Castiel couldn't see how he was supposed to concentrate with Dean sitting there, like that. They were researching some information for a project due in their English class, and right now, he really, really hated Dr. Martin for assigning him and Dean to be partners. But, Castiel gave him a break, because technically, they weren't partners. They were in a group with Dean's redheaded friend Charlie, and Castiel's slob of a roommate, Chuck; however, the two of them both had other things to do and couldn't meet up until later. It wasn't as if Dr. Martin knew that Castiel had a giant crush on the green-eyed man. So, for now, it was just him and Dean, sitting in the small study room of the McCool building. He could feel Dean across from him, and he tried so hard not to stare at the pen top wrapped around Dean's plump lips, but to no avail.
Castiel blushed when Dean looked up, staring at him before Dean smiled, amused at the attention he was receiving. Castiel could see the tip of his tongue on the sides of the pen and quickly looked away whenever he finally caught Dean's eye. "How ya doing, Cas?"
"Fine," he stammered quietly, trying to find something on his laptop that could help them with their presentation. He waited until Dean looked back down before switching from his computer to his English book.
…
Dean watched as Cas pretended not to notice him. It was funny, because two minutes ago, Cas couldn't stop staring at him. He could see Cas's eyebrows furrowed as he jotted down something in his notebook, and brought his left hand to his cheek, using it to prop his head up. Dean wanted to talk to the guy, to learn a little more about him, other than he had the most gorgeous blue eyes he'd ever seen, and that he never went anywhere without his trench coat, even when it was eighty degrees outside. That just made him want to see Castiel without it even more.
He rubbed his face and ran a hand through his hair before looking back at the book. They had to do a presentation on The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman, and although he read it, he hadn't really understood it. Something about a woman being kept in her room and seeing figures in the wallpaper. It was just a little unusual.
Dean pulled out his phone and opened Pandora. Maybe a little music would help him think. He tapped the app and turned his phone over before going back to his book, but no sound came out of the speaker.
"What are you doing?" Cas asked, barely glancing up from his book.
"Playing some music if that's okay?" Cas nodded. "I don't know why it's not playing."
"Perhaps because your phone's on silent?"
"Oh, yeah," Dean said, tapping the volume buttons one his phone, expecting ACDC or Metallica to burst through his speakers. Instead, a softer melody started playing.
Can you feel the love tonight?/ The peace…
Cas stifled a laugh as Dean's face went red as he fumbled to turn off the music. "Sorry. My friend Jo likes to use my phone to play music. She likes Disney, and… uh—"
"It's okay," Cas said, showing a straight face. "My brother does the same thing. Well, not the exact same thing, but he'll change my computer wallpaper, or on my phone and waits to see how long it takes me to notice. Others usually notice first, but it doesn't stop it from being annoying. Gabe's a pain in the ass," he rambled.
Dean grinned, and turned the music to something he was more familiar with, his Classic Rock station that included ACDC, Metallica, Kansas, Journey, and Queen. Finally, a comfortable song, Slow Ride, came on, easing Dean into a more relaxed state. He watched Cas in his peripheral, scribbling away in his notebook as if he actually understood what the story was about. "Hey, Cas?" he asked, looking up to him now.
"Yes, Dean?" Castiel replied, staring into Dean's bright green eyes.
Dean's breath caught in his throat as he stared, getting lost in the sea of blue in front of him. He wasn't sure whenever Cas had cleared his throat, but he finally remembered what he was going to stay. "Umm, so, this story, can you help me out? I don't really understand it…"
"Oh, that explains a lot," Castiel muttered under his breath. "Okay, so the woman, the narrator, is married to John. She has postpartum depression, and she wants to write, but it makes her tired. She likes to see the areas around the house, but John doesn't know how to deal with her, so he keeps her in an old nursery of the house they're renting. They have a nanny, Mary, who takes care of her baby. The Woman starts to become obsessed with the strange wallpaper in this room that she hates. She starts seeing things in the paper, just as we do when the look at clouds or finding patterns where there is none. She sees a woman moving in the paper, trying to get out, and she realizes that it's similar to her own situation. She's stuck in a place she doesn't wish to be, and she's struggling to get out. At the end, she goes crazy, literally throwing out the key to the room, and thinking there are several women in the room that have been freed from the paper. It says that there was some rope in the room, so it could also be inferred that she killed herself in order to get free, and that's why John fainted at the end."
