AN: My apologies for taking so long. My personal life is quite a mess at the moment...
Scent of rain drifted through an open window and into Castiel's room. He rolled to his side and pulled the sheets over his head, blocking the light from his still weary eyes. It took him a while before he registered the noise that had woken him up, an annoying repetitive sound that wouldn't stop, no matter how he covered his ears. All he wanted to do was fall asleep, but the alarm he had set was persistent, refusing to turn off by itself.
Castiel set an angry glare on his alarm clock as he pushed the sheets from on top of him. The way he stared at it, like it was a spawn of Satan, mirrored his thoughts of wanting to throw it into the wall with all his strength.
To put it bluntly, Castiel certainly wasn't a morning person.
Despite his feelings of hatred towards the device that had pulled him from his dreams, Castiel didn't abuse it in any way as he turned it off and dragged himself up from the warmth of his bed.
It was the first time in a while Castiel was heading to the university since Lucifer had decided that preparing for the concert was more important than studying. Though school stressed him, it was much better than being hurled up inside his room and playing classic rock while sobbing quietly. His mental health practically required presence of other people, excluding his family, even if he wasn't that much of a social person.
When he took his meds and tilted the bottle to get some of the pills, he frowned when only two dropped on his palm. Shouldn't there have been more? Castiel hadn't realised he was running out, but made a mental note of visiting the drug store while he was in town. He still popped the last two pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry.
It didn't take long for Castiel to tug on his boring and ordinary clothes and snatch the keys of his disgustingly orange Fiat Punto. His car had broken down about three weeks back, forcing him to wait at the side of the road for full two hours before Lucifer had picked him up.
As soon as Castiel stepped out of the door, his phone vibrated inside his pocket. "Coming over to the café at lunch today? You were awesome at the concert btw." Castiel smiled at the text.
"Yeah, see you then" He typed up quickly before he slipped inside his tiny car.
It was around at eleven when Castiel slipped into the stupid chain café that his friend worked at. His morning lecture had crawled by slowly, but finally he had been released. Of course he had headed to the café immediately, missing his probably only friend.
"I didn't know you were coming to the concert. I would have loved to see you." He said with a smile on his face as he leaned against the counter.
Charlie leaned in from the other side, a smirk playing on her lips, and her ponytail dropped to her other shoulder. "Sorry, I was on a date." She confessed, practically beaming, which honestly somehow worried Castiel.
He quirked a brow in surprise. "A date? Who's the lucky girl? You must have had amazing time if you're so happy about it." Last time Charlie had been on a date was over three months ago, at least as far as Castiel knew, so this came as a surprise to him. Castiel was sure that she would have told him about her date.
"Yeah, I had a great time, but it was actually a guy." The look on Castiel's face at that moment, mixed with shock and confusion, was probably one of the most amusing things Charlie had ever seen. "And no, I'm still not interested in men, if you're wondering about that."
Castiel leaned in closer and a curious smile formed on his lips as he got past the initial shock. "So enlighten me." He encouraged Charlie. "Why in the world did you go on a date with a man? And I'm quite curious why it makes you so cheery."
She pushed up from the counter, her smirk widening devilishly. "I was kind of forced to go on that date, but that doesn't matter." She spun around and begun making a coffee, most likely Castiel's usual. "As for why I am cheery, it has something to do with my last night's date, but I'll keep it as a surprise, for now."
A worried feeling twisted inside his gut. Charlie's schemes more often than not somehow didn't turn out the way she had planned, though she always meant well.
The sound of the bell above the shop's door caught Charlie's attention as she set down Castiel's drink and she smirked. "Dean! I'm glad you could make it!" She cheered as she motioned the man come towards the counter. Castiel spun around curiously, noticing a familiar handsome face with a maybe slightly tight smile on the lips.
"What is he doing here?" Castiel hissed to himself, his body tensing all over. Dean's expression, however, seemed to relax at the sight of Castiel. His whole being seemed to get more confident as he straightened his back and took quicker steps to reach the violinist. Castiel rolled his eyes at Dean and crossed his hands on top of his chest. "Hello Dean." He said dryly to him and looked at him questionly.
Dean winked at Castiel as he stood at a moderate distance from him. "Nice to see you too Cas."
"Wait- You two know each other?" Charlie questioned, surprise painted all over her face. "Oh god, Jimmy, please tell me I didn't try to hook you up with your stalker or something." She gasped, immediately thinking of the worst possible thing.
Castiel sighed and ignored Dean's confusion at the name 'Jimmy'. "Calm down Charlie, I have only met him twice and that was two weeks ago." Then he turned to Dean, tilting his head curiously. "What I'd like to know, however, is why she is trying to hook me up with a good-for-nothing like you?" He muttered, examining Dean from head to toe with his piercing blue eyes.
"Give him a chance, Jimmy. Dean is actually a really good guy." Charlie pleaded and gave Castiel a puppy-eyes-look. She then turned to Dean. "What would you like to have Dean?"
