Unknown Number
Genre: AU, slash, angst, fluff (I really have no idea where this is going)
Ship: Dean/Castiel
Summary: Castiel was tired of getting dragged out to bars by his friends looking to find him Mr. Right/Right Now. So, when he finally got a guy's number one night, he was happy. Then he texted it...
Notes: chapter 1 of this fic was written to a prompt from unforth's Writing Prompt Wednesday (Week9: Texting AUs). It was so well received on AO3 and so many people asked for a continuation, that I did indeed continue, and wrote myself into a multi-chapter fic that I still don't know how I'm going to resolve...
Also this site is messing with the text formatting a bit, but I think you can follow as it is.
Unknown Number
Chapter 1
Castiel pressed send on his phone before he could talk himself out of it. It hadn't been quite 24 hours yet, but that wasn't too early to text was it? It's not like he was calling. Just a quick 'how's it going' message.
He stared at his phone, waiting, for a minute before he realized that he couldn't expect Bartholomew to just be waiting by his phone. The man had seemed very busy when they had met at the bar last night, alluding to some important job that Castiel hasn't gotten a very good feel for; he had been rather vague about the details.
He put a sad-looking frozen dinner in the microwave and stared at the stack of files he had to review. With a sigh he sat down and pulled the first one off the top of the stack.
He had just started to read when his phone buzzed. He grabbed it quickly to see a reply on the screen.
? whos this?
Crap. Balthazar was right; he was rubbish at social interaction. He had texted too early. Or too late. Or maybe he was just being a pain in the ass, but since his dating 'drought' had apparently approached levels so critical that his best friends had dragged him out every Friday night for the past month, determined to find somebody for him, he plowed ahead anyway. Maybe he could salvage this.
This is Castiel. We spoke at the bar last night.
r u sure? what bar?
Castiel stared at his phone in consternation. He'd been called many things in his life - quirky, difficult, overly literal - but never forgettable.
Heaven's Gate. Around 9 PM
not me, dude
Is this Bartholomew?
nope. Dean
Castiel rechecked the number he had entered against the number scrawled on the cocktail napkin. They matched.
I'm not very good with humor. Is this some type of joke?
sorry, man. :/
I don't understand. This is the number he gave me last night.
ya well we all know how that goes
Castiel was confused. Bartholomew hadn't been drunk. How did he make such a mistake?
I'm not sure that I do know. Is this a common mistake?
No immediate text pinged back. Castiel retrieved his dinner from the microwave and sat back down, waiting to feel the sting of disappointment that apparently he couldn't contact Bartholomew, but it didn't set in. If he was being very honest, his reaction was more along the lines of relief. Bartholomew had been moderately attractive, in a rather plastic sense, but there hadn't been any spark. He had really only gotten the man's number to avoid seeing the pitying looks that Gabriel and Balthazar had been giving him over the past weeks, when each night ended without their definition of success.
He sighed. Maybe if he didn't tell them about Bartholomew's ruse, he would be safe from social abductions 'for his own good' for the next week or two.
His phone beeped as he was 2/3 of the way through the year-end projection in front of him. He ignored the phone until he finished reviewing the numbers.
hate 2 say... probably not a mistake
Castiel stared at the phone wondering what this stranger - what Dean - meant by that.
I don't understand.
yknow, sometimes u give a wrong # so u don't have to turn a guy down to his face
Castiel felt his cheeks burn hot. He hadn't felt so foolish in years. He set the phone down gently, and randomly shuffled through the papers in front of him. He would much rather Bartholomew had turned him down at the bar, even laughed in his face, rather than giving Castiel an opportunity to share his humiliation with a complete stranger. How could he have misinterpreted their interaction so badly?
His phone buzzed, and he reluctantly picked it up, ready to see the jibes. He supposed he'd earned it.
Castiel? U still there?
Yes. Thank you, Dean, for explaining. I was unaware of this technique.
it's a pretty dick move if u ask me
i mean, its one thing if ur a creep. but u seem pretty nice
Cas smiled, the latest text somewhat lessening his embarrassment, although he wasn't sure how Dean could tell anything at all about Castiel other than his complete social naivete. It was a nice gesture, however.
I apologize for interrupting your evening. Thank you for being so kind.
lol... my 'evening' consists of reheated leftovers and the dr sexy marathon
Castiel gaped at his phone.