Dean sits there in awe. He's never heard Cas talk so much, and the fact that he understood the story so much more now that Cas had explained it just made him want to smile. "So, ahem, that's basically what we're going to be putting in the project?"
"Yeah. We'll cite some things, add some nice graphics, and expound some of the literary motifs. Should be an easy A," Cas said with confidence.
"Yeah, yeah. Great. You sure are good at this," Dean said, writing down what Cas just said. Maybe he could find some stuff, some literary whatsits and cite it.
"I like English. I was in AP in high school, and we read this. I remember a lot of the things we talked about, so I know what Dr. Martin is looking for," Cas said, smiling when he saw what Dean was doing.
"So, what's your major?" Dean asked, looking up from his notebook, tapping his pen in time with the soft music coming through the speaker.
"Marketing," Cas said, dread filling his voice.
"You don't sound so enthused," Dean replied with a chuckle.
"It's not really something I'm in to, but my parents own a marketing firm. They want me to take over since I'm the only one left. My brother Gabriel is a baker, and my sister Anna is a teacher," Cas told him with a frown. After a moment's silence, Cas spoke up. "What about you? What's your major?"
"Mechanical engineering," he said with a proud grin.
"Wow… This was definitely the place to go for engineering," Cas said with a nod.
"That's why I came here. I really love cars, and I've worked on my Baby more times than I can count. My uncle Bobby taught me most everything I know, but he still thinks I need an education to actually do anything about it," Dean told him. "Now, my brother Sammy has it in his head that he wants to be a lawyer. He's four years younger than me, but he already knows he wants to go to Stanford. Man, he's smart enough for it, too. Straight A's since he started school. All his teachers couldn't believe could make such great grades when I did so crappy. Something about not having strong parenting or something…" Dean shrugged.
"Sounds like a great kid. So, what do your parents do?" Cas asked as he wrote down something Dean couldn't read. It was quiet a moment too long, before Castiel realized something was wrong. He looked up and saw that Dean was looking down and rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, I'm sorry… I can see that's a sensitive subject."
"It's—hmm—it's okay. My mom died when I was four… Dad, he, um, died a few years ago. Uncle Bobby's the closest I've had to a dad. He's a mechanic, and he doesn't mind me doing the same. He just wants me to do better," Dean said quietly.
An awkward silence fell between them as neither do what else to say. They each were flipping through the book, writing down sentences and page numbers. Castiel stood abruptly, but before Dean could ask what he was doing, the man's stomach growled loudly. Dean chuckled, and when Cas did as well, they started roaring with laughter. "I guess you're hungry?"
Cas nodded and pointed to the door. "I was just about to go to the vending machine to get something."
"I can't let you do that," Dean said, grabbing his phone quickly dialing a number. "Hey, Ellen. It's Dean." He scowled into the phone. "Ellen! You know who this is. Yes, Dean Winchester, you know you're daughter's best friend? Yes, I have an order. Two bacon double cheeseburgers, no onions?" He looked to Cas who nodded in agreement. "Right, no onion. Fries. Can you get it delivered? I'm in the McCool building on campus. Room 138. Thanks, Ellen." Dean grinned and set his phone down. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his head.
"Did you… just order us dinner?" Cas asked, tilting his head as if it would give him a clearer image of Dean.
"Yeah, heh heh… I hope that's okay. You like burgers, right?" Cas nodded. "Good, 'cause Ellen makes the best ones in town. Sam makes me get 'em every time he comes down, and he's a rabbit food eating buffoon."
"Oh. Well, thank you."
"Wanna go get something to drink before the food gets here?" He asked, standing up as well.