Castiel glared at the both of them before he took his coffee and hogged himself a table from the corner. He pushed headphones into his ears and took a newspaper from a nearby stand that he started flipping through, shutting the outside world completely out.
Charlie pushed Dean's order of regular coffee with an apologetic smile. "He does that sometimes. You just have to be bit persistent. I know that he just plays a bit hard to get." She explained and nudged her head towards Castiel. "Could you just try? I want to see him happy for once."
"I'll try." Dean promised and took his cup of coffee before he headed to Castiel's table. As he sat down, Castiel did glance at him quickly and then returned to his newspaper, completely ignoring the other man. Dean waited for a minute or two for Castiel to acknowledge him, but his eyes stubbornly scanned the paper on the table. Finally, with a frown on his face, Dean pulled on the cords of Castiel's headphones, causing them to come out of his ears with a 'pop'. "So, Jimmy…" He stated with a smile on his face.
"Please do not call me that."
"Why not?"
Castiel took a sip from his drink. "Castiel is what most people call me, Jimmy is-" He licked his lips as he searched for a fitting word. "Let's just say special."
Dean leaned against his hand and his eyes were filled with curiosity. "Where does the name 'Jimmy' come from then?"
He had no plans answering but as Dean persistently kept his eyes on Castiel, urging him to answer, he gave up with a sigh. "Castiel James Milton" He said, turning his gaze to a rather pointless article that he wasn't even reading properly.
"Excuse me?" Dean said, frowning slightly.
Castiel felt a blush creep on his cheeks and he had no idea why. "Castiel James Milton is my real name. Jimmy comes from my second name, James." He mumbled and played with a corner of the newspaper. "I- Uh- Prefer to use it on certain occasions. When I don't, you know, want to be recognised."
Dean nodded, understanding that Castiel didn't want to talk about it more than that. "What about Novak?" When Castiel tilted his head and he squinted his eyes, Dean continued. "I mean, if Milton is your real last name, where does Novak come from?"
"Novak is my mother's maiden name. Well, she probably has started using it again."
"You parents are divorced?"
Castiel nodded hesitantly. He had no idea why he was telling this to Dean. The guy was practically a stranger, there was no way of knowing what he was like in reality. Behind all his charming smiles and beautiful green eyes could be anything and while that idea scared Castiel, it also peaked his interest. "About four years ago." He admitted. "I rarely see either of them so it doesn't matter."
"I see" Dean muttered and poured some coffee into his mouth. Castiel noticed his fingers twitching at the cup's handle, maybe itching to pour some alcohol into the dark liquid. "Y-You were really amazing yesterday, at the concert." Dean slightly stuttered as he formed the sentence, his fingers still fumbling at the cup.
Castiel couldn't stop the smile spreading to his face so he lifted the cup of Café Mocha to his lips to hide it. "Thank you-" He muttered, a blush creeping on his face. "Maybe Dean is not a bad person after all" Castiel thought to himself as he followed the other man's every move closely. "You didn't look half bad yourself." He blurted out without realising, his blue eyes meeting green when his eyes widened.
"You saw me?" Dean questioned, way too full of himself. Castiel could see a glint of happiness in Dean's eyes before he set his gaze back onto the table.
Biting into his lip, Castiel searched for his next words carefully. "I did," He admitted quietly. "I mean, I wasn't sure if it was you, but I was quite sure. I kind of brushed it off because I assumed you wouldn't even afford the tickets." He added hastily, embarrassment showing from his whole being. "But- Uh, you did look rather attractive in that suit." Castiel eventually added even though he didn't believe he managed to pass those words from his lips.
Dean leaned with both of his hands on the table as close as possible to Castiel. "You think I'm attractive?" He asked and you could see how each of Castiel's sentences made him smile wider and wider. "So um-" He started, but paused to lick his lips nervously. "Would this be appropriate time to ask you out for a date?" He approached cautiously.
"No."
"No?"
"Absolutely not." Castiel confirmed with a crooked smile.
Frowning, Dean examined Castiel's relaxed facial expressions. "And why is that?" He asked, curiosity taking over everything else. His eyes dropped to Castiel's absolutely kissable light pink lips, how his grin seemed almost confident. He lifted his eyes again, green meeting blue for what seemed like the thousandth time that afternoon.
"Because-" Castiel said and pushed himself up from the table. "I'm not looking for a romantic relationship at the moment." Dean's face seemed to drop with disappointment, at which Castiel felt the urge to tease the other man even more, though he admitted to himself that he shouldn't be that cruel. "However, I wouldn't mind a friendship, for now at least."
Dean's face brightened immediately. "How about you give me your number then?" Castiel shook his head and smiled devilishly. "What? Why not?"
"I don't feel like giving it to you yet." Castiel chuckled before turning around on his heels. He bid goodbyes to Charlie as he paced towards the door, feeling Dean's stunned eyes glued to his back as he slipped out of the café.