And here I was thinking that you were a person of taste.
The instant he sent the text he wished he could take it back. His sense of humor was hard enough to understand in person, so he'd been told; there was no way that it would transmit through a text message.
! :( i woulda said the same about you til now
bartholomew aside
Castiel studied the message. It could be interpreted either as Dean being upset about Cas' text, or that Dean knew Castiel was being humorous and replying in kind. He chewed on his lip, unsure how to answer.
j/k ;p
you ever actually watched the show?
Cas smiled, strangely relieved that he hadn't inadvertently driven away this new acquaintance.
I have not. I must confess that my judgment comes from little more than seeing ads and hearing others talk about it.
ok then. sit ur butt down & turn on channel 3. we're gonna educate u!
Castiel made a half-hearted effort to tell himself that he should continue working, looked at the stack of files, then back down to his phone. With a shrug, he settled on the couch and turned on the television.
Okay. Enlighten me
And it did turn out to be an enlightening experience, although Castiel didn't learn very much about the show. Dean kept up a series of texts filling Castiel in on the inside jokes and references to previous episodes. But it was the other texts that Castiel found himself looking forward to, at first they just came during the commercial breaks, but soon, they were carrying on a conversation through the show itself.
Dean had a sharp sense of humor, was fiercely loyal to his brother and a seemingly small group of friends, and an intelligence that Castiel thought Dean tried to hide, even from himself. At the end of the three hour marathon, Castiel found himself strangely relaxed, smiling while sitting alone in his living room, and looking forward to the ping of the text notification on his phone.
The closing credits rolled on the TV, and a voiceover heralded a sitcom re-run 'Up Next!' Castiel's phone showed midnight as he saw the next text from Dean.
so, not a bad way to spend sat nite huh?
Castiel grinned as he replied, even though he wasn't, strictly speaking, referring to the show.
No, it was quite enjoyable.
He yawned and turned off the television as he waited for Dean's next text.
kinda sorta like a date
Castiel smiled softly.
This was a great deal more enjoyable than most of my recent dates, actually. Thank you.
He shrugged as he sent the message; he was probably stretching the definition of 'recent' with that remark, but Dean didn't really need to know that.
ouch. maybe we should try to change that huh cas?
Castiel rolled his eyes. Just what he needed: someone else to bug him about being alone. Someone who barely even knew him, at that. He stood and gathered his dishes to put into the sink, content to leave them there for the morning. He grabbed his phone as he was walking out of the living room, debating whether to tell Dean off for butting in, or just ignore him. The text screen was still displaying and his eyes fell on the last text again.
He re-read it.
Dean had written maybe we should change that. As Castiel stopped walking and stared at the words, another text came in.
course if you'd rather hunt down Barth i understand
well not really but what can i do?
no
Cas typed the first thing that came to mind in an effort to avoid Dean thinking that Cas wasn't interested and shutting down his phone. He winced as it came out sounding exactly the opposite of what he intended. He started typing again.
By no, I am of course referring to any inclination to pursue Bartholomew
He was tolerable at best, and nowhere near as intriguing as you.
He paused, awaiting Dean's reply, but none was immediately forthcoming. He did have Dean's number and could always try again the following day, but was worried that his attentions might be unwanted. After all, all Dean really did was answer an errant text message.
With a sigh, he started shutting off the lights.
intriguing? Stop man, you're making me blush
so you saying you'd b up for a date?
Castiel smiled widely at his phone and nodded.
with me
Very much so :)
did u ust smiley face me? Mr formal texter
:) :) :p
Castiel chuckled as he hit send, suddenly giddy.
It's getting late. I'm getting a little silly. Apologies.
no apology needed. But it is late. I've got an early shift tomorrow. Can I call u in the evening?
I look forward to hearing your voice
me2
your voice i mean
Castiel grinned at the phone. It seemed he wasn't the only one who got a little punchy late at night.
and keep next fri open, k?
He swallowed a moment of hesitation - making a date with someone he'd never even officially met was so unlike him. However, the way he'd been doing things had netted rather pathetic results. So, maybe it was time to change things up.
Friday. Ok.
night Cas
Good night, Dean
He put his phone on the charger and got ready for bed, buzzing with excitement and anticipation about tomorrow's phone call.
He almost wished he knew Bartholomew's real number, so he could call and thank him.