was definitely not prepared for that, he looked stunned for a moment, his mouth hanging open, because he cannot believe that Cas just whacked him over the head with a pillow and he did not see it coming. He then, got over his shock, took the pillow from Cas and started hitting him with it while laughing maniacally. Castiel let out a screech and dived for the other couch, landing face first into the cushions. Dean soon jumped over to join him, before Cas put his hand up and they both glanced at the television, just as Castle was walking out of the precinct and Kate was staring unhappily after him. Castiel sighed and hung his head.

"Uhg, why can Kate not simply let herself care?" He said, frustrated. Dean thought about this and dropped the pillow as he sat down next to Castiel.

"Maybe she's scared." He said and Castiel turned his head to look at him in confusion.

"I do not believe that Castle is a threat." He said slowly, wondering why Dean would say that.

"No, Cas, not like a danger to her. I meant what if she's scared to care about someone because of what she does. She's a homicide detective, she's constantly around death, and what if she doesn't want Castle to get hurt, because he's vulnerable, because almost everyone she cares about is dead, including her mother?" Dean explained, not realizing that what he just said, exactly described him. This made Cas think for a moment, then, suddenly, the former angel put the pieces together.

"So, she does love Castle, but she also wants to protect him and that means not being together, so she does it because she wants him to be safe. I understand now, Dean." Castiel nodded as he stood up and yawned. He then, made his way behind the couch and leaned down so his voice was right next to Dean's ear.

"It's okay though, because I've seen the end of the season and it isn't rated PG." That's when Dean's mind finally caught up to his mouth and the gears in his head finished turning. But Castiel, being the sneaky little bastard that he is, sprinted full speed into his room the minute Dean turned around.

"Cas! You better get back here and tell me exactly how the season ends!" All that could be heard after that was Castiel laughing as Dean chased him through the bunker. And when he finally did catch up to the Castiel, Dean discovered exactly why the season finale was not rated PG.

The End

- SaiyanGirl616

Thanks for Reading! This was only part one in the Not-So-Exact-Science Series, there is certainly more to come. The song used was I See Fire - Ed Sheeran. The song was written for the new Hobbit movie.