AN: I thought I wasn't going to get this done today because I've been starting to post shit on ao3, which has meant me copying and pasting word documents of shit I've already published here onto there and re editing them and it's been a bloody nightmare and I've gotten like 7 ficlets done. So it's a work in progress. Sorry, but that's my excuse for why this chapter feels so damn short.
ChillyChilly - PLOT DEVELOPMENT WILL HAPPEN BUT DON'T WORRY
Shahara Dagan - Don't apologise! Sam will probably continue to be traumatised if I have anything to say about it. Which I do, because I'm running this joint. Writing Gabe is insane because it sort of just happens and yeah. And you can totally look forward to Benny showing up that's cool with me.
Um. Anyway. Chapter 10 is here.
Chapter 10
Dean was practically bouncing in his seat when he and Sam pulled up outside Castiel's house the next morning. He and Castiel had been texting until about 1am until they fell asleep, phones in hand, about pretty much everything.
"Gabriel, do not forget that I am going to Dean's for dinner tonight," Castiel reminded his older brother as he left the house. Gabriel rolled his eyes.
"I know, bro, don't get your panties in a twist. Here's your boytoy now! Yoohoo! Dean-O!" he called, arms flailing at the black Impala. Dean waved back, and Castiel ran over before hopping into the car, catching Dean's infectious smile.
"Hello, Dean."
"Hey Cas," Dean beamed before kissing him smartly on the mouth. Castiel blushed and Sam rolled his eyes.
"Dude. Still here."
"Aw, shut it, Sammy. Let's go!"
And the three of them headed to school, Gabriel waving madly from the porch.
"So there's something I completely forgot to tell you," Dean said as they parked at school. Sam practically ran away from the car, leaving them to indulge in one another's company before they had to go to morning class. Castiel looked at him worriedly.
"Should I be concerned?"
There was a soft laugh before Dean spoke. "Nah, it's just this friend of mine just moved back here – his name's Benny, and he's really cool and I wanted you to meet him at lunch today if you wanted. He was my best friend when we were younger and then he moved and now he's back and….." he trailed off. Castiel reached across and gripped his hand.
"I'd love to meet him," he said softly, before letting go and exiting the car at the same time as Dean. They walked into school with their arms around one another, stopping at Dean's locker. Dean stared at Castiel's fingers as he played with them before mumbling, "So I'll see you at break?" hopefully. Castiel tugged him closer by his fingers, and when Dean looked up he whispered "of course", before giving him a chaste peck on the lips and leaving for his locker. Dean was unable to stop himself from smiling all the way to class.
The first couple of hours were bearable. It turned out that Benny had been put in Dean's Autoshop class, so the pair of them teamed up to work on the theoretical practise questionnaire they'd been given that period. Dean spent most of the time telling Benny all about Castiel, and Benny lost count of the amount of times that he rolled his eyes.
"I mean, I know it's only been a couple of days but I've been in love with his eyes for so long and it's like every time he looks at me –"
"I know, your whole world disappears and gets replaced by rainbows and unicorns. I'm gonna meet him, Dean, calm down," Benny snorted, and Dean snapped his mouth shut. Benny's eyes were twinkling as he said this, however, so Dean knew he wasn't really mad.
"I'm sorry, man, it's just…he's so…"
"Yeah, brother. I know."
When the bell went, the two of them headed to the library to find Dean's boyfriend.
Castiel was where he had been yesterday, curled up in an armchair by the window. Dean popped his head round the corner and gave him a huge grin.
"I knew you'd be here."
"And I knew you would find me."
Dean's cheeks went slightly pink and the two of them stared at one another before a voice from behind Dean interrupted. "So, do I get to meet this guy or what?"
Dean jumped. "Oh, god! Cas, this is Benny. Benny, this is Cas. My boyfriend. Mine. Mine mine mine!" he ended up singing the last part as he squished himself into the chair with Castiel, burying his face into Castiel's neck. Castiel glanced at him, amused, before looking up at Benny.
"Hello, Benny. I would say hi properly, but I appear to be inconvenienced at the moment."
Benny raised an eyebrow at Dean, and then replied, "it's fine, dude. Dean's just weird like that."