"I'm not comfortable leaving my stuff here…" Cas admitted, looking down at his computer.
"Okay, well, I'll go get 'em. What's your preference?"
"I'm not picky. Just nothing diet, please."
"Be back in a sec," Dean told him. As he sidestepped him, their chests heaved against each other, and for a moment, they looked at each other, looking from their eyes to their mouths. Dean managed to open the door and muttered under his breath something about "personal space."
When the cool evening air hit his skin, he realized how flushed he felt. His skin felt sunburnt, and his breathing was erratic. It was as if Dr. Martin knew he had a crush on Cas, putting them together like this with their flaky friends. He stepped up to the machine and swiped his card, careful not to let it fall through his fumbling fingers.
God, what was it about this blue-eyed man that made him feel like this? They just brushed against each other, and he was having trouble breathing. Dean tapped the drink button and ran his hands over his face as he waited for the drink to fall. He quickly jabbed another button and grabbed the drinks, willfully trying to calm himself down. The unusual cool air helped, but it didn't stop him from feeling anxious, knowing that just inside, Castiel freakin' Novak was waiting for him to come back. Calm down, Winchester. It's not like you're doing anything. You're working on school work. And you're buying him dinner. But it's just school stuff. His internal dialogue continued until he stepped in to room 138, surprised to see that his and Cas's seats were closer together. A lot closer, as in right beside each other.
…
"Oh, hi," Cas said, pushing his computer to the center of the table. "I thought we could work on the presentation while we're waiting on the food." God, what was he doing? This was ridiculous. Dean didn't want to sit next to him. Dean was only here because Dr. Martin assigned them to be together.
"Uh.. yeah. That's fine. I'm not going to be in your way?" he asked, placing the two drinks on the table.
"No… It'll be better, because you can add what you want, too," Castiel said, blushing as they sat down in their respective seats. His blush deepened as their knees brushed against each other.
Dean tried to swallow, but his mouth was suddenly dry. "Yeah, yeah… Umm, where's your book?"
"Oh, erm… I put it in my backpack. I thought we could share," he whispered.
"Yeah, that's fine."
"This is what I have so far," Castiel showed as he tapped the mouse. He watched Dean as Dean watched the presentation. The background was a weird yellow with strange symbols. It was perfect for the story.
Dean nodded as it progressed, showing several quotes and a few explained metaphors. "It looks great, Cas, really." Dean turned his head toward the other man, not really noticing how close they were until Castiel could see Dean's freckles spread across his face. Castiel realized that Dean was looking at him as he had earlier, his eyes going from Castiel's own eyes to his lips. Castiel realized that Dean was moving closer to him, and he wasn't sure what to do.
Suddenly, a loud knock came from the door. Dean jumped back away from Cas with his eyes jumping to the door. Castiel followed, seeing a scruffy and burly man carrying a plastic bag. He saw a scowl on Dean's face, but the man at the door was wearing a grin. "Hey, Dean," the man said with a deep Cajun accent.
"Benny," Dean replied, rising from his seat and shaking the man's free hand. "Didn't know you were working tonight."
"Ellen called me in. Ash was busy with something," Benny said with a shrug. "Who's your friend?" he asked, looking over to Castiel.
"Oh, uh, Benny, this is Castiel Novak. Cas, this is my friend, Benny Lafitte," Dean said, taking the bag of food.
"So, this is Cas?" Benny asked, giving a sly look to Dean, but shaking Castiel's hand anyway. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too, Benny," Castiel said, sitting back down.
"Well, man, I don't want to hold you up. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, brother. I'll let ya get back to your… work. See ya," Benny waved as he shut the door.
Another awkward silence filled the air. Dean was looking at anywhere but Castiel, and Castiel only had eyes for Dean.
"Why don't we eat?"
"Why did Benny say that?" they asked simultaneously.
Dean almost dropped the bag. He obviously wasn't expecting that. "I may have mentioned you. Ya know, that uh, Charlie and I were working with you and Chuck on this…" Dean half-lied.
