Author's Note: So, hey. I'm so late to this party. I know. I butt way too much. But here, have a thing. It's dedicated to whelvenwings for Valentine's day, with love. :)

"I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna give it to him."

Dean was pacing the empty corridor in front of the classroom's closed door, clutching the silly little Valentine's card he made the other night to his chest and trying to muster the confidence to go give it to him. It was pretty cheesy in his opinion, a dark pink heart cut from construction paper and sprinkled with silver glitter—that was his mother's idea, he swore it—with a lengthy message scrawled on the back as neatly as his nervous hands could manage. He must've rewritten the thing at least 50 times, trying to sound a little less like an idiot. Dean didn't exactly do this kind of thing often; he was far more used to receiving cards, so he wasn't entirely sure what to give to someone he genuinely cared for. Should he have just bought a card, impersonal as that felt? You couldn't go wrong with those. Or maybe he should've skipped the card and just picked up some chocolate or something? Castiel's older brother Gabriel had told him the guy liked sweet things...

No, this was going to have to suffice, because he knew that if he didn't do it now he'd never get up the nerve to tell him again. He'd just give him the cheesy card and if Castiel didn't feel the same, well, he could still work with that. He hadn't signed it so he could always say it was from someone else or something, though it'd break his heart a bit. He didn't want to risk losing their friendship. They'd been close for years now, and while he had to admit that the guy did seem to have some interest in him, maybe it was just the way he was with everyone. He was generally really friendly with everyone, often far too sweet for his own good...maybe he wouldn't even understand what Dean meant when he said he loved him. It was possible it'd go right over his head, and he'd just think he meant it as a friend. He was a little oblivious with feelings, Dean had noticed that. He looked down at the card again, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. It was such a risky thing, this little paper heart...but he wanted Castiel to have it. No matter what doubts he held.

He finally slowed to a halt in front of the door, drawing in a long breath through his nose and letting it out in a drawn out sigh, tucking the card behind his back and, before he could change his mind, letting himself into the room. It was lunch block so the place was entirely abandoned aside from the one figure sitting alone at a lab table, his feet tucked up on the rung of the stool and his chin resting in his hands as he read, those thick dorky glasses of his resting far down on his nose where he'd yet to push them back up. Castiel was kind of a small guy but he appeared even smaller now, swallowed by his oversized sweatshirt that had an equally dorky owl on it. It was the kind of thing that just fit him so perfectly; anything else would just seem weird for him.

He looked up when Dean closed the door behind him, a smile spreading over his lips as he pushed up his glasses, sticking a piece of paper in the book he'd been reading so he didn't lose his place when he closed it. Castiel was forever working on something or studying, and the guy was probably the smartest person Dean had had the privilege to meet, hands down. He'd gotten some tutoring from him before, because he kind of sucked when it came to school and he wasn't even in the advanced program. It definitely was not his strong suit. "Hello Dean."

"H-hey Cas," he stammered, hoping to God that he wasn't blushing when he felt a flurry of excitement spring up in his chest. He got that way around him a lot recently, even when there wasn't really cause. He just really liked being around him. "You skipped lunch again, y'know. What's got you cooped up in here?"

He strolled over to join him at the table and Castiel gestured to his anatomy book and notebook, on which he'd drawn a pretty accurate sketch of a heart. "I wanted to get it done early so I'll be free tonight." Oh? Dean cocked an eyebrow and gave him a questioning look, wondering what in the world he could be planning to do. Castiel didn't seem to do dates or anything; he was far too reserved for that, so maybe he was just going to spend the night reading? That seemed like something he would do. "What about you? You're usually not here."

"Well, er...I wanted to see you," he explained, scratching the back of his head nervously and glancing around. "And I wanted to get away from everyone, you know, 'cause this whole Valentine's craze going down today." He didn't want to get bombarded by people with cards or professions of 'love.' Not when he had something very important to do today.

Castiel nodded knowingly and turned his attention back to his book, tracing his fingers over the design on the cover absentmindedly. He was blushing a bit, Dean couldn't help but notice, and it was adorable. Just in general, he was the cutest thing. "I've been avoiding the halls, figured I might as well get this report out of the way. Speaking of, I guess I should get back to it, if you don't mind..." He started to open the book again to return to his page, but Dean reached out quickly to stop him, his mind telling him that he had to do it now. Castiel looked at him questioningly and he swore his heart just about stopped in his chest.

"I, um, Cas, I made you a thing," he stuttered, pulling the card out from behind him and thrusting it towards him, his body flushing with heat in embarrassment. He struggles to meet the wide blue eyes that look up at him in surprise, his gaze flicking down to the card every couple of seconds and he had half a nerve to pull it back to him and bolt before he screwed up. "It's, um...Happy Valentine's Day."

Dean stood there with his hands linked behind his back, idly kicking the ground in front of him while Castiel read his silly card. Part of him really wanted to reach out and just pull it back so he could bolt, but then what? He'd have to hide forever at that point because he really wouldn't be able to face him. At least this way he could get solid rejection. That was easier.

"Dean, I never thought—"

"Sorry, it's stupid, right?" he interjected, looking up at him and then back down. Of course he wouldn't want anything to do with this. Dean couldn't blame him. "I knew you wouldn't like it, I just...ugh, this is a mess. Can I have the card? I'll go burn it and we can forget this, okay? It's stupid anyway, I mean it's just—"

"Dean."

Gentle fingers curled under his jaw to tilt his head up, and he didn't fight it, just blinking blearily at his friend, who was a lot closer than he had been. God, he was such a moron, he shouldn't have... "I love it, thank you. It's perfect." Dean brightened just a little; if Castiel liked it, that was the only opinion he needed. It surprised him how easily his demeanour could change because of this one man. "Though, you know, I don't think that's what a heart looks like."

"Sh-shut up," Dean grumbled, pouting a bit when Castiel laughed at him. "So, uh, Cas...about that card..."

He never got further than that, because before he could open his mouth he found a pair of warm lips being pressed to his own, and nothing mattered anymore. It was short, the kiss, but when Castiel pulled back from him, his blue eyes alight and his lips turned up in a smile, Dean curled a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him right back. He'd been so worried about pressing his luck and now it seemed so trivial. There was no way he'd have kissed him had he not felt the same way.

He wasn't sure entirely what this would mean, but he was excited at the potential that had just opened up. They could make something of this and Dean would love nothing more, everyone else be damned. Castiel leaned back again after a moment and smiled, brushing his fingers over his cheek. "So, are you free tonight? I thought we might go catch a movie."