Lonely, long days on the road had been consuming Dean for a while when he'd finally made the decision to pull over for a time. To stop his own roaming and let himself see what freedom could look like off of the road--if only for a day or two. Isolation'll do a number on you. He nods, agreeing with himself as he hums his frustration out over the dashboard. The long lonely days had made way to longer, anticipatory nights recently, a turn for neither the better nor the worse. Just for the strange.
Thing had been...weird. Without his dad. Without Sammy. Without much in the ways of company at all outside of the hum of the road under him and the occasional small talk with a roadside waitress. If he was lucky, she was funny. If he wasn't, she'd find his charm gross and treat him appropriately. Dean had gotten used to it, the quiet familiarity even in towns he'd never seen before. It soothed him these days.
That's why he'd chosen one to meet Cyrus at. Cyrus. His dad had never mentioned the guy, not when he was a kid, and never when he was on the road. Which was bizarre to Dean. It left him wondering what the hell was wrong with this dude. Or what the hell his dad had done to him. After all, John Winchester had a special reputation all his own. Dean's hands tightened on the leather of Baby's wheel, letting her purr calm him to something more moderate.
Every time he met someone knew who'd befriended his dad, Dean waited to meet the person who'd punch him in the face just for committing the crime of being his offspring. As if he, of anyone, didn't know exactly who his dad was. His dad was the kind of guy who'd stow a nameless phone number on a random page of a diary and write nothing but 'For Emergencies' above it. He'd finally reached the point of considering it a real emergency and sent a text to the strange number.
And now, as he pulls into the parking lot of a small diner he'd always remember for its peach cobbler and gorgeous staff, he starts to second guess the whole journey. It's a public, well-lit place--other than the darkened corners of the lot away from the business' neon sign. And there were enough people parked all around that he wasn't too worried about what those shady edges could conceal. Likely, it was just debris and dirt flung from the freeway.
It feels like the weirdest Tinder date anyone's ever been on, waiting for the faceless man from his father's journal to appear. Would he know who it was when they entered? Would he have to flag the guy down? The novel situation has him stumbling mentally for a moment as he tries to get his bearings while a young waitress with bouncing brown curls guides him to a vinyl booth with squeaking seats. With a grin and a show of gratitude, he straightens back up--once again in his element. Text the guy. Rolling his eyes in a performance meant only for himself, Dean starts tapping large fingers on a tiny screen.
[ Dean: Third booth from the back by the window. ]
[ Dean: Lemme know if you want a coffee. ]