The end of class was a complicated mix of not short enough and sure as hell not short enough.

On the one hand, of course, there was guilt. (Was Cas really going to make the trip all the way back to campus for no damn reason? That was ridiculous. He should have just stayed home with Samantha; Dean was fine.)

On the other hand… Okay, Dean was glad Cas was coming no matter how bad he felt about it. (Food was always good, after all, and five o'clock was a helluva long time to wait for dinner.)

It was for these two reasons that Dean barely waited for the professor to dismiss class before heading out, bag packed along with the other students instead of his usual practice of waiting for the crowd to die down by killing time chatting with the professor. (He did not book it to the front of the building; it was his normal pace when food was on the line. Nobody likes cold… whatever it was.)

Luckily, it was no hard feat to spot Cas once he got outside - even if his trademark suit, tie, and trench coat combination were more inconspicuous, his near-shout of Dean's name was attention-grabbing to say the least - so the food wouldn't have to wait too long in that regard either. (It was all about the food, of course.)

Even the threat of cold food, though, wasn't enough to calm that flare of guilt at Cas having to return to the campus he'd just left, so, of course, the first out of his mouth was the incredibly smooth, "You really shouldn't- I mean, you didn't have to- I was fin-"

In his familiar blunt way, Cas just shoved a bag at him mid-sentence. "Eat your burger."

Dean smiled. (Dean Winchester doesn't grin.) "Thanks, man." And, because he made a habit of both never learning a lesson and making an ass of himself, "But you didn't have t-"

"Burger." Cas tapped the bag Dean was still holding in the awkward, surprised half-grip it had fallen into. "Now." His eyebrow raised as though daring Dean to protest again. "No speak if burger."

And okay, fine, that had Dean sitting right down on a nearby bench and rifling through the bag. It took him a few minutes longer than it probably should have - he was distracted. By the food, of course. - to notice that Cas was still hovering awkwardly too far away (to be comfortable for Cas) and making no move to eat… well, anything. "You have food?"

"I-" For a second, Cas looked like he was considering his answer. Then, "No?"

"Cas, y-"

"I didn't think about that."

Dean chuckled. (Dean Winchester does not laugh.) "What is it with you and forgetting to feed living creatures?"

"In my defense, you can survive without food for a month."

"Yeah, but, y-you shouldn't."

Cas frowned. "But you can."

"Yes, Cas, but you shouldn't."

The frown turned into something more like a glare. "But you can."

Dean blinked - part of him made a mental note to see if Cas ever blinked because, seriously, he acted like a robot sometimes - while his brain tried to stop short-circuiting (from Cas' logic, not from the glare… Dean Winchester didn't care about some damn look).

It took a second. He blinked at Cas. Cas stared back.

And then, all at once, he remembered that, well… he couldn't possibly eat the burger before it got too cold to taste good, so, really, he had to share it… for the sake of the burger. Which was why he pulled out his best unimpressed huff, paired it with a, "C'mon, man, really?", and promptly ripped the burger in half. (It was the only thing to do, really… what was he supposed to do, let the thing get cold?)

On the plus side, Cas seemed about as taken aback by Dean attempting to gift him half a burger as Dean was by receiving it in the first place. "That's… not nece-"

Dean pushed the half-sandwich closer, trying to get him to take it. "Burger." He smirked. (Dean Winchester didn't grin.) "Now." He grabbed Cas' arm (Dean Winchester did not take peoples' hands) and handed Cas the burger. "No speak if burger." (Dean Winchester was not still smiling. It wasn't happening. If it was, it was because of the burger.)

And, okay, it was really unfair how Cas was looking at the damn sandwich like it was a damn treasure or something. (Dean Winchester was most certainly not, absolutely, certainly, not smiling because Cas was happy. Nope. The wonders of a burger, that was all.) It was even less fair for him to turn that damn expression on Dean - like he'd done anything but rip a sandwich in two and offer Cas the damn leftovers - and say, "Thank you, Dean" as if any thanks were needed (or deserved).

"Yeah, well, just think ahead next time. You gotta eat, too." Dean reached down, picking up his half of the burger from where he'd dropped it back into the bag. "And I ain't giving you more burger. Too precious."

Cas smiled as he bit into the burger, chewing slowly. (Dean Winchester was not watching him eat.) It was an oddly messy endeavor, some crumbs scattering down on to the bench. (Dean Winchester was not fighting the urge to brush off the one unruly piece caught at the corner of Cas' mouth.)

"Good?" It occurred to him too late that, since Cas had picked the sandwich, he probably knew it was good. (Dean Winchester did not blush.)

"Yes, Dean. Thank you." There was that damn thanks again, but at least it gave Dean enough wherewithal to look away. "These make me very happy."

Dean swallowed another bite of burger. (His throat was not suddenly a little dry. He was happy Cas was happy, but that was just common civility.) "No problem, man. Enjoy it. One of our greatest accomplishments."

"Not really." (Cas was not looking at Dean with laser-focused blue eyes when he said that. Dean must have mis-seen something. Misinterpreted it. And he was staring intently at his burger when Dean looked over to be sure.) "B-but thank you."

"Yeah." Dean shrugged. "Wasn't a big deal, though."

Cas shook his head, still eating. "Yes it was. Thank you."

Dean didn't really have the heart to argue.