"Oh," Castiel said, squinting his eyes but not looking at Dean. "So, food?"
"Yeah. Food." He took out the two Styrofoam containers and put one in front of each of their seats.
They quietly opened their respective boxes and took a bite of their burgers. Castiel had never tasted a burger so good. He groaned as the flavor spread across his taste buds. Dean stopped and just stared at Castiel as he chewed. Castiel set the burger back on his plate and wiped his face with a napkin. "What? Do I have something on my face?"
Dean shook his head and swallowed. His face was becoming a permanent shade of red for the evening. "No, nothing," Dean said, taking a sip of his drink. He took another bite, and then Castiel understood why Dean had blushed. The sounds Dean made as he chewed made his blood boil. Is that what he had sounded like? Had he made those same obscene noises? Castiel could feel his face turn colors as he listened.
"You were right. These are good," he finally said.
"Yeah? Glad you like 'em. Ellen makes a mean burger. Her pizza is good, too," Dean said, taking a big bite of fries.
"We might have go try it out some time," Castiel said quietly. Internally, his eyes widened at his brazenness. Had he just asked Dean out?
"Sure. It's a great place," Dean nodded, taking another bite. "So, umm, what all do we have to do on this project?"
"Not much more."
"You think Charlie and Chuck could take care of it?" Dean grinned.
"I don't see why not. I'll send them what we have, and I'll let Chuck borrow my notes, so he and Charlie can meet up to finish the rest. We can meet one day next week to get everything in order so we know what we're going to say," Castiel replied.
"Well, I've got to work a few days coming up, but I'm usually off by seven."
"Where do you work?"
"A mechanic shop in town. Williams Tire and Auto."
"Oh, okay…" Castiel chewed his lip for a minute before saying, "I've got this weird thing going on with my car. It won't always crank immediately. It's like the battery dies whenever I try…"
"Hmm, well bring it by, and I'll take a look at it, okay?"
"Ooh…" Castiel stuttered. "You don't have to do that. Really. I wasn't expecting you to—"
"I offered. Just when you come by, ask for me. Okay?" Dean assured him.
"Okay." They finished eating in a comfortable quietness. Castiel felt Dean's leg brush against his again. He moved it away, thinking he was taking up too much room, but Dean put his right beside him, not moving away, but actually, moving closer.
The room was quiet, and when Castiel's phone chimed, it shocked them both. Hastily, Castiel pulled out his older model phone and typed out a text. It still had a number pad for goodness sake. "That was my brother, Gabe. He was wondering if I was coming home this weekend," Castiel explained, waving his phone before placing it back on the table.
"Are you?" Dean asked curiously.
Castiel shook his head. "I hate going back there. It's a seven hour drive, and I really don't want to see my parents."
"Oh," Dean said, suppressing the grin from his face.
Castiel's phone sounded another alert, causing him to groan. "Great. Gabe's coming down…"
"Well, that's nice. I don't get to see Sammy as much as I would like. Maybe he just misses you," Dean shrugged.
"Or he wants to pester me about my complete lack of a sexual life," Cas ground out, ignoring the shocked look on Dean's face.
"Oh," Dean eventually said. "So, he's that kind of brother," he laughed. "I tease Sammy about that all the time, even if he has a girlfriend."
"Well, it's not girlfriends he teases me about," Cas muttered just as Dean took a sip of his drink.
Dean managed to not spew it over their work, but coughed as he inhaled it. "Went down the wrong hole," he managed to say. "So, um… you're into guys?"
Castiel's eyes widened as he realized what he had said. Dean's knee was still pressed against his, and his fingers twitched, wanting to be closer to Dean. "Um… I'm indifferent to gender and sexualities. I've had relationships with various kinds of people."
Dean nodded and took another sip. "I—uh—I'm bisexual, actually. I had a girlfriend when I was in high school, and it was really serious. But she cheated on me, got pregnant, and she dumped me. Then there was this guy my freshman year here, but um… it wasn't meant to be. We just didn't really work out enough to stay together."
