Castiel was never late to class. As a matter of fact, he was usually early. He liked being in the room before most of the other students. He could sit in whichever seat struck his fancy, and he had time to make himself comfortable, pull out his supplies for the class, and arrange them on the table in an organized fashion.
He especially liked to be early for this class. While most of his classes had individual desks for the students, this one had tables that two students were expected to share. If he arrived early he would be able to claim one of the tables for himself. The other students never felt the need to share with him when he'd claimed a table, and that was alright with him.
But today, he was running late; a series of unfortunate events working together to ensure his tardiness. Not that he was actually late, he slipped through the door exactly on time, but that was late for him.
It didn't help that it was a test day, and all the students were actually present for a change. Which meant there was only one available spot left in the room — one seat, that was waiting patiently for the last student to plop down into. The last student being Castiel, of course.
That seat was in the very back of the classroom, which was unusual for a test day. The back of the room nearly always filled up before the front. The occupant of the other seat at the table was even more unusual. Recognizing the person settled there gave Castiel pause, although he knew there were no other options. His lip curled in distaste as he finished making his way to the back of the room.
The only place available in the room was next to the one man he couldn't stand to share his space with. Not only was it unfair that he should be forced to sit with the other man, it was also a bit puzzling. How was it possible that he was paired with Dean Winchester?
Dean was, potentially, the most liked person on the entire campus. He was constantly surrounded by friends and admirers, strutting about as if he owned the place all of the time. Even Castiel, who avoided the other man whenever possible, knew that quite a few of the people in this classroom were considered Dean's friends. So why was he sitting in the back, alone?
It was just a continuation of the shitstorm of a day he'd been having. He didn't remember doing anything lately that would have constituted the seemingly divine retribution he'd been suffering all day. Kharma usually treated him fairly, but today's scale seemed unfairly balanced.
Sitting with Dean was just the cherry on top. Castiel was probably the only person in the whole room that didn't want to be near the man, and yet he was the one being forced into his company.
Luckily, the professor had yet to arrive, so Castiel took a few seconds to pull his chair as far from the other man as he could, before arranging himself into it. He pulled out two newly sharpened pencils and an eraser, before kicking his bag under the edge of the table so no one would trip on it.
Dean watched him prepare himself for the test with a little smirk on his face, but didn't bother to say anything. Dean's own bag was on the floor practically blocking the entire walkway between their table and the next, and he was probably just amused that Castiel took the time to move his out of the way. The man was completely uncivilized, after all. Castiel ignored him as best he could.
Dean was not someone who was easy to ignore, but it was late enough in the year that Castiel had begun to perfect the art. When he'd first seen the other man he'd been pulled in, just as effectively as all of the others.
Dean was a beautiful man, after all. With bright green eyes, and a smile that never seemed to leave his face, he drew people to him like moth to flame. But Castiel was well aware of the fate of such a moth, and was unwilling to allow that to happen to him.
"Dean, why do you look so worried? I bet you've got this test in the bag!" Tessa said from the table next to theirs, pulling Castiel out of his thoughts.
He could see the flirtatious smile the man next to him threw her, before he forced his own attention back to the front of the room. He tried not to roll his eyes.
"I dunno, Tess. I always get nervous before a test." Dean's voice was pleasant, as you'd expect from the devil.
"Well, don't worry so much! I'm sure you'll do great." Tessa replied brightly, forcing Castiel to reign in his contempt for Dean's little fan club before he said something untoward.
"They say people that worry more have a higher intelligence." Dean answered, the grin evident in his voice.
"I doubt that's something you are burdened with." Castiel commented under his breath before he could stop himself.
The man next to him tensed before swinging around to face him. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked. His tone was a warning that Castiel had no intention of heeding.
"I don't believe you suffer the burden of intelligence." Castiel stated, matter of factly.
The look on the other man's face was of forced calm, as it usually was when he looked at Castiel. "What makes you want to say things like that to someone?"
