Dean took a seat in the back of the class and pulled a notebook out of his backpack in case he needed to pretend to take notes. Honestly, if Charlie hadn't walked him to class, he wouldn't have been there at all let alone on time. Other students were still piling in. Then, there was Cas. He walked in behind the crowd and slid into the seat next to Dean.
"Hello, Dean," Cas said, "I was starting to think you dropped this class."
"Would if I could," Dean replied, opening his notebook to a random blank page.
"Do you not like Women's History?" Cas asked.
Dean sighed and reluctantly met Cas' gaze. He could get lost in all that blue. He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"No," he replied, "I got nothing against women; I love women. I'm not big on history."
Cas nodded, "So, why are you taking this class?" Cas licked his lips, and Dean struggled not to mimic the motion. Apparently, Cas' effect on him wasn't limited to post-spooning awkwardness. What. The. Fuck.
"I needed a humanities course," he answered. Why was he looking at him like that? It was like those blue eyes could see straight through him.
Cas asked, "For what major?"
"Law enforcement," Dean said.
Cas smirked and pulled a notebook out of his bag.
"What?" Dean asked.
"You look like a cop." Dean didn't quite know how to take that.
Their professor walked in and pulled dry erase markers out of nowhere.
"What are you majoring in?" Dean asked quietly. Cas checked his mechanical pencil for lead. God, his hands.
As the professor starting writing on the board, Cas answered, "History."
Of course he was. Maybe if he could get his shit together and stop thinking about Cas' hands on him, he could ask him for help passing this class. Considering how much effort it took to stop looking at Cas, it seemed like a pretty big if.
Why the fuck was he feeling like this? He was straight, dammit! It must've been something to do with Lisa. He was subconsciously trying to rebound. But he knew he'd gotten over Lisa while they'd still been dating. The pain was still there, but they'd been over with months before they split. Maybe it was losing Ben. But how would losing the closest thing he had to a son make him check out this guy? This guy in his class with the pinkest, softest lips and brightest, blue eyes and this little smile and goddamnit!
Dean decided to focus on the teacher and actually pay attention in this class.
"Family," the teacher was saying, "was largely defined by men."
"Like everything else," someone piped up. Nothing like a Women's History class to make a guy ashamed to be a guy.
The professor said, "Let's try to remember we do have men in this classroom. A little respect and decorum, hmm?" She turned back to the board and drew a generic family tree.
She continued, "In certain societies, family is defined through the female. In ours, family is defined through the male. For example, it was custom in the 19th century, which is the period we're studying now for those of you who've not been paying attention." Dean ducked his head and saw Cas smiling. It was breathtaking. Must pay attention to teacher.
She continued, "for women to take the name of the man they married. She would have no legal agency of her own. She simply became another part of her husband. Children, too, would have the father's name, which became problematic if the father were to die. Any guesses as to why?"
No one said anything. Dean avoided eye contact. Cas touched Dean's leg, which damn near gave him a heart attack. Cas slid his notebook to Dean.
"Anyone?" the professor tried again. She looked like she was losing faith in her class. Dean looked at Cas, and he nodded encouragingly.
"Because the mother would not get custody of her kids," Dean said, trying to sound slightly more confident than he felt. How did Cas know this shit? The professor beamed at him.
"Yes. Thank you," she said, "Women did not have the right to their own children. The kids would instead be legally given to the father's male next of kin. It was not until 1848 that mother's right were recognized by law."
Dean pushed Cas' notebook back to him. He had no idea that women hadn't had the rights to their own children. Hell, they gave birth to them and raised them and loved them. That was so fucked up. While his situation was not nearly as ridiculous, he could relate. Breaking things off with Lisa was for the best. He just wished he didn't have to date Lisa to see Ben.
He tried to keep paying attention to the lecture, but he started wondering about Cas. How did Cas feel about kids? Did he want kids? If he did, that sort of shot any chance that he might want to be with Dean. Would he want to be with Dean? He'd seen Dean drunk off his ass. And that was how they met aside from when he played foosball with Benny that one time. Did Dean want Cas to want to be with him? When Cas stared at him, it made Dean forget there were other people around. And that was sort of nice. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be with Cas.
This was getting ridiculous. The teacher started talking about family dynamics in cases of divorce. All it did was make him think of Lisa. But not paying attention meant thinking about Cas. Cas' foot brushed Dean's leg. His heart sped up instantly.
This was a new kind of hell.