Castiel nodded and nibbled on a french fry. "There was one boy when I was in high school. He was great, but he wanted more than I did at the time. Gabriel heard him trying to pressure me, and burst in on us. We were both half-naked and Gabriel kicked him out before he could grab a shirt." Dean chuckled at the mental image of some guy running from Castiel's home, trying to juggle his shoes and t-shirt as he ran. "I was so angry with Gabe, but I know he was right to do that."
"Yeah… have you ever had a girlfriend?" he asked, trying to be casual.
Castiel shook his head. "I've been attracted to some girls, but I've never pursued a relationship with one. There was this girl, Meg, who liked me. She called me her unicorn," Cas said with a chuckle. "She wasn't stable… After graduation, I heard she got sent to rehab, so…" He shrugged, not knowing what else to say.
"Yeah, Sam had a girlfriend like that. He said that everything was great. They had smoked some pot a few times, and one night, she took him to a party. She tried to get him to do heroin," Dean scoffed, disbelievingly. "He ran as fast as he could away from her. A friend of his called the cops on the party, and the whole place got busted for underage drinking and possession of illegal substances. I don't know anything else about her though."
"Everyone has their deep, dark secrets," Cas said with a curious grin.
"Well, now I'm curious Novak," Dean told him, leaning closer to the younger man.
"It's not a secret if I tell you," he said, mirroring Dean's movements, leaving only a minute space between them. Castiel felt Dean's breathing and watched as Dean's eyes flittered down to mouth and back to his eyes for the umpteenth time that night. "I like you," Cas finally whispered.
"Thank God," Dean replied as he moved the last inch and placed his lips onto Cas's. Dean felt Cas's hand grab a handful of his hair, and Dean reciprocated by caressing his cheek.
…
The previous kisses Dean had encountered with other people were nothing compared to this. Castiel knew what he was doing, and with the fistful of hair he had, it was driving Dean crazy. When Cas scraped his teeth along Dean's bottom lip, Dean couldn't repress the moan that traveled from the back of his throat. When he was finally able to take a gasping breath, Dean smiled and rested his forehead again Castiel's. "Damn," he panted, looking at the man before him.
"That's what I was gonna say," a voice rang from the doorway. Castiel and Dean backed away slightly as not to bump heads, and looked toward the voice.
"H-hey, Charlie," Dean muttered, his face flushing a deep crimson at being caught kissing Castiel.
"Charlie, Chuck," Cas nodded at them as he closed his computer and slid it into his backpack.
"Castiel," Chuck waved awkwardly from the doorway.
"Now that everyone is reintroduced," Dean laughed. "We're gonna go. Project's almost done. You just need to finish putting the stuff on the slides. We'll send you what we have. You can borrow Cas's notes."
"Uh huh," Charlie said, holding back a giggle. "And where are you two going?"
"We've been here for two hours working on this. We've done our part," Castiel informed them, sidling his bag on his shoulder and slapping the notes on the table. "We'll see you next week to finish up." The two latecomers, as well as Dean, were silent as Castiel walked out after depositing his empty container in the trash.
Dean laughed to himself and followed suit. "See ya," he said, clapping Chuck on the shoulder.
"You will give me the details later," Charlie whispered with a devious grin.
"I don't kiss and tell," he grinned. He was almost to the building's exit when a strong hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him from the door. "What the—oh! I thought I had missed you," Dean told him.
"I was eager to leave them. I was hoping you were right behind me," Cas said shyly.
"Why's that?" Dean smirked.
"I uh… I was serious about us going to get some of Ellen's pizza one day," Cas told him.
"And I was serious about us going. I like you, Cas. A lot," Dean admitted.
"Thank God," Cas laughed, mocking Dean's earlier reaction.
Dean chuckled with him, "Would you, um… you wanna go back to my place? Just to like, hang out or watch a movie or something?" Dean asked, suddenly hesitant. He didn't want it to sound like something more than he was intending.
Cas nodded and adjusted his shoulder strap. "I'd like that."
He was going to send Dr. Martin a freaking thank you note for pairing them together.