"I fear explaining something so complex would only go over your head." Yes, he knew he was being ridiculous, but he felt no need to explain himself to the other man.
"You know what, Castiel? I am sick and tired of you always treating me like I'm some kind of moron, just because you don't like me." Dean growled the words more than said them, which was surprising. Castiel had never seen the other man lose his temper before, and he'd said much worse than that to him.
"Well, perhaps you should do something to show me that my opinion is false. As it is, your reputation precedes you." Castiel snapped back before he could stop himself. His mouth had always gotten away from him when he was irritated.
The look that crossed Dean's face at the words was a mixture of surprise and irritation. "Great. So now there are rumors about me being an idiot, on top of everything else? That's just what I need." He rolled his eyes. "As if the trail of broken hearts wasn't enough."
Castiel leaned forward and lowered his voice in a threatening manner. "I know your kind, Dean Winchester. I know the kind of heartbreak men like you cause. You think just because you are good looking you can do whatever you want, no matter who gets hurt."
Dean's scowl returned with a vengeance. "So, you think you're justified in treating me shitty, because you think you know me? Because of my reputation?"
"If the shoe fits." Castiel shrugged, unaffected by the other man's ire.
"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude."
Dean turned away from him then, the corners of his downturned mouth still clearly visible, but at least the fire in his eyes was focused elsewhere. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts more than ending the conversation, so Castiel waited. He was actually rather curious as to what Dean would come up with to defend himself.
When Dean finally turned back to him his eyes held less contempt, and something like mischief had replaced it.
"Alright, how about this." He leaned into Castiel's personal space. "I'll make a deal with you. If I get a better grade on this test than you do, you have to come and stay with me for a month. Get to know me as a real person." He said it as if spending time with him was a sure fire way to convince Castiel he'd been wrong the whole time. "And maybe you'll have a little more respect for my intelligence when I beat you at your own game." Dean seemed to be rather proud of his proposal. As if he thought he'd actually get a chance to implement it.
Castiel couldn't deny that he was actually intrigued by the idea. He knew without a doubt that Dean wouldn't be able to achieve a better grade than him. And if Dean stood to gain something from such an arrangement, then so should he — when he won.
"Stay with you?" He asked, if only for clarification.
"At my place. My brother is out of town for a while, scoping out some Universities. You can keep me company while he's gone." Dean grinned in that charming way he had, apparently over his anger just as quickly as it had come.
The thought of living with Dean for an entire month was fairly intimidating, but Castiel had no intention of losing such a bet. "And if I get the better grade?"
Dean shrugged easily. "Well, I don't know. What do you want?"
He thought about making Dean do a few embarrassing things, maybe being his slave for a while, but all of them meant spending more time with the man. That was the opposite of what he wanted.
"If I win, you have to stay celibate for the month." He decided. It would be just as much fun watching the other man try to fight his nature as it would be to humiliate him. Maybe he'd even save a couple of hearts from being broken.
"What?" Dean sounded more exasperated than confused, but Castiel repeated himself anyway.
"If I win, you have to keep it in your pants for the month you planned on making me stay with you."
"Alright." Dean agreed easily, although some of the irritation had returned to his expression.
"If you don't make it the entire month, you'll have to suffer some sort of indignity." Castiel added, although he didn't yet know what he'd make Dean do if he found out that the other man had reneged on their deal.
"I can abstain for a month." Dean said with disdain, as if he was actually insulted that Castiel thought he couldn't last that long.
"We'll see."
"If you win." And just like that Dean's confident grin returned. As if he really believed that there was no chance of Castiel winning the bet.
"Oh, yes. I am not worried about that." He replied unperturbed. The other man clearly didn't understand what he'd gotten himself into.
"You should be." Dean's grin spread, as he put out his hand.
Castiel stared at the offered hand for a moment before presenting his own. They shook with unnecessary force, and their grips were much too tight for propriety, but the deal was sealed.