"I'm adorable!" came the muffled protest from where Dean's mouth met Castiel's skin. Castiel gave an involuntary shudder at the sensation, and his arms gripped Dean tightly. He looked at Benny apologetically, who merely rolled his eyes and flopped into the chair opposite them. Castiel could've sworn, though, that he saw a flash of something else in Benny's eyes, and this made him suddenly fervently grateful that he was the one that Dean was currently snuggling into, as opposed to the guy he was sat facing.
Not that he wasn't grateful anyway.
His heart had forgotten how to beat evenly the second he'd seen Dean Winchester, and now the man himself was sat on Castiel's lap, legs sprawled in an ungainly fashion over the side of the chair, and his arms locked around Castiel's neck as his head rested on his shoulder. Castiel smiled contentedly, and he spoke to Benny.
"So, you moved back to Lawrence? How come?"
"My parents split up, and my dad wanted to move back here. So I came with him." Benny shrugged, and Castiel found himself stroking Dean's hair without realising he had been doing it in the first place.
"Benny's dad used to work at the garage with Bobby." Dean spoke up. He lifted his head slightly from the comfort of Castiel's shoulder to grin crookedly at Benny. "We used to annoy them so much, stealing wrenches and shit."
Benny burst out laughing. "I think you'll find that was mainly you, brother. I was the good influence, remember?"
"Were not!"
"Were too!"
Before anything else could be said, Charlie appeared, closely followed by Jo, Kevin and Ash.
"Hey guys! Thought you'd be here. Is this Benny?" Charlie grinned, and Benny smiled lazily back.
"Guilty. Who are you guys? The only thing I could get outta this boy's mouth was 'Cas this, Cas that'!"
At this, both Dean and Castiel blushed while their friends chortled. Jo stuck out a hand.
"I'm Jo-"
"Joanna!" Dean interrupted.
"-Jo, and I kinda remember you from when we were kids."
Benny shook her hand. "I think I remember! Were you the weird girl with the knives and pigtails?"
Jo tipped her head. "That's the one."
"Well it sure is nice to make your acquaintance again, Jo."
Jo winked. "You too."
Charlie pushed past. "I'm Charlie, resident lesbian, and these two losers are Ash and Kevin," she said, indicating them. "Now, first things first – Marvel or DC?"
They spent the rest of the break talking and laughing, and Castiel really hoped he wasn't imagining the amount of times Benny's eyes flickered over to where he and Dean sat, Dean refusing to move from Castiel's lap.
Dean and Castiel had Art next, and they walked along slowly, hand in hand. Dean was grinning his face off – he was dating Castiel, his best friend was back, and everyone got along! – and Castiel was smiling at his boyfriend's exuberance. He bit his lip.
"Dean, did you and Benny ever….?"
Dean frowned.
"Ever what? Wait, you mean…me? And Benny?"
Castiel blushed and looked down.
"Dude, no! First off, we were like 12 when he left. And I've never thought of him…that way, and I know he's never thought of me like that. I don't even think he's into guys."
"Oh, okay."
"Was that…..were you jealous?" Dean gaped at the now crimson boy in front of him.
"No!" Castiel relented. "Maybe a little bit. I….you're so amazing and I'm just the dork in the trenchcoat and I think I'm still in shock that we're actually dating?" he finished his sentence as if it were a question, peeking up at Dean, who frowned before engulfing him in his arms.
"Don't think like that, Cas," he said into Castiel's hair. "I'm still in shock, too, and you're just gonna have to deal with the fact that you're stuck with me. Okay?"
Castiel nodded into the crook of his boyfriend's neck. "Okay."
"Great! We gotta run now or we'll be late for class," Dean said, and the two of them half jogged to Ms Milton's room, hand in hand. Castiel's fears over Benny were alleviated somewhat, although he couldn't get the memory of Benny looking at him and Dean out of his head for a while - at least until Dean smiled at him shyly before offering an earbud which already had Led Zeppelin leaking out of it.
They spent the next hour like they had the day before, listening to Dean's music and working on their projects. Ms Milton smiled at them fondly as she took attendance, before burying herself in her novel once more.
AN: PS my AO3 account name is the same as my one here, which is also my tumblr URL.
Because I'm not above dropping hints.
So